I've been a fan of Bruno for a number of years now and as he gets older all of his struggles become ever more poignant as you know what ultimately happens to him.

For those of you who are unaware of this Bruno is based on a real life character who is ultimately burned to death by the inquisition. It's why this novel based around the Babbington plot is particularly relevant to what ultimately will befall Bruno.

SJ Parris is so clever in they way she weaves people in and out of the plot. The misdirection and characterisation.

Such a clever book and one that brings to life the fervid and fetid world of religious extremism and what people will do in the name of god.

Impeccably researched, and carrying off the rare feat of bringing the period to life without an over emphasis on detail to show the amount of research the author has done and clogging up the narrative.

I’ve mentioned SJ Parris’ Bruno series before and I’m a big fan, Execution is the 6th in the series.

Bruno is back in London, the Catholics aided by the French and Spanish are plotting to restore the prisoner Mary to the throne in place of Elizabeth. Bruno has to insert himself into a ring of aristocratic plotters by pretending to be a Jesuit priest on a secret mission. Alongside the main plot, a young woman (an agent for Walsingham) has been murdered, has she been discovered as a spy or is there something else going on? Add in a cast of characters living in the slums and brothels of Southwark and you have very readable historical mystery.

But, and this is a big but, this series doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, the characters don’t seem to develop, every book has a catholic conspiracy of some sort and it is beginning to feel a bit samey. If you haven’t read any of the series yet, start at the beginning because they are really good, if you have read 1 to 5, you won’t miss much if you skip this one. I’m still looking forward to the next one!

What a wonderful story this is, so full of detail that you can almost smell the smells and "see" the lives of the people trying to stay alive in the middle of the 16th Century. As to the executions, enough said.

Overall, a gripping story that warrants full concentration, what with all the twists and turns, or you might miss something pivotal to the tapestry of the tale. A thinking person's book if ever there was one as this is historical fiction at its best.

The latest in the Giordano Bruno series, although the story can easily be read as a standalone piece.

It is 1586 and plotting continues against Elizabeth. Bruno seines his opportunity to place himself again at the service of Walsingham and infiltrate a group intent on the despatch of the queen and the promotion of Mary Queen of Scots to the throne.

Bruno is as resourceful as ever and has a helpful assistant in young Ben, a street urchin. There is danger and deceit and Bruno suffers his usual regular beatings. The pace is steady and the plotting (by the author not by the conspirators) is well constructed and satisfying. There is less focus on Bruno's beliefs than in previous novels and the search for heretical manuscripts appears all but forgotten.

Massively entertaining and possibly the best yet in the series.

Giordano Bruno is back in England with news - there is a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth and he needs to get to Walsingham right away. It seems that Walsingham might know more of this plot than Bruno thinks however, and in order to get himself back into the Queen's good graces, Bruno agrees to pose as a Catholic agent. This is no ordinary agent though - it's a priest and Bruno has been excommunicated by the church. Can he get through the next few days with his own life intact, let alone that of the Queen herself.

This is the first of the Bruno series I have read although it is the sixth in the series altogether. There are some series that you really can't pick up in the middle but this is not one of them and I felt it worked really well without the background knowledge that some readers may have (although I do get a bit annoyed when I'm a regular reader of a series and old stories are rehashed for new readers for the vast majority of the book, I didn't feel that was the case here).

Bruno is an interesting character who gets himself into scrapes because he really just wants to sit and write theological works in a place where he can speak his mind ie England. This doesn't endear him to most of the players on either side but it does make him useful and therefore of interest to the reader.

In this case, he clearly has a relationship with the main players that I don't really know about but he also meets new people in his travels and his interactions with them are very well written. I wanted him to succeed and, although it was of course unlikely that he would be killed (no more Bruno books!), I didn't get the feeling that he wasn't in danger nor that any of the characters in the book were indispensable.

If you like the CJ Sansom Shardlake novels and others of that ilk, I am sure you'll really like this one. I'm not inclined to go back to the beginning of the series (too many others to read instead) but I might well pick up the next one as I know I'll enjoy it.

A solid 4 stars.

Impeccably researched historical fiction ( with plenty of fact thrown in for good measure ). I ate through this in one sitting, not realising it was part of a series and now I'm hooked. Will be getting my wallet out to grab the other books asap.

I loved it!

SJ Pariss is such an acclaimed and successful author I was very delighted to be given early access. I loved it it completely absorbed me for a delicious weekend during rubbish Irish weather!!

