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Publisher's Summary

From the number one 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.
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.
In the aftermath of the fire, a semi-mummified body is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul's, in a tomb that should have been empty. The man's body has been mutilated, and his thumbs have been tied behind his back. Under orders from the government, Marwood is tasked with hunting down the killer across the devastated city. But at a time of dangerous internal dissent and the threat of foreign invasion, Marwood finds his investigation leads him into treacherous waters - and across the path of a determined, beautiful and vengeful young woman.
©2016 Andrew Taylor (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
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Critic Reviews

" The Ashes of London is the book we all dream of writing and of reading: a crime thriller that pushes the pages over with effortless ease, while at the same time weaving an intricate, delicate, delight of a tapestry that draws us into a time and place that are so rich, so perfectly balanced that we walk alongside the characters, inhabit their shoes, feel their fear and taste their hope, all written in Andrew Taylor's beautiful hand-crafted prose. This is a book to revel in, a joy and a delight. Definitely one of the must-reads of the year." (Manda Scott, best-selling author of the Boudica Dreaming series)
"Praise for Andrew Taylor: Taylor mastery of plot and character show to great effect in a story that has a depth few other historical crime novels can match." ( Sunday Times)
"As a writer, Taylor wears his learning lightly and shares with Hilary Mantel the capacity to take the reader directly into a vanished world." ( Times Literary Supplement )
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By Simone on 05-01-17

Entertaining Historical Fiction

I enjoy historical fiction and I loved the setting of this story in London just after the Great Fire; it whet my appetite to learn more about the reconstruction of the city. I’ve visited London numerous occasions and I know that most of Wren’s vision for the new city never came to pass, but I don’t know why… I’m looking forward to reading more on the topic.

The story in this book was very entertaining, and I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I was better able to keep track of who was who! (I’m terrible at remembering names). I really appreciated the author’s style: fluid and descriptive enough that I got a good feeling for what life was like in late 17th century London, and yet he didn’t drone on about every last detail so I still got to use my imagination to build up the world in my mind.

Great story! I can easily recommend it.

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Tony on 09-22-16

JUST KEPT GETTING DEEPER INTO THE BLOOD AND ASHES

If you enjoy historic novels you will really enjoy this one. Taking place in the ashes of London after the Great Fire of 1666 the mystery just keeps getting deeper and deeper. Well developed characters intertwine with historic events and some of the real players even make an appearance. The fire rid London of many of the rats that brought the plague to its' people but not all of them got fried by the fire.

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
5 out of 5 stars
By Rachel Redford on 04-27-16

Mystery and murder in 'the dunnest smoke of hell'

I picked this title not because of Andrew Taylor's awards for historical crime writing, but because it's read by Leighton Pugh. Having spent the first three months of last year mesmerised by Pugh's fantastic 116-hour unabridged narration of Samuel Pepys' Diary on Naxos (downloadable on Audible), I thought The Ashes of London set in Pepys' time read by Leighton Pugh had got to be a winner. And it is!

The backdrop is the Fire of London which has reduced the city around St Paul's to ashes amongst which James Marwood finds a dead body: not surprising, except that this one has had his thumbs tied together before being murdered. It is his job to uncover the crime. The ashy mud of the ruins still smouldering in places made me think of Lady Macbeth's prayer for the 'dunnest smoke of hell' to hide her regicide: in the same way the ash in this taut crime mystery is a cloak for murder and intrigue, a cover for eaves droppers and informants in these dangerous times of the Restoration. These are violent times and there are more murders and more deceit and cover-up.

No-one can be trusted - in politics, at court, in the ashy ruins picked over by desperate poor people- and least of all by blood relatives. Marwood is in danger because his father is a hunted regicide and young Cat Lovett, the parallel main character whose life becomes entwined dangerously with Marwood's, has fled following a scene of violence from the man she loathes whom her guardian uncle is forcing her to marry.

There are some magnificent filmic scenes throughout: Marwood's haunting memories of King Charles l's bleeding head held aloft at his execution, which he witnessed as a boy; the terrifying pursuit through stone passages to the roof-tops of St Paul's overlooking the devastation below which ends in more violence. A man is murdered whilst riding with his hounds, a man mistrusted by Cat. Why do the dogs wag their tails and not savage the murderer lurking in the bushes? The whole novel is intensely alive, teeming with visual and sensory detail, the historical background woven in seamlessly to heighten the tense atmosphere of threat, plot and intrigue.

And with his range of voices, mood and pace, Leighton Pugh drives forward the whole story in all its complexities. Definitely a winner!


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20 of 21 people found this review helpful

4 out of 5 stars
By Mrs on 12-12-16

Could not put it down

What did you like most about The Ashes of London?

It was full to the brim with everything. As this is currently topical I was aware of what happened but this book weaved a thrilling tale around it all.

What did you like best about this story?

Well written and factual

Which character – as performed by Leighton Pugh – was your favourite?

I couldn't single one out except to say that the women did not sound like pantomime dames which was excellent

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Virtually

Any additional comments?

Am trying desperately to find a similar book.

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
1 out of 5 stars
By Richard on 06-20-18

Absolute Rubbish; a complete waste of time and money. Don't bother to buy

This was probably one of the worst Audible books I have listened to. I sent it back, and thankfully received a Credit from Amazon.

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