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    Martyr: An Elizabethan Thriller
    Martyr: An Elizabethan Thriller
    Martyr: An Elizabethan Thriller
    Audiobook12 hours

    Martyr: An Elizabethan Thriller

    Written by Rory Clements

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The year is 1587. One of Queen Elizabeth's cousins is found murdered, her flesh marked with profane symbols. A plot to assassinate Sir Francis Drake, England's most famous sea warrior, is discovered. One man is charged with the desperate task of solving both cases: John Shakespeare.

    Shadowed by his rival, the Queen's chief torturer, Shakespeare travels through an underworld of spies, sorcerers, whores, and theater people-including his younger brother, the struggling playwright Will-to piece together a complex conspiracy, the implications of which are almost too horrific to contemplate. For a zealous and cunning killer is stalking England's streets. And as Shakespeare threatens to reveal the madman's identity, he and the beautiful woman he desires come ever closer to becoming the next martyrs to the cause.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 2, 2009
    ISBN9781400180660
    Martyr: An Elizabethan Thriller
    Author

    Rory Clements

    After a career in national newspapers, Rory Clements now lives in a seventeenth-century farmhouse in Norfolk and writes full time. When not immersing himself in the Elizabethan world, he enjoys village life and a game of tennis with friends. He is married to the artist Naomi Clements-Wright. There are five books in the John Shakespeare series of Elizabethan mysteries: Martyr, which was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Award; Revenger, which won the 2010 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award; Prince, which was shortlisted for the 2011 Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award; Traitor; and Monarch. All are published by John Murray. A TV series based on the books is currently in development. You can find out more about Rory, his writing and the world of John Shakespeare on his website www.roryclements.com and at www.johnmurray.co.uk.

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    Reviews for Martyr

    3.5/5

    126 ratings14 reviews

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    • 4/5
      1587 and John Shakespeare has been instructed to find the murderer of Lady Blanche Howard, and the assassin sent to murder Sir Francis Drake.
      An enjoyable story to finish off the year.
    • 2/5
      What I learned from this book is that I won't be rushing out to get the next one. in future I'll wait for a new Matthew Shardlake
    • 4/5
      Martyr is a really good, well worked, evocative and thoroughly convincing journey back to the late 16th Century Elizabethan England and the time of Shakespeare. John Shakespeare, actually. Will’s older brother. John isn’t an actor or playwright, he’s a detective. Though this is of course set before there was a Police force, he is more of a private detective, working for the Lord Walsingham trying to keep England, and in particular Good Queen Bess, safe from the threat - real and imagined - from Philip the King of Spain, his armada, Catholics in general, the Inquisition and traitors of an assorted, generally foreign, nature.

      In the aftermath of the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, Shakespeare starts investigating the really rather grisly murder of a young women, who may or may not have been mixed up in intrigues she probably shouldn’t have been mixed up in. Shakespeare is on legitimate Royal business, but even so it’s not all plain sailing. Shakespeare has unwanted competition in his investigation. Everywhere his investigation takes him, he seems to be one step behind the unscrupulous and ruthless Richard Topcliffe. A man with his own private rack down in the family torture chamber is to be avoided at all costs, especially but not necessarily, if you’re a Catholic. Topcliffe has his own agenda and has dressed up petty ruthless revenge in ‘I’m doing the Queen’s business more than you are', Royal finery.

      England has been and is whipped up into a frenzy of Catholic-hating and traitors, real or imagined, are around every corner, under every bed, in every house or country pile, either murdering people in most foul ways or hiding for days in their stinking priest holes. And there is a plot to murder England’s potential hero of the hour, Sir Francis Drake. The thought, unspoken but felt by all is, that if he dies, England will be open to Spanish - and even worse, Catholic - invasion.

      Clements does a really good job of evoking the mood and the tension of the period. As well as conveying the all suspicion and noble ends to justify really rather unpleasant means. And while on the subject of unpleasant - we get shown around the stinking streets of London, into the veritable hell-holes and corrupt pits that were Elizabethan prisons, and a tour across the south of England down to Plymouth in a desperate race against time to rescue Sir Francis Drake. Mostly to rescue him from himself, it has to be said. As a character, John Shakespeare is perhaps a little too idealistic, even naive for his time. Which makes him a thoroughly likeable character for our time, even if like-ability was necessary - he is the brother to William for goodness’ sake! Worth reading about for that alone (I know he’s made it up, btw).