Thank you for enhancing my education and giving me a massive early gift

I adore this series and the latest instalment does not disappoint.
So immersive and true to the time period it is set. I would recommend this series to anyone and am so please the latest book is as good if not even better than the previous ones.

I requested this book from Netgalley, as I was intrigued by the blurb, but I didn't realise until I began it that it is a later volume in a series. I generally avoid series, as I find they can get formulaic, and there are too many other stories and people to discover in literature, but also, I didn't want to enter a series on book 6. I will probablly keep this and perhaps try the first one, but until then, this goes on the backburner with apologies for my error in requesting.

The story opens in July 1586. Elizabeth Tudor is the queen of England, a Protestant England, and Mary Stuart is under house arrest at Chartley Manor, Staffordshire. Mary wants the throne of England which she and many others believe is her right and this will open the way to restoring the 'true faith', Catholicism.
There is another plot afoot to kill Elizabeth and enthrone Mary. There have been many such plots all have failed due to the tireless work of Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's principal secretary and 'spymaster' and his network of informers and code breakers.
This is a book where, if we know our history, the outcome is no mystery. Nevertheless there is a vey good medieval detective story contained within the overall assassination plot.
In reading this book I was completely immersed in the everyday life of 16th century squalid London. The sights, the sounds and especially the smells of the people and places and the vast amount of geographical detail is a tribute to the research done by the author.
I read this as a Kindle edition which helped enormously with understanding the many archaic words used.
This is a thoroughly good read but for those of a squeamish nature you might want to close your eyes when you read of the traitors' execution. (Get it?)

I was sent a copy of Execution by S.J. Parris to read and review by NetGalley.
Another cracking good read from S.J. Parris with Giordano Bruno at the helm. Full of intrigue and twists and turns the story concerns a plot by conspirators to murder Queen Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne. We meet some familiar characters in the story and a whole host of others, with much dealing and double-dealing going on, while the author evocatively portrays the London of the time. I have to admit there was a moment when I guessed without meaning to the truth regarding one of the intrigues, but that didn’t mar my enjoyment of the book as a whole. There is plenty of tension – and gore – and everything picks up a pace towards the end, just as a good thriller should! I was toying between giving this novel 4 or 5 stars but in the end it’s a story that keeps you reading and as there is no option of 4 ½ stars 5 it is!

SJ Parris's latest addition to the Italian heretic, ex-priest, and philospher, Giordano Bruno series set in an Elizabethan England revolves around the Catholic Thomas Babbington's plot to depose the Protestant Elizabeth I, and replace her with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, to be freed from the Staffordshire Chartley Manor. Those of you familiar with this period of history will know how this all ends, but Parris's weaves a suspenseful and thrilling blend of fact and fiction, a story of murder, treachery, spies, and an exploration of the group of plotters themselves, their dreams, fears and loves, and of their passion, faith, doubts and friendship. Bruno has returned to England with his hopes of being permitted to be free to write his books on philosophy that he cannot in Europe.

To this end, he brings evidence to the spymaster, Francis Walsingham, of a plot to depose Elizabeth, but to his chagrin, Walsingham is already aware of it. His daughter Frances Sidney's close friend and companion, Clara Poole, had infiltrated the plotters on his orders, and recently been discovered disfigured and brutally murdered in a church graveyard. Walsingham wants Bruno to impersonate a newly arrived Spanish priest, Father Xavier Prado, to spy on the Catholic traitors and find out who killed Clara. Thomas Babbington is a young wealthy Catholic spurred on by adventure and glory, but the real leader of the group is the priest, John Ballard, posing as Captain Fortescue. Walsingham has other informers amongst the group, including Clara's brother, Robin Poole, a man with a talent for dissembling. In a London hostile to foreigners, there is more murder and a young child, Joe, goes missing. Will Bruno survive the dangers that surround him?

Parris succeeds in making her characterisations of the plotters all too human in their strengths and frailties, they have good qualities and do good, they are emotional, justifiably paranoid and all bought together with their different motivations, living in a Europe and England where your religion can get you killed and define the life that is open to you. Bruno himself wants rulers to make religious faith a matter of personal freedom, indeed, he wants to be free to write about and push this perspective, but there is a part of him that is aware that this is all to likely to be a pipe dream, and Elizabeth may not tolerate his point of view. This entertaining historical read provides a fascinating insight into this period and a plot that would go on to lead to the execution of a Queen. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

I’ve enjoyed all of the Bruno series so far, so I had perhaps ridiculously high expectations for this book. It absolutely did not disappoint. I wondered whether the Babington plot was such well worn territory that there was nothing new to say but the focus was very quickly on who was on what side and this was so skillfully done that it kept me guessing right to the end. It was so compelling that I read the second half of the book in a day. In fact I was delighted my train was delayed as it gave me the opportunity to finish it uninterrupted! I wholeheartedly recommend this book and will eagerly await more myself.

