Unfortunately I didn't finish this novel, it was down to me and not the book as the premise reads very well, I struggled to get to know the characters and got confused who was who, but again that was down to me, I think the era it was set just didn't pull me in, but I'm sure it will be a great read for fans of historical fiction

A twisting tale of power, poison and intrigue. Historical fiction with the pull of a psychological thriller. Based on a real Jacobean murder. Fascinating.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. This book had me wanting more. It was very well written, great characters and storyline. I couldn’t put it down. Definately worth 5stars.

I went into reading this book, knowing full well it was going to be excellent, I have read every single Fremantle book and loved them all, this was no exception.
Her previous books were set in the Tudor period which was a win win for me, as I love to read about this era, I really wanted her to write more in this vein, but when i learn't that this was a murder / mystery/ Jacobean re jigging of a poisoning in the court of James 1st I just new i had to have it.
When i recieved it, I started it almost straight away, pushing back the the other things I was reading and just ate my way through, eating one chapter at a time until I had finished and was totally sated.
This piqued my interest into this actual occurance and have now, thank you Elizabeth Fremantle have learn't a new bit of history.
A great read and totally recommend this to anyone who loves to read an excellent historical fiction.
A more detailed review will appear on my blog nearer the publication date.
Once again thank you Net galley and the Publisher to let me have my fill of one of my favoured authors.
So, Elizabeth Fremantle, I hope you are writing another, because I need more!

This well-written (and clearly well-researched) Jacobean fiction is about a real-life scandal I was surprised I had never heard about, given its juicy content. It defies genre in that it is a combination of historical fiction, literary fiction, romance and mystery.
There is a wonderful twist in the book that reminded me a lot of Sarah Waters' novel Fingersmith and from the moment of the twist in Fremantle's novel, I couldn't put it down.
I loved the multi-person perspectives here - flipping between Him and Her and also the way the narrative develops.
There is also a decent amount of bodice-ripping throughout the novel (and because it's James I/VI, a good dose of codpiece-ripping too!) so if you're a fan of Philippa Gregory's early work, you'll like this.
I would say this is not necessarily for fans of Hilary Mantel's work as it lacks the difficulty and complexity of that work, but this has a greater pace ... and I love a page-turner. This is exactly that.
The cover of this book is beautiful and evocative and the content matched it.

This novel was seriously transfixing. I haven't read much about the Stuart's beyond Outlander which is obviously at a later period and based in Scotland. I've mostly read about the Tudors so it was really interesting first and foremost to delve into a part of history I don't know much about.

Secondly, the characters were amazing. I read a lot of fantasy books which have recently seen a rise in the power of the anti heroine and for me, Frances Howard outshone them all. She was so dark, devious and fierce, and particularly for that era very bold and clever.

It's very difficult to work out in this book who is telling the truth and who a lie. Robert has the fault of looking at everything through rose tinted glasses because of his obsession with Frances, and more than one anomaly appears as the two separate narrative comb over their own version of events. But who is innocent and who is guilty? Who is telling lies and who is telling the truth? For a good 3/4 of the book it's simply impossible to know!

Completely gripping I really found it a struggle to put this one down. I loved The Girl in the Glass Tower and with The Poison Bed Elizabeth Fremantle has fast become one of my favourite authors of historical fiction.