From No.1 bestselling author Andrew Taylor comes the sequel to the phenomenally successful The Ashes of London
Somewhere in the soot-stained ruins of Restoration London, a killer has gone to ground...
The Great Fire has ravaged London, wreaking destruction and devastation wherever its flames spread. Now, guided by the incorruptible Fire Court, the city is slowly rebuilding, but times are volatile and danger is only ever a heartbeat away.
James Marwood, son of a traitor, is thrust into this treacherous environment when his ailing father claims to have stumbled upon a murdered woman – in the very place where the Fire Court sits. Then his father is run down and killed. Accident? Or another murder...?
Determined to uncover the truth, Marwood turns to the one person he can trust – Cat Lovett, the daughter of a despised regicide. Marwood has helped her in the past. Now it’s her turn to help him. But then comes a third death... and Marwood and Cat are forced to confront a vicious and increasingly desperate killer whose actions threaten the future of the city itself.
‘Andrew Taylor’s historical crime novels have proved a benchmark for the genre, and The Fire Court is no exception. Cunningly plotted and movingly written, it’s a fascinating portrait of a city, and its people, recovering from trauma’ Mick Herron, bestselling author of Slow Horses
‘This is how historical crime should be written, with rich authenticity underpinning a twisting plot’ The Times
‘Marwood and Lovett’s search for a killer in the sooty streets of 1660s London is an atmospheric pleasure, full of twists and memorable characters’ The Times
‘With a fast-moving, complex plot underpinned by solid but unobtrusive research and plenty of drama and intrigue, Taylor brings the 17th century to life so vividly that one can almost smell it’ Guardian
‘Once again, Taylor combines his detailed research with a deviously twist-laden storyline’ Observer
‘This atmospheric murder mystery by Andrew Taylor is a real treat’ The Times
‘This gripping mystery is even better than its predecessor, The Ashes of London’ Sunday Express S Magazine
‘Taylor remains to my mind at the top of the list of historical novelists writing in English today’ Reviewing the Evidence
‘If it were not a superlative crime novel, Taylor’s evocative picture of the Great Fire of London, The Ashes of London, could be considered a historical novel of the first order. Its sequel, The Fire Court, is equally impressive’ Financial Times
‘In addition to a fascinating portrait of the 17th-century city, Taylor offers a father–son relationship that is as touching as it is convincing’ Literary Review
‘Taylor’s sense of time and place are awe-inspiring, the plot is fiendishly clever and beautifully executed and the language is divine’ Historica Mag
