Synopsis: February 1574. Winter holds London in its icy grasp, but the city is also caught in a fervour of paranoia, superstition and rumour. Mob violence is commonplace. A whispered word is all it takes to condemn a woman to burn as a witch.
Following his success in foiling the ‘Incendium’ plot against the queen, Dr Christopher Radcliff’s standing within court is high. However, he has no time to reap any rewards. Counterfeit coins are circulating on London’s streets, bearing the likeness of his master, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. This in itself is a treasonous offence, but slogans have also begun to appear. Daubed on walls and doorways, they suggest that someone close to the queen harbours treacherous intent – none other than Leicester himself . . .
So Radcliff and his team of informants and amateur spies are sent out into the city’s markets, drinking dens and brothels to track down who might be behind such outrageous and subversive acts. The investigation will lead them down a murderous path to face an elusive foe with an extraordinary agenda. And time is running out: for when rumour and fear catch fire, then surely violent insurrection and bloody chaos will follow.
Chaos follows two years after The Incendium Plot and whilst many themes from the first are touched upon in the second, I would recommend reading Incendium prior to Chaos.
The above synopsis fairly accurately sums up the storyline whereby Dr Christopher Radcliff - doctor of law, convicted killer and intelligencer for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester - is again sent out by Leicester to find the source and reasoning behind a spate of counterfeiting for as we are told "... currency that cannot be trusted is more dangerous than an enemy in plain sight ...".
With mysterious slogans, funny money, pamplets, desecration, and murder, it is up to Radcliff and his rag-tag team of spies and informers to seek out "... perception and reality .. fact and rumour ..." before chaos does prevail. And like Incendium, just when you think that things are all neatly wrapped up, you realise there is still much more of the story that is in need of telling and that nothing really has been concluded.
Alan Swanston is a writer whose works I am becoming increasingly fond of to the point where I think I will invest in the series and add these books to my own personal library. Looking forward to the next instalment in this series.
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