The Drowned City by K. J. Maitland

The Drowned City (Daniel Pursglove, #1)

by K. J. Maitland

**Longlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger Award**

'A gripping thriller' THE TIMES | 'Dark and enthralling' ANDREW TAYLOR | 'Devilishly good' DAILY MAIL

'I couldn't put it down' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'A story of disaster, espionage, murder and a deep-seated conspiracy... it's nothing short of genius' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Revenge runs deep in this captivating historical thriller for fans of C.J. Sansom and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.

1606. England stands divided in the wake of the failed Gunpowder Plot. As a devastating tidal wave sweeps the Bristol Channel, rumours of new treachery reach the King.

In Newgate prison, Daniel Pursglove receives an unexpected - and dangerous - offer. Charles FitzAlan, close confidant of King James, will grant his freedom - if Daniel can infiltrate the underground Catholic network in Bristol and unmask the one conspirator still at large.

Where better to hide a traitor than in the chaos of a drowned city? Daniel goes to Bristol to investigate, but soon finds himself at the heart of a dark Jesuit conspiracy - and in pursuit of a killer.

PRAISE FOR DANIEL PURSGLOVE BOOK 1

'Colourful and compelling' SUNDAY TIMES

'Goes right to the heart of the Jacobean court' TRACY BORMAN

'Spies, thieves, murderers and King James I? Brilliant' CONN IGGULDEN

'The intrigues of Jacobean court politics simmer beneath the surface in this gripping and masterful crime novel' KATHERINE CLEMENTS

'Shadows and menace lurk round almost every corner... Brilliant writing and more importantly, riveting reading' SIMON SCARROW

'Beautifully written with a dark heart, Maitland knows how to pull you deep into the early Jacobean period' RHIANNON WARD

Reviewed by pamela on

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I had to DNF this at about 15%, so I won't be reviewing this. It's not at all a bad book, and Maitland's prose is beautiful, but the meandering slow tone is just not something I'm in the right headspace for.

To put it into perspective: this is a single sentence that appears on page 2 of the novel!

"The frost on the roofs of the cottages glittered in the sunshine and thin spirals of lavender-grey smoke rose from dozens of hearth fires as women began to bake the noonday’s bread and sweep the dust from their floors, while their menfolk, rags wound about their hands, stirred vats of boiling tar or sawed planks for new boats, some standing in deep pits so that only the tops of their heads showed above the ground, blizzards of sawdust already covering their greasy coifs."

That isn't even the only example of those kinds of run-on sentences. It's a stylistic choice, but one that I definitely feel a reader needs to be in the right frame of mind for. I've no doubt this would be a rewarding read, but only for someone with the time and mental stillness to really commit to it. 

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Reading updates

  • 6 February, 2022: Started reading
  • 6 February, 2022: on page 0 out of 480 0%
  • 14 February, 2022: Finished reading
  • 2 March, 2022: Reviewed