book reviews, historical fiction, mystery

[review] A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M. Wolfe

book frolic review - A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M. Wolfe

A Murder by Any Name was an immediate pick for me. As I write more reviews, you’ll soon find out that I love historical fiction. In particular, I’ll always be happy to read any story that takes place in Tudor and Elizabethan times. I also love mysteries. So I LOVE it when I find a historical fiction mystery in this time period.

Title: A Murder by Any Name
Author: Suzanne M. Wolfe
Series: An Elizabethan Spy Mystery #1
First Published: October 9, 2018
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Categories: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Acquired: Purchased

Nicholas Holt – a black sheep with a heart of gold

A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M Wolfe

Nicholas Holt is the younger son of a minor noble in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. In order to prove his family’s loyalty, he acts as a reluctant spy for Robert Cecil. As part of his cover, Nick runs The Black Sheep tavern in a seedy part of London alongside his childhood friend John and John’s wife, Maggie. Nick also has a loyal partner in the form of a gigantic Wolfhound named Hector.

When two of her young ladies-in-waiting are murdered, the Queen charges Nick with finding the killer.

Armed with a long list of suspects and a short list of clues, Nick finds himself hitting a series of dead ends. Queen Elizabeth is feeling personally threatened by the murders and her patience is running out. Nick needs to move fast.

I found Nick to be a very empathetic man. He is good friends with a pair of Jewish doctors (the twins Eli and Rivkah), finds solace in the arms of a street-savvy former prostitute (Kat) and moves easily amongst the higher and lower levels of society. Nick often expresses worries about small beggar children and the often-overlooked servants that keep the castles running smoothly.

A city filled with characters

As the story continued, I felt that there were A LOT of characters being introduced and I was a bit worried about having to keep track of them all. My fears were unfounded though – Wolfe does a great job of reminding you how characters are related to each other and to the story. The descriptions of the people and places really brought everything to life. Some well-known historical characters, like Elizabeth, Cecil, and Shakespeare, only play minor parts (although the descriptions of Queen Elizabeth are exactly how I always picture her – vain, steely, cunning and always in control), which is fine by me. Wolfe’s original characters are incredibly believable and likeable.

The story of the murder investigation itself was almost secondary to me – I was having too much fun meeting all the characters. I did figure out who the murderer was pretty early on so it wasn’t much of a surprise when the killer was revealed, but the journey of how Nick arrived at the solution was satisfying.

I was happy to find out that Wolfe is already working on the second book in the series and I can’t wait to return to the world of Nicholas Holt!

READ IT FOR YOURSELF

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2 Comments

  1. Hallo, Hallo Stephanie,

    This is the book I was eagerly awaiting to receive for review and the one which turnt into a DNF experience for me – I honestly didn’t connect to the characters, the story or the world being built inside it. In fact I’m passing my copy to a friend whose much more thrilled over its premise than I could become once the book was in front of me. By all counts, it should have worked for me — yet, for the reasons I explained on my blog, it just wasn’t my cuppa. It really just wasn’t a good fit but I’m thankful it was a good read for you. That’s what counts – each of us sorting out the authors we each love to be reading and the stories by them we hope others will enjoy as well.

    1. Stephanie says:

      Ooof, sorry that this one didn’t work out for you Jorie! I will go check out your review now. As you said, though, we’re all different and that’s what makes life interesting. It would be boring if we all liked/disliked the same things!

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