LOW TREASON

by Leonard Tourney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 18, 1982

Another late-Elizabethan mystery/adventure for Matthew Stock, the clothier/constable who sleuthed (with assists from wife Joan) in The Players' Boy Is Dead; and this time, even more than before, the emphasis is more on action/suspense than traditional detection. Thomas Ingrain, the young brother of Matthew's son-in-law, has disappeared up in London--supposedly a runaway to sea from his apprenticeship at Gervase Castell's jewelry shop. So Matthew, not believing this explanation, goes to London, sleuths among Thomas' friends (in Newgate, at a Thames-side brothel), is almost drowned, and soon realizes that jeweler Castell is an utter knave, blackmailing well-placed courtiers in order to extract information for Catholic, Spain-connected conspirators. (Thomas has by now surfaced, confirming this idea.) Courageously, then, with help from Joan and their friend Sir Robert Cecil, Matthew concocts a scheme to catch Castell in the act and expose his treason-network--but it succeeds only after Matthew and Joan have suffered a Newgate ordeal and committed (justifiable) homicide. The only mystery: Castell's motivation (which he reveals before getting his just deserts). And Tourney's dialogue is not always period-convincing. But Matthew and Joan are appealing heroes; the plotting (back and forth between good guys and bad) is tidy; and fans of period-suspense will find this a tasteful, atmospheric diversion, with more than a few ingratiating historical touches.

Pub Date: Jan. 18, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1982

Categories: FICTION