Murder by Misrule

I recently binged a podcast called, “Historical Figures,” and found the Sir Francis Bacon episode (Season 1, Episode 32) particularly intriguing. I think that played a large part in getting me to take up this tale.

I have begun to find I really enjoy the melding of fictionalized situations with historical people and places. I think you’ll really enjoy this tale, if you’ll give it a try.

The characters were well written. Fun read about that time in history. Complex and page turning. Descriptive twists and turns. C. Woods

History meets mystery…I greatly enjoy having history tweaked into a fictional mystery, and Anna Castle is a master at that with her Francis Bacon Mystery series. She transports readers (listeners in this case) to sixteenth century England enveloped in vivid descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells along with offering a challenging investigative style: no crime scene photos, DNA, or computer databases. The twenty-five-year-old Francis Bacon has fallen out of favor with Queen Elizabeth I and banished from court, too much forward thinking is not welcomed, which isn’t a death sentence, but includes restrictions that amount to being “nobody; a man with no prospects, no future...until further notice.” Does it mean one can’t roam the city? Well, it should when Bacon literally stumbles on the body of his former tutor, Tobias Smythson. His lord uncle has charged Bacon to investigate, explaining his own connection to a covert mission that may be more the reason for the murder than thievery, and dangles the idea that solving the murder might be one way to regain his status at court. So when Bacon is approached by a quartet of young law students in need of a tutor, he accepts the position and proceeds to strengthen their knowledge of the law by investigating Smythson’s murder. The young men use their street-wise attitude to track down evidence, interrogate witness and suspects, and report back to Bacon. Clever. Detailed. Educational. Entertaining.