From the No.1 best-selling author of The American Boy and The Silent Boy comes a brand new historical thriller set during the time of the Great Fire of London. The first of an exciting new series of novels.

On the same occasion, he met his future wife - Florence Morphy - who was the companion to Lady Janet Clarke, mistress of Rupertswood, and governess to the Clark children. stars. Andrew Taylor is a terrific writer, and I think characterization is his strong suit. This historical mystery is the first of a series. It opens while London is burning in 1666 (which kept me away from this one for years because history was probably my worst subject). I wish I’d tried it sooner. It was captivating. In case you haven't noticed yet, this book goes from exciting, to dull, and just repeats this process over and over again. Just as I thought things were looking up, it went dull again, but at this point I had invested too much time to allow myself to give up on it, and so again I pushed on through. London, September 1666. The Great Fire rages through the city, consuming everything in its path. Even the impregnable cathedral of St. Paul’s is engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Among the crowds watching its destruction is James Marwood, son of a disgraced printer, and reluctant government informer.

Marwood’s life is not entirely his own. His father, another Regicide, has been released from prison, but has dementia with a tendency to both wander and babble. The older man requires care which his son cannot provide. James is indebted to his employer(s) and is set the task of solving a set of murders all done in the same way. His path and that of Cat Lovett continue to cross, intriguing him and worrying her. The Restoration is a fascinating period of English history, and Andrew Taylor brings it brilliantly to life, his descriptions of the burned out shell of the once-proud St. Paul’s and the city around it so vivid as to make it seem as though London itself is another character in the book. His research into the period has obviously been extensive, but at no time was I subjected to info-dumps or large sections of exposition that felt like a history lesson; everything is smoothly woven through the story and the scholarship is never put on show. I particularly enjoy historical fiction in which politics and intrigue play a large part, so I was captivated by the author’s explorations of the precarious political situation and of the still present religious divide which had, two decades earlier, set Englishman against Englishman in a bloody civil war. I must mention the writing because the dialogue offered the greatest obstacle for me. Tho’ linguistic scholars date the inception of Modern English from about 1500, the Restoration is the earliest period when today’s English was spoken. Here is an except from Dryden, writing about Shakespeare: The Ashes of London presents a breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era ... the multiple narrative strands are drawn together in a brilliantly orchestrated finale' Financial Times

In this elegant, engrossing novel set during an extraordinary period, Taylor skilfully presents a London in which so many must still pay the price for the Civil War and the murder of King Charles I’ Sunday Express This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible.' Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph This is a murder mystery set in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. The story is split between James Marwood and Cat Lovett. England won the final one-day international in Taunton by 69 runs on Tuesday to take the 50-over series 2-1 and draw the series.Ashes of London” is a very good read filled with “ashes and blood,” history, excellent characters, startling revelations and a twist one doesn’t see coming. The Ashes of London is an absorbing, intricately plotted historical mystery set in Restoration London in the aftermath of the Great Fire; indeed the book opens with one of the main characters – lowly clerk, James Marwood – standing amid the crowds one night in early September 1666 watching in horror as St. Paul’s Cathedral is burned almost to the ground. He saves the life of a boy by dragging him away from the flames, only to discover that “he” is a “she” when she struggles, bites his hand and then makes off with his cloak. It’s a seemingly innocuous encounter, but one that will very soon start to assume importance for Marwood as it becomes clear that the young woman may somehow be linked to a series of murders. This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of the everyday sights and sounds of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible. The characters are memorable, too, for different reasons: Catherine Lovett is wonderfully spirited, but also, as a woman, vulnerable to more or less anything, while Marwood’s tentative nature, and the touching concern for his father – who is slightly deranged after his years in prison – proves that although mores may have changed since the 17th century, people are at heart the same as they ever were. Catherine Lovett is the daughter of a Regicide, one of the men who supported Oliver Cromwell. It is she who bit James Marwood. She is living with an uncle and aunt in London while her father is in exile, but it becomes obvious that this arrangement is reaching its end. She is forced to rely on the network of her father's former associates, various nebulous alliances.

My problem with the book was that there was no suspense. I never got a sense of what was at risk or what the stakes were. Even at the end of the book, I still didn't understand why the two men were murdered, and I didn't particularly care. I like historical fiction and I wasn't bored by the book, but as crime fiction it missed the mark. Taylor creates fascinating characters and intermingles them with actual historical figures, yet without ever allowing the fictional characters to be overshadowed. As well as carrying the story, they facilitate the conveying of historical facts about which we may never have heard, such as the group known as the Fifth Monarchists. Still, it is Richard, Cat, Mrs. Alderley, Master Hakesby who play critical roles. Mrs. Alderly, in particular, is an interesting character. There is much more to her than we first believe.I would encourage anyone looking for a good historical novel that will hook them from the start to try this. There are brief moments of violence - it is a mystery, after all. But Andrew Taylor’s characters are so real. They stay with me. This may be my summer of Taylor. He can immerse me in another time and place, with people who feel real, and he makes this look so easy.