‘From the stark Yorkshire landscape to the dark underbelly of Jacobean London, Daniel Pursglove’s new mission sees him fall prey to a ruthless copycat killer…‘
– Rivers of Treason
[ About Rivers of Treason]
London, 1607. As dawn breaks, Daniel Pursglove rides north, away from the watchful eye of the King and his spies.
He returns, disguised, to his childhood home in Yorkshire – with his own score to settle. The locals have little reason to trust a prying stranger, and those who remember Daniel do so with contempt.
When a body is found with rope burns about the neck, Daniel falls under suspicion. On the run, across the country, he is pursued by a ruthless killer whose victims all share the same gallows mark. Are these the crimes of someone with a cruel personal vendetta – or has Daniel become embroiled in a bigger, and far more sinister, conspiracy?
A new river of treason is rising, flowing from the fields of Yorkshire right to the heart of the King’s court . . .
[ My Review ]
Rivers of Treason by K.J. Maitland published with Headline in April 2023 and is the third book in the Daniel Pursglove series. I read and thoroughly enjoyed Books 1 & 2, The Drowned City and Traitor in the Ice, but, for various reasons, I never caught up with books 3 & 4. So in order to remedy that, and as we are coming to year end, I have decided to read a few books that have been on my teetering TBR for too long, as the 2025 pile begins to grow.
Rivers of Treason takes us back to the dank and darkness of 1607. Following The Gunpowder Plot and its unsuccessful attempt to assassinate King James I of England in 1605, tensions are still rife between religious groups. King James I is justifiably paranoid that there will be further attempts on his life and that of his family. With traitors hiding in plain sight, fear and scepticism are frequent among all strata of society.
Daniel Pursglove has been through the mill. His story is a complex one but his strength of conviction and his belief in truth and justice drive him forward. Daniel travels under various guises as he navigates the threats that permeate the very air that he breathes. On a more personal mission he embarks on a treacherous journey back to the place of his birth but he soon finds himself tangled in a deadly web of deceit and murder, leaving him exposed and running for his life.
As I’m not au fait with English history I did struggle at times with all the names and historical references so I made a decision to just read the novel as an adventure. I would however recommend that you do start this series from the beginning in order to get a true sense of the history, the plot and the characters. Daniel Pursglove is a fantastically cast protagonist. He is generous and heroic but also ruthless and gutsy when required. As rumour of another possible conspiracy grows legs, Daniel is caught up in a game of cat-and-mouse, one that involves rational thinking and clever actions. With the clock ticking, and some rather gruesome discoveries, Daniel is again battling for his very survival in this complex and quite intricate tale. Every thread is a crucial element to the story so this is definitely not a book to skim on any level.
Like the previous two books in this series, K.J. Maitland has written another atmospheric novel with that pervasive and threatening vibe that disconcerts and creates a sense of unease. Using fiction intertwined with fact adds a very authentic edge to the story, with the mysterious Daniel Pursglove continuing to fascinate as he searches for foe in every crook and cranny. Rivers of Treason is a solid addition to this series, a must for history buffs and for all who are intrigued with the activities of the royal court of King James I.
[ Bio ]
Karen Maitland is an historical novelist, lecturer and teacher of Creative Writing, with over twenty books to her name. She grew up in Malta, which inspired her passion for history, and travelled and worked all over the world before settling in the United Kingdom. She has a doctorate in psycholinguistics, and now lives on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon
