Changes

Essex 1657: Cromwell's Republic is 8 years old. While John Grey sleeps off a good night of drink under the eaves of a cottage, a Royalist spy is murdered down the road. A trainee lawyer, John also enjoys the science of investigation and so starts looking for clues that will lead him to the murderer. Although it's not easy: strange happenings occurred that night and Grey is having trouble persuading others of what he saw. Meanwhile , his mother has the perfect match for him. Unfortunately , their ideas of perfection differ somewhat!

LC Tyler (Len to his friends) is famous for his Ethelred and Elsie series, lacing suspense-laden murder mystery with humour. In fact , it's enchanted many including critics who aren't enchanted that often. (Marcel Berlins of ''The Times'' for instance.) Therefore when this author launches a new series it's an event. So, prepare to be excited – event incoming!

A professional pedant, John has reasoned himself out of his former Royalist beliefs and is now on the side of the Commonwealth. However , elsewhere in the village old loyalties bubble under the surface as the scars of the Civil War give way to subterfuge and promotion of a hoped -for Reformation. This bad feeling isn't helped by the fact that living in the close -knit community there are those who have had their lands confiscated and, on a daily basis, watch Cromwell's favourites living in their former homes. Even without a murder, it's a dangerous world that John and his neighbours inhabit, especially those who want to hedge their bets just in case.

As with all good crime thrillers our suspicions flip and flop between a few suspects. In fact , we're kept guessing even though we can spot the next victim a mile off. One almost feels as if that's intentional though as Mr Tyler uses our knowledge to heighten the tension. We know who's going to get it but not when and definitely not why.

The backdrop is as carefully thought out as the mystery. We're instantly absorbed by the wonderful characters, many (like innkeeper Ben) almost yokel-like compared to the newly sophisticated John. However , he soon realises that academic knowledge is no replacement for experience and he's somewhat green in that department!

Further Reading: If you enjoy your historical crime with a similar similarly light touch, we heartily recommend [[Time and Tide by Shirley McKay]]. If you prefer something with less humour and/or just as rivettingly rivetingly Civil War era, we also heartily recommend [[Traitor's Field by Robert Wilton]]. We've also enjoyed [[A Masterpiece of Corruption (A John Grey Historical Mystery) by L C Tyler]].