I was really looking forward to this having read The Godmother’s Secret, and I loved it even more than that one. I loved the setting – London after the Great Fire, meticulously recreated in both its splendour and squalor, and I immediately warmed to Franny —  a great character the reader can instantly root for. The mystery starts almost immediately when the bones of the suspected Princes of the Tower are unearthed at the bottom of a staircase. But were these the bones of the lost child princes, or not? Franny must set out to discover the answer. Of course the discovery will affect the whole of the English monarchy and Charles II himself, as well as Franny’s own family. But discovering the truth is a knife-edge endeavour – the Restoration court is full of spies and political maneuverings which add to the simmering tension in this novel.  The attention to detail in the novel is second-to-none, and the authenticity pulls the reader into another world. In this world the women like Nan Wilmot and Franny Aspley, who seemingly have no overt power, have to work behind the scenes to keep their family’s position and ensure justice is done. For Franny this leads to uncomfortable discoveries and hard decisions.

I couldn’t put this book down. This is one of the best historical novels I have ever read and certainly one of my books of the year. I recommend it to all lovers of well-written historical fiction, and it would make a wonderful book group pick. Go and buy!