Book Review: The Last Protector by Andrew Taylor

My first NetGalley read in a while, but one I just couldn't pass up! I read Andrew Taylor's Ashes of London a couple of years ago and loved it, so I was excited to see that its follow-up, The Last Protector, was available for review from NetGalley.

The second instalment in Taylor's series revisits James Marwood and Cat Lovett as London is virtually rebuilt in the wake of the Great Fire. Charles II sits on the throne but his popularity is waning and trouble is brewing. After Oliver Cromwell (one of the signatories of Charles I's death warrant) passed away, his son, Richard, became the next Lord Protector of England in his place. Lacking respect and authority, he left the post less than a year after succeeding his father and began a life in voluntary exile. But now he has returned to London in disguise, on a mission to recover a mysterious package from the palace gardens of Whitehall that was supposedly hidden there by his mother.

Cat, a regicide's daughter, is now married to elderly architect and surveyor, Simon Hakesby. When Richard Cromwell and his daughter approach Hakesby and ask him for his blueprints of Whitehall to aid in their hunt for the hidden treasure, Cat has her reservations. Her husband's failing health and loyalty to the late Lord Protector means he's willing to put their finances - and lives - at risk by agreeing to help him. With James Marwood being tasked with uncovering the truth behind Richard's motives, he is torn between his loyalty and friendship to Cat, and carrying out his duty.

I really enjoyed this, and have been enjoying historical fiction more on the whole recently, too! Both this title and The Ashes of London are incredibly well-researched and the attention to detail is brilliant, right down to the intricate layout of the streets surrounding Covent Garden and the Strand. There is a lot of literature and information in general about the capital at the time of the Great Fire of London, but little that documents the city and its inhabitants in the years that followed. I found it impossible to predict what was going to happen, and couldn't put the book down as I approached the end! Despite being set over 350 years ago, it wasn't a difficult or dense read. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction, or historical murder mysteries!

The Last Protector was released on 2nd April 2020 by Harper Collins. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.