Bruno is back in London with a message for Walsingham, once again in the hope of employment as a spy. He becomes involved with a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the throne. Alongside this, he is trying to discover who killed his friend’s maid which is of course linked. This book is great fun - he is posing as a priest and involved in all sorts of intrigues. This was another good episode in this series.

This is the sixth book in the Giordano Bruno series although having not read the previous books I found this to be an excellent stand alone. I was aware there was history between certain characters but felt Parris had given enough information through the characters thoughts that I didn't feel I was missing anything.

It's fast paced and keeps you guessing all the way to the end. Some of the characters certainly aren't who we think they are!

I loved the character development and found myself a big fan of Bruno and Thomas! The writing style is very easy to read and keeps you interested, I read this in a day I was do caught up in wanting to know what happened!

I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be buying the previous books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review.

Having read the previous Giordano Bruno books by SJ Parris I was keen to read her latest in this historical fiction series and it did not disappoint. This is a stand alone tale as the author provides enough contextual information about Bruno and the other key characters to answer readers' questions. However it is also a great continuation of the series. This time Bruno, an excommunicated Dominican monk, has returned to England from France hoping to find peace and sponsorship to write his philosophical texts. In order to achieve this he finds himself involved in spying on a group who are plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and replace her on the throne with Queen Mary, currently imprisoned by Elizabeth. The two queens are only alluded to in the story and although they are of relevance to the plot they do not feature as characters but rather as symbols of belief systems. Few of the characters in the book are straightforward - double dealing, disguise, false names and secrets abound. The action is fast-paced and the main character is helped along the way by strong and well portrayed women and children. Although set nearly five hundred years ago many of the themes in the book are contemporary issues such as distrust of foreigners, religious prejudice and bigotry, sexism and homophobia. Parris weaves commentary on these issues throughout the text without in any way preaching. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction and also to those who enjoy a thrilling read. I look forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Galley in return for an honest review .

Another fabulous and gripping read from S.J. Parris. This is book 6 featuring Giordano Bruno and is even more enthralling than the other 5, brilliantly written and researched....I could smell those streets of London! A totally thrilling and unputdownable read....more please!!

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Such a pleasure to read the latest offering in this well researched and wonderful series! Giordano Bruno, is back in London and working for Sir Francis Walsingham, in the guise of a Roman Catholic priest, trying to infiltrate the Babington plotters and get information about the conspiracy to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and put Queen Mary Stuart on the English throne.
Bruno cannot stay out of trouble! He constantly falls into plots, gets beaten up on a regular basis, is always first on the scene when a dead body is found, is either climbing over walls, breaking down doors and creates hostility and suspicion from the native English folk, on account of being a swarthy foreigner. Sadly for Bruno, he is usually disappointed in love. He meets an old flame, but due to his investigations, has to ignore her presence, only to hear later, that she is not interested in a relationship with him!
The research in this series of books is brilliant. I have been reading books about Mary Stuart for forty years, and because I knew this story so well, I could concentrate upon the mishaps of Bruno and his friends. Anthony Babington and John Ballard were actual characters, likewise Walsingham, and the smell and lifestyle in Tudor London was well portrayed.
My only complaint was that the conclusion seemed rushed. It was almost like the author couldn't decide whether to stretch this story into a few more pages, or a new book, but the jump from the identity of the murderer to the traitors deaths weren't fully explained, nor, how the conspiracy was discovered and what the consequences were for both Elizabeth and Mary. There were some very strong and likeable characters in this story, and I did so enjoy this book! The only trouble is, I now have to wait such a long time for the next one to be completed!! Thank you for my advance copy, I am so very grateful. I will post a review to Goodreads this evening.

I loved this book, and couldn't put it down. I haven't read any other Giordano Bruno books, but will definitely seek them out now. The story is gripping and compelling, and the characters well-drawn. The author conjures up a real sense of 16th century England, and even though the characters sound modern, this doesn't seem like an anachronism. Even though everyone knows the outcome of the Babington plot there is still a real tension to the story. I would thoroughly recommend this book.

I loved this. So much to enjoy. The period and the characters are beautifully drawn and the story romps along with intrigue, plotting and double dealing. I will be reading others by this author. Highly recommended.