The Poison Machine by Robert J Lloyd

Syopsis

1. A year has passed since the sensational attempt to murder King Charles II. Harry Hunt – estranged from his mentor Robert Hooke and no longer employed by the Royal Society – meets Sir Jonas Moore, the King s Surveyor-General of the Board of Ordnance, in the remote and windswept marshes of Norfolk. There, workers draining the fenland have uncovered a skeleton. Accompanied by his friend Colonel Fields, an old soldier for Parliament, and Hooke’s niece, Grace, Harry confirms Sir Jonas’s suspicion: the body is that of a dwarf, Captain Jeffrey Hudson, once famously given to Queen Henrietta Maria in a pie. During the Civil Wars, Hudson accompanied the Queen to France to sell the Royal Jewels to fund her husband s army. He was sent home in disgrace after shooting a man in a duel. But nobody knew Hudson was dead. Another man, working as a spy, has lived as him since his murder. Now, this impostor has disappeared, taking vital information with him. Sir Jonas orders Harry to find him. Harry’s search takes him to Paris, another city bedeviled by conspiracies and intrigues. He navigates its salons and libraries, and learns of a terrible plot against the current Queen of England, Catherine of Bragan§a, and her gathering of Catholics in London. Assassins plan to poison them all…

My Review
Last year around this time I read The Bloodless Boy, the debut novel by Robert J Lloyd, and throroughtly enjoyed it, so when Melville House contacted me to part of the blog tour for the next book The Poison Machine I jumped at the chance. The Poison Machine had a lot to live up to as I adored the first book, and it did’t disappoint.

This book is set a year after the events in The Bloodless Boy and the attempt on King Charles II life. Now the focus is on Queen Catherine’s life and that of her fellow Catholics. Its always good to be back with familiar characters, and Robert J Lloyd brings back all the main players from the first book and introduces some fantastic new ones as well. The book is narrated mainly from the point of view of Harry Hunt, who decides to work for Sir Jonus Moore at the Board of Ordnance, in search for the imposter of the previous Queen’s dwarf Captain Jeffrey Hudson. Hunt is trying to break out on his own, away from his mentor Robert Hooke at the Royal Society, after a experiment left him embarrassed. Like many of the characters, Harry os a real hostorical character known for his natural philosophy. Robert J Loyd really brings Harry, and the other characters to life with his prose, and seamlessly bends the factual and fictional characters in to the plot. As well as Harry, there is the return of Grace Hook, Harry’s love interest, Duchesse de Mazarin, a great beauty, Jacob Besnir, a fellow scientist who can fly and three assassins, all add colour and intrigue.

Like with the his previous book, it was the descriptive and sublime prose. With Harry we go from the bustling city of London, to the damp and silent Norfolk Fens and to the glamour and beauty of Paris. Robert J Lloyd’s wonderful writing is a feast of the senses, the sights, smells and sounds drew me in, and I felt I was there with the characters, seeing what they saw, and feeling what they felt, the good and the bad. There is so much historical detail in The Poison Machine, and I love that Robert J Lloyd uses colloquial language which helps anchor the plot in the seventeenth century: the addition of French phrases also tested my A level French.

The Poison Machine is packed full of adventure, political machinations, conspiracy theories, secrets, murder, romance and humour that combine to make this such an intelligent and impressive read. Fascinating characters, both real and fictitious are perfectly drawn and full of life. The plot is fast moving, multi faceted and thrilling, making this book so addictive and hard to put down. As you can probably tell, I was really impressed this book, it was a sublime read that I completely lost my self in. I can’t wait to read the next installment, and see what faces Harry Hunt next.

You can read my review of Robert J Lloyd’s first book The Bloodless Boy here The Bloodless Boy by Robert J Lloyd