A Plague of Serpents is the fourth Daniel Pursglove mystery in KJ Maitland’s excellent Jacobean series. Complex plots and counterplots abound as Daniel treads the dangerous tightrope between warring factions. The secret identity of Spero Pettingar may finally be revealed!

A highly recommended read, I was sad to finish it.

It’s been three since the plot to kill King James l failed, but it seems some of his enemies are still around and are set on putting things right this time and finally committing regicide.
Daniel Pursglove has been tasked by royal decree to find the group, infiltrate it and expose the whole plot or face the hangman’s noose .
With time running out can Daniel find the Serpents and foil the plot and save the king and himself at the same time?
This is a brilliant conclusion to this most excellent series.
It has been expertly written with huge aplomb.
Historical fiction like this is hard to find, it truly is quite outstanding and the main character Daniel Pursglove is a revelation.
One of the best series I’ve read to date.

Sadly this is the last in the series of the Daniel Pursglove novels by K J Maitland. The writing is atmospheric and by the end there are satisfying conclusions to things which have been hanging around in the story. I have to say I hope the author continues to write as their attention to historical detail and the webs of intrigue they create are stunning to read. Would recommend with no hesitation, this is historical thriller writing at its finest.

Three years after the Gunpowder Plot Daniel is once again tasked by Royal command to discover if anyone is plotting to kill King James -failure is not an option his own life is on the line .
He soon discovers there are more threats to the King - he is caught in the middle ............... there are plots within plots , can he navigate the different parties' agendas ?
This yet another brilliantly written book featuring Daniel Pursglove , which appears to be the last in the series . He manages to bring to life the plots and politics of the times , showing just how precarious life can be