Christopher Redmayne Mysteries Series by Edward Marston
Christopher Redmayne Mysteries #1
Redmayne 01 - The King's Evil
Edward Marston
In a London ravaged by the Great Fire, Christopher Redmayne envisages the rebuilding of the city. He is thrown together with Jonathan Bale, a decidedly Puritan constable, when one of his clients is killed, leading the pair on a journey through the dark underbelly of London and the hedonistic Court. Meeting in the ashes, Christopher Redmayne, an architect with Cavalier instincts, and Jonathan Bale are hardly kindred spirits. Redmayne dedicates himself to rebuilding the city that Bale believes was destroyed by its own inner corruption. The two men are thrown together when they catch thieves who are stealing from the house that Redmayne has designed for Sir Ambrose Northcott. The foul murder of Sir Ambrose joins them again, albeit reluctantly, in a complex and perilous investigation that takes them through the brothels and gaming houses of London, across to Paris, and back again to the hedonistic Court.Review'A thoroughly entertaining romp - just the book for an evening's read by a snug fire when it's pouring down outside' --Historical Novels Review About the AuthorEDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children's books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association.
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Christopher Redmayne Mysteries #2
Redmayne 02 - The Amorous Nightingale
Edward Marston
Noted beauty and singer Harriet Gow has earned a position envied by every available women of the Restoration period: she is the King's favorite mistress. After seeing her perform, Christopher Redmayne is also captivated and the impression Harriet made is still lingering in his mind when he is summoned urgently by Charles II. Harriet has been kidnapped, and Redmayne, with the help of his friend Jonathan Bale - a Puritan constable - is engaged to resolve this delicate affair. The facade of elegance and gentility soon begins to crumble in the face of their investigations. Harriet is, indeed, an amorous nightingale; the fabric of her life entangled in jealousy, avarice and lust. Just as Redmayne and Bale start to question whether she is really the victim or the guilty party a brutal murder provides the answer...Review'Probably the best of our British writers of historical crime stories' --Birmingham Post About the AuthorEDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children's books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association.
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Christopher Redmayne Mysteries #3
Redmayne 03 - The Repentant Rake
Edward Marston
Divided by politics but united in a desire to see justice done, Christopher Redmayne and Jonathan Bale join together once more. But how can they hope to find those who exploit the scandal of others, when the victims themselves will do anything to maintain their anonymity? And what of Sir Julius' son? Most feel he must have been the victim of his own, debauched appetites, but a few talk of his repentance. So where is the repentant rake? And, with only lies, rumors and gossip to work with, even Redmayne and Bale despair of finding him.ReviewAll the swashbuckling thrills and romantic swagger of blood-and-thunder tragedies. --New York Times Review About the AuthorEDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children's books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association.
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Christopher Redmayne Mysteries #4
Redmayne 04 - The Frost Fair
Edward Marston
Christmas, 1669. In the grip of the coldest winter for years, the River Thames is frozen from bank to bank and London celebrates with a traditional frost fair held on its broad back. Revellers come from far and wide to enjoy the spectacle. Among the throng is ambitious young architect Christopher Redmayne. By chance he meets a good friend, Constable Jonathan Bale, attending with his family. As the adults talk, Bale’s sons skate around them. But their competitive nature spells trouble onto thin ice and is in danger of crashing into the freezing water below. Christopher and Jonathan save the boy but make a chilling discovery – the frozen corpse of a naked man embedded in the ice. Bale vows to investigate but Christopher sees no reason to involve himself further until his own brother Henry is accused of the murder and thrown in jail. Now Henry faces execution if Christopher cannot prove his innocence. The architect must risk all he holds dear, both professionally and personally, to uncover the truth.Amazon.com ReviewRather than exacerbating that winter's gloom, a sudden freezing-over of London's Thames River in 1669 becomes a cause of public delight in Edward Marston's The Frost Fair. "In place of a river, we have the widest street in Europe," exclaims architect Christopher Redmayne, as he observes the myriad merchants and entertainers who've mounted an eccentric celebration on the ice. But this revelry soon cools, after