      If you wanted to look outside the confines of the book and see where the themes are today. It is in the suspicion of people’s with a different culture to ours’, who do things differently and also have the temerity to think they’re right, have God on their side and we’re wrong. You can see it in your newses every day, can’t you? Even 'Catch 22', sometimes - as in the thoughts of how far is it needed to go to show your loyalty. If loyalty is behind the means, does it excuse the means? Can you be more loyal because you are prepared to be more ruthless? Does hesitancy through decency and humanity, show weakness? Fortunately - for those locked up these days, the prison system is a little better, certainly cleaner, and your well-being while inside doesn’t depend (entirely) on how much money you can pay the gaoler to keep the other prisoners off your back and your hands out of the thumbscrews.

      I didn’t know at the time of reading, but ‘Martyr' is apparently the first in Clements’ series of novels about his fictional detective and brother to William, John Shakespeare. And this bodes very well for the series. I’ll be reading them.
    • 4/5
      Really enjoyed Rory Clements’s Martyr; an exciting take on the current ‘investigator-goes-it-alone-in-Tudor England’ craze. The hero of this story is William Shakespear’s fictional brother (not too sure that this relationship was completely necessary, and it certainly wasn’t key to the plot, but perhaps the author’s going to make more of it in future novels), John, who as Walsingham’s top agent, is tasked with protecting a belligerent Sir Francis Drake from a ruthless Spanish assassin. The characters were all believable, and I was gripped by the fast-moving plot involving the gruesome murder of one of the Queen’s relatives, prostitution, double-dealing spies, torture, and a hired assassin. Of course, Shakespear has an arch nemesis, another spy called Topcliffe, who happens to have direct access to Queen Elizabeth, and is described as one of her ‘favourites’ (she seemed to have rather a lot of them!). Topcliffe’s a good character, but his relationship with the Queen is not really explained and without this understanding, it’s hard to accept his omnipotence. Still, that’s a relative small quibble in an otherwise enjoyable story.

      The book was clearly well-researched, without being heavy going or losing its excitement. Some other reviewers have compared Clements unfavourably to CJ Sansom, but I think that’s unfair. In my opinion, this book is as good as the first two Shardlake novels. If you like Shardlake, you’ll enjoy Martyr.

      © Koplowitz 2012
    • 3/5
      This historic fiction (the protagonist is John Shakespeare, 'his' [fictional] brother) is fanciful but captures the flavour of the period well. Some have complained about the nature of the 'gratuitous' violence: that'show life was.
    • 4/5
      Rory Clements has set this work of fiction against the backdrop of genuinely dark times for England. As the book opens it is 1587 and Queen Elizabeth is deciding whether or not to approve the execution of her treasonous cousin Mary, Queen of Scots while the Spanish armada is being assembled ready to invade the country. Clements has created a fictional older brother for playwright William Shakespeare as the hero of this novel. John Shakespeare is an investigator for Elizabeth’s Principal Secretary Francis Walsingham and is kept very busy. He must try to establish who killed Lady Howard, a young cousin of the Queen’s whose body was found in a burned out house and was defiled with what appear to be Catholic symbols. He must also find and stop the assassin who has been hired to kill Sir Francis Drake, the sea captain in whom is vested England’s hope for defeating the Spanish. All the while Shakespeare is hindered in his efforts by having to fight Richard Topcliffe, known (for good reason if the details of the book are even vaguely accurate) as Elizabeth’s principle torturer and whose particular interest was in capturing Catholic priests.

      I’m not an expert on the Elizabethan period but the historical elements of this book certainly ring true which is enough for me to have thoroughly enjoyed it. Clements has used research, details (mostly of the ewwww-inducing kind) and just the right amount of period-specific language. In addition, fictional events and characters are interwoven with real ones with consummate skill and the result is a brilliant and far from romantic, depiction of a period full of violence, torture, religious persecution, war and the ever-present smell of excrement. As is the case with all the best historical fiction I was gripped with equal parts fascination and gratitude that I didn’t have to live through the reality.

