Rags of Time by Michael Ward

If you’re a fan of historical mysteries, this new series by Michael Ward is one you won’t want to miss! Stuart England comes alive in Rags of Time.

Rags of Time by Michael Ward

My thoughts

I’ve decided that terrific historical mystery authors are the rock stars of writing. They’re tasked with recreating a time period, creating fascinating characters, and plotting an ingenious mystery (never an easy task!) while keeping details and events consistent with the historical record. Michael Ward does all this and more in Rags of Time, the first book of the new Tom Tallant series.

The book opens with Sir Joseph Venell congratulating himself on his future wealth. I knew that he must be our future murder victim: characters who gloat and/or act supremely self-satisfied on page one often die by the end of the first chapter. Spoiler: he dies. And oh, what a death! This is easily one of the strangest fictional killings I’ve read. Bewildering and eerie. It defies the investigators but eventually leads them to Tom Tallant.

Characters

Tom Tallant has newly returned from India, where he’s been trading spices and handling his father’s company. He’s youthful, enthusiastic, and a bit naive. When he’s accused of the murder, he doesn’t realize the danger. London has changed in the two years he’s been away. It’s a nation sliding toward civil war, and no one is safe.

His accusers (irrational, nasty-tempered Franklin and coolly logical but ruthless Petty) have no facts to back up the accusations. Franklin, in particular, is a stupid, irrational man who wants to blame witchcraft for the mysterious deaths. Yet sometimes stupid people are more dangerous than evil ones.

When he meets Elizabeth Seymour, a friend of his sister’s, he is enthralled. She’s a woman of contradictions. She craves darkness to study the stars but craves light in equal measure, indulging in beeswax candles at her father’s expense. (He probably thinks this is preferable to her losing money at the gambling tables!) Her study of astronomy helps her put her role in the universe in perspective, yet also drives her to reckless behavior because she doesn’t believe that the actions of one person matter.

All of the characters are well-drawn. Some I despised, others I liked, and still others surprised me with their actions.

Historical details

Ward does a fabulous job recreating Stuart England. Danger lurks as king’s men and Parliament loyals fight each other, and those who try to be loyal to both become enemies of both sides. It’s a time when extremism overrules moderation. There’s increasing restrictions on religious freedom, as Archbishop Laud orders rails around communion tables, something that smacks of “popery” (Catholicism) to the Puritans. Various groups fight a desperate (and violent) fight for the right to worship as their beliefs demand. King Charles I is so dangerously out of touch with public sentiment that he dissolves Parliament and rebukes the agitators with a moralistic masque.

While I knew some of this history, Michael Ward made it come alive through Tom’s point of view. Through him, I saw the rails ripped from the church sanctuaries, the fiery protests, and the King’s foolish responses. Through him, I saw London: overpopulated, overrun with rats, susceptible to disease, with sewage openly flowing through streets and little safety for anyone. The problems resist easy solutions, but the masses demand for solutions. Every potential solution brings more problems. And the king, convinced in his divine right to rule, refuses to deal with anything.

Suspicions run rampant. Reputations are ruined by innuendo or accusations that bear no relation to the facts. Violence threatens underneath even casual, seemingly-inconsequential interactions. It’s a time when someone can yell, “Papist!” and incite violence against someone else.

Yet it’s not a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. It’s a war within Protestantism itself: the Puritans against Archbishop Laud’s Anglican church. Families fracture over divided loyalties, even families as loving as the Tallants. Everyone carries some weapon with them.

The story moves swiftly. At times, I read with bated breath, wondering how things would turn out. Even though I know quite a bit about the aftermath of the English Civil War, my knowledge of the war itself is sorely lacking. (As an American, this isn’t the sort of history we get in school.) This increased the tension for me.

A few quibbles . . .

I read the book in my Kindle app, and there were a few odd formatting issues that popped up every so often. (But I read a lot of digital books, and this happens in many of them, including some from major publishers. So it’s not necessarily an issue for me.) A few parts could’ve been tightened up to increase the tension, but overall, this was solid storytelling.

One favorite thing . . .

I loved Ward’s portrayal of Elizabeth. She’s a complicated, conflicted woman. She’s an addict, searching for her fix, aware of the hurt she’s causing but unable to stop. Her battle with gambling addiction rang true, and I enjoyed watching her seek to overcome it. In particular, I liked that she has a character arc aside from helping Tom solve the mystery.

4 and 1/2 stars

Overall, this is a terrific historical mystery. If you enjoy books about Stuart England, or simply want a new historical mystery to read, I highly recommend Rags of Time. Keep Michael Ward on your to-be-read list!

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.