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Fictional
Saga
1689
France
and England
In
this, the fourth in the series of the adventures of Philip Devall and his
brother-in-law Giles Fairfax, Philip is the centre of attention – something
that he likes very much. Trusted servant of King William III, he is also a
personal friend of wily old Louis XIV – the Sun King. But someone wants Philip
dead and a man in such an invidious and dangerous position has many enemies –
perhaps within one of the two royal houses …
Philip
is a bit of a cavalier, in more than one sense of the word; he is a dandy,
dashing and handsome with more than an eye for the ladies in his chequered
past, though he is now devoted to his wife Theresa and their daughter, Maudie.
Brave and strong, quick thinking and possessed of a ready wit, he is more than
aware of his assets and you cannot help but like him. Indeed, his wife and
servants are devoted to him.
Giles,
on the other hand, is far more complex. Once he had been a slave trader; following a disastrous defeat during Monmouth's rebellion, he bears an ugly scar
of which he is more than self-conscious. Yet his cynicism and reluctance to
become involved in Philip's schemes is the perfect foil devil-may-care attitude
to life.
I
very much enjoyed this story; the action is non-stop, some notable cameos (as
there were in the previous book in the series), magnificent descriptions
of Louis' fabulous Palace of Versaille
and some new secrets about Philip are revealed together with an ending that
promises further volumes in the series. Nice cover, too.
As
with all such series, this can be read as a stand-alone although it is always
best to read the other volumes to understand the back-story.
Well
recommended!
© Richard
Tearle
I totally agree with your review of Philip and Giles, and this writer certainly does makes you feel like you are actually living in that period! I have read all the series from Judith Thomson, she is a talented writer, I agree she is a Diamond!
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