the king's evil james marwood & cat lovett book 3

Marwood accompanies the manipulative Lady Quinn on a secretive expedition to Cambridge and the remote Fens, where he begins to get an inkling of what is going on behind the scenes in his most challenging of cases. With Cat nowhere to be found, Marwood seeks to look out for her, knowing that to do so places him in danger. Lady Quincy has an black African child as her servant who has the disease, wanting him to be admitted to the ceremony. The King's Evil is the restitution of a ceremony to heal those afflicted with scrofula (tuberculosis) by the touch of Charles II which reinforces the divine right of the king. Cat is deemed to have killed Alderley, although Marwood is not so convinced. Lady Quincy, a woman Marwood yearns for, advises Marwood to warn Cat that Alderley knows of her whereabouts, and to tell her to go into hiding. It is Marwood's dangerous task is to investigate this highly politically sensitive murder, that is to threaten the King himself, and places unwelcome pressure on a Marwood caught between the machinations, scandal and intrigue amongst the most powerful and ruthless people in London. The murdered man is Edward Alderley, Cat's cousin, and a man she despises for good reason. Marwood has been sent to Clarendon House where a dead body has been found in the well. Lord Clarendon has fallen out of favour in the Royal Court, his opulent home, Clarendon House, is the source of much resentment, but he still has influence, his daughter married the King's brother, James, the Duke of York. He is still serving two masters, he is clerk for William Chiffinch, a powerful man close to the King, and Joseph Williamson, Under Secretary for the Secretary of State for the South. Marwood has been left with the scars of the fire on one side of his face after events that occurred in the last book.

This is the 3rd in the excellent historical fiction series by Andrew Taylor featuring the traitor's son, James Marwood and Cat Lovett, set in the reign of Charles II in 1667 in London.

The king's evil james marwood & cat lovett book 3