      I’m not sure that making the protagonist a fictional older brother of William Shakespeare added much value to the book (William appears only briefly) but as it didn’t detract either I’m open to seeing what he does with this aspect of the character in subsequent novels. Clements’ characters, whether entirely fictional or his interpretations of real people, do come to life and they are another highlight of the novel. John Shakespeare is a mostly likable young man (though occasionally a bit soppy for me) who is intelligent and at least has doubts about the more extreme methods his Queen approves of for dealing with Catholics. And Topcliffe is the perfect nemesis, being entirely devoid of humanity but very clever and having the support of the Queen so feeling free to indulge in all manner of torture. There are some marvellous minor characters including some amusing prostitutes and Shakespeare’s faithful, limping manservant who does a nice line in dry humour when he is tasked with guarding the irrepressible Sir Francis Drake.

      On the crime fiction front I thought the book lacked a little oomph. The solving of the mystery of Lady Howard’s death was really quite straight forward and the hunt for the assassin was more of the swashbuckling thrills variety of story than a crime solving one and it did seem to go round in circles at times. But in the end this didn’t matter all that much as I was fascinated by the weaving of the fictional events into the historical backdrop and enjoyed the depiction of the interplay of politics and crime solving that I suspect doesn’t change much no matter what historical period we’re in. I would highly recommend the book to fans of historical fiction though you’ll need a strong stomach as the descriptions of the torture that was routinely carried out during these times is described in pretty graphic detail.
    • 1/5
       A short notice purchase, it was the best of sainsbury's limited selection...



      ... And it was truely dire! There was a believeable framework, but there was superimposed on this a far fetched mess of a story. Set in Elizabeth 1's reign, it concerns the unravelling of a plot by the Spanish to kill Sir Francis Drake. So far so good. However there is also a brutal murder that appears to be linked to the plot, which muddies the waters somewhat. Some of the characters are exteremely unpleasant, and are cardboard cut out bullies. There are more murders here than in an episode of Midsommer Murders. The sex scene occurs somewhat unexpectedly and the ending is utterly unsatisfactory (both for the lead characters and the reader).

      In short, not the best £4 I've ever spent in my life and I certainly won't be looking out for episode 2
    • 4/5
      really good gripping book with some nice twists. cant wait to read the next one!
    • 4/5
      I have really got to stop reading book reviews and recommendations. I keep finding books that sound interesting, but are complete different from my normal reading fare. To make matters worse, most of them are good books too.Martyr is definitely one of those good books. The book was engrossing, but not something I could read for hours at a time. There was just too much going on. That is my only complaint. There were so many different characters and so many plots and subplots that I had difficulty keeping track of the storyline.I have categorized this book under romance, although it is primarily a historical mystery. The romance is very minor and definitely just a side note.Two more books in the series have been published: Revenger and Prince. I may read them some day, but I am not certain. They are definitely not next on my list.
    • 4/5
      Very similar in writing to C. J. Sansom so if you enjoy his books you will love this book...great debut.
    • 4/5
      really good gripping book with some nice twists. cant wait to read the next one!
    • 4/5
      Quite an engaging murder mystery, though I don't rate this as highly as C J Sansom's gritty Tudor murder mysteries. I am no prude, but I thought Clements to be, in places, actually quite gratuitous in his depictions of cruelty and violence. Topcliffe is one of the most appalling fictional depictions of which I have read (though he was a real person). I didn't initially take to John Shakespeare (nor did I to Sansom's Matthew Shardlake at first) but he grew on me. Incidentally, John Shakespeare is a fictional brother of the playwright, who appears in a minor supporting role.
    • 5/5
      England in the reign of Elizabeth I. The Queen is about to sign the death warrant for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and her spy-master Sir Francis Walsingham is charged to discover and destroy a catholic assassin sent by Phillip of Spain to kill Sir Francis Drake.Walsingham's chief agent is John Shakespeare,elder brother to the playwright William. He is on the track of the murderer of Lady Blanche Howard,who has been slaughtered in a most terrible way. The strands of these two separate investigations eventually intertwine,but in a strange fashion.With the vicious Topcliffe,who reports directly to the Queen, we are presented with what must be one of the most evil characters in fiction.Rory Clements has written a wonderful evocation of this most colourful and dangerous age and as this is the first of a series I can only wait with strong anticipation for the next thrilling episode.C.J.Sansom should look over his shoulder and beware this new and exciting rival.
    • 4/5
      A deft and very pleasing historical mystery that takes us into the byways of Elizabethan London in the company of Will Shakespeare's imagined elder brother, John. The plot is complex enough to be engaging, the pace is spot on, and John is a likable guy with enough shadows to make him interesting. I hope to see more in this vein.