The Shadows of London, book six in Andrew Taylor’s fabulous series of historical mysteries set in post-Restoration London, finds our protagonists, James Marwood and Cat Hakesby (née Lovett) once again embroiled in an intricate and cleverly constructed murder mystery. Like the earlier books in the series the mystery in this one stands alone, but I’d recommend reading them in order so as to gain a fuller understanding of the relationship between the two principals.

It’s been five years since the Great Fire that destroyed so much of London, and since the night Marwood and Cat first met. Reconstruction of the City continues, and Cat, who took over the running of her husband’s architectural firm after his death, has been awarded the contract to build a new almshouse and some new brick houses in Chard Lane, on the site of the ancient almshouse destroyed in the fire. But when a the body of a man is discovered partly buried beneath piles of rubble and old bricks, his face beaten so badly as to be unrecognisable, the work has to be halted. Frustrated at at the delay, which could mean severe financial loss, Cat reluctantly asks James Marwood if he can do anything to help.

Marwood is in the employ of Lord Arlington who, as Keeper of the Privy Purse, is the second most powerful man in England, answerable only to the King. Marwood, who is part clerk, part spy, has frequently been directed by Arlington to conduct murder investigations, and when ‘My Lord’ hears about the body in Chard Lane, he tells Marwood to find out everything he can about the murder – although he isn’t, at this stage, willing to intervene on Cat’s behalf.

The first thing to do is to identify the victim, and Cat and Marwood soon work out that there are two likely candidates. One is the young man who had been employed as French tutor to the daughter of Mr. Hadgraft – who is currently Cat’s employer as commissioner of the Chard Lane project – the other is a man named Iredale, who is employed as a clerk at the Council of Foreign Plantations. Both are nonentities, making the motivation for murder unclear, but when Cat and Marwood learn of the involvement of one of the Duke of Buckingham’s henchmen – a dangerous, violent man with whom they’ve had dealings before – they realise that there is much more at stake than it initially seemed. For Buckingham, who hates Marwood and takes every opportunity to denigrate him, to be taking an interest in the murder of a nobody is strange, to say the least, and as Cat and Marwood dig deeper, it becomes clear that whoever the victim was, this murder is somehow linked to those at the very heart of power at the English court.

As with the other books in the series, Andrew Taylor does an absoutely superb job of weaving together fact and fiction, skilfully incorporating a number of actual historical figures and events into his original story. Here, he adds a third narrator to the mix; in addition to Cat and Marwood, we also hear from a young Frenchwoman named Louise de Kéroualle, who has been brought to England by the French Ambassador, with the specific intention of making her the mistress of King Charles II. Louise is widely regarded these days as a gold-digger, but as the author points out in his note at the end, while that may have been the case, that doesn’t preclude her having been a victim; she was young and vulnerable and basically manouevered into her ‘position’ by the French, who want her to act as their spy, “a pliant girl who will do what they tell her in the interestes of France. Someone to whisper in his [Charles’] ear whatever they want to say”.

The mystery is full of unexpected twists and turns – especially the big reveal – and the author paints a vivid picture of the sights and sounds of Restoration London, seamlessly integrating observations about the way the society of the time functioned and how precarious life was for pretty much anyone not born to privilege. Marwood has, for some time, been in the employ of Lord Arlington and his star has risen accordingly, to the extent that he’s become a respected figure, but the corruption at the highest levels has never sat all that well with him, and in this book he begins to realise the truth of the old adage about touching pitch and being deflied. Even Cat – who is hardly soft or unsceptical – sees how Marwood has become harder and more cynical, and doesn’t like it. Both of them have come a long way since we first met them, and their relationship has been always fraught with tension. Cat is tough and clear-sighted, she isn’t always kind and has certainly not always been so towards Marwood, although over the last couple of books, she’s realised that she’s come to depend on him far more than she realised – or intended, and that their lives are inextricably intertwined. That Marwood has had something of a crush on Cat has been obvious for a while, but only recently has Cat begun to feel the same – or been prepared to admit it to herself – and there are clearly big changes ahead for both of them.

The one criticism of the book isn’t to do with the story but with the way it’s laid out; in the copy I had – which was an ARC, so things may have been changed – the scene breaks are not marked, so I would be reading in Cat’s PoV, turn the page and then be in Louise’s PoV or Marwood’s (Marwood is written in first person, the others in third), and I’d sometimes have to go back to work out whose head I was in. I don’t recall that being an issue with the other books in the series.

But don’t let that minor issue put you off. Marwood and Lovett is one of my favourite historical mystery series, and The Shadows of London is another enthralling instalment. The historical background has obviously been extensively researched and permeates the stories in a way that is far more than simple ‘window dressing’, the characters are extremely well-rounded and the political intrigue is fascinating. I’m not sure whether there will be a book seven given the way this one ends, but I’ll certainly be picking it up if there is.