Redmayne and his sober-sided associate, Constable Jonathan Bale, discover a corpse trapped in the glacial crust. The deceased is Jeronimo Maldini, an Italian fencing master who was stabbed with a dagger belonging to none other than Redmayne's foppish, pleasure-seeking elder brother, Henry. Though once friendly, those two gents evolved into bitter foes, and Henry had rashly threatened to slay the duelist. Most Londoners, including Bale, are convinced of Henry's guilt, and the accused was too inebriated on the night of the murder to be sure of his own innocence. Christopher, however, is sure, and so sets off to find the real killer--an errand that will find him nearly drowned in the Thames and crossing swords with a "hero" of dubious acclaim. Meanwhile, the designer detective must fend off the amorous advances of a new client and, not insignificantly, prevent Henry's suicide in squalid Newgate Prison.Although The Frost Fair is actually the fourth of British author Marston's Redmayne/Bale novels, it's the first to see U.S. publication. Like its predecessors, this circuitously plotted work adroitly portrays the alternately respectable and ribald atmosphere of post-Great Fire London. Christopher Redmayne, who labors to restore his city in the shadow of real-life architect Christopher Wren, has matured into a credible sleuth, bedeviled by his sybaritic sibling but forging a relationship of grudging respect with the puritanical Bale. If the tone of this series isn't quite so jauntily whimsical as that of Marston's better-known Nicholas Bracewell books (The Bawdy Basket, etc.), The Frost Fair nonetheless proves itself an historical mystery with thrills on top of chills. --J. Kingston PierceFrom BooklistAn unexpected blizzard paralyzes London and provides a chilling venue for murder in this Restoration-era mystery. After the storm subsides, the city remains at a standstill. Even the Thames is frozen, presenting Londoners with the unique opportunity of hosting a Frost Fair on the river. When the body of a well-known Italian fencing master is discovered beneath the ice, architect Christopher Redmayne and constable Jonathan Bale once again join forces to solve the crime. This time the investigation takes on a more personal tenor because Christopher's brother, Henry, is the primary suspect. Desperately trying to prove his brother's innocence and to protect Susan Cheever, his inquisitive love interest, from harm, the wily young architect-cum-detective has his capable hands full. Though he churns out volumes in the Nicholas Bracewell series, the Domesday Books, and the Redmayne Mysteries at an unbelievable pace, Marston continues to supply a superior brand of historical mystery. Margaret FlanaganCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Christopher Redmayne Mysteries #5
Redmayne 05 - The Parliament House
Edward Marston
London, 1670. The completion of his new project could not run more smoothly for Christopher Redmayne. Commissioned to design a new house for the merchant Francis Polegate, Redmayne is pleased that everything has gone without a hitch. To celebrate the success of the venture, Polegate throws a party and invites him as an honored guest. Also invited are Susan Cheever, Redmane's sweetheart, her father, Sir Julius Cheever MP, and Bernard Everett, Polegate s brother-in-law. But the party comes to an abrupt end when one of the guests is murdered upon leaving the house . . .ReviewMarston’s revenge plot has all the swashbuckling thrills and romantic swagger of blood and thunder tragedies. --New York Times Book Review About the AuthorEdward Marston was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children's books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association.
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Christopher Redmayne Mysteries #6
Redmayne 06 - The Painted Lady
Edward Marston
A beautiful woman. An unrequited love. An excuse for murder.Araminta Jewell is one of the beauties of her day. Even her marriage to the staid and ugly Sir Martin Culthorpe has not discouraged her hordes of admirers. It is during her first sitting for a portrait painted by the fashionable French artist Jean-Paul Villemot that the architect Christopher Redmayne meets the lovely Lady Culthorpe, although he has heard much about her through his brother Henry, one of her most ardent pursuers. Before the portrait can be finished and revealed, however, Sir Martin is murdered. Joining fores with his good friend, the puritan constable Jonathan Bale, Christopher embarks on a quest to discover the killer's identity.In his latest Restoration mystery, Edward Marston, the master of historical detail, reveals the dark and often debauched depths of seventeenth-century London.Review"The past brought to life with brilliant colors, combined with a perfect whodunit." About the AuthorEDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre, and is a former chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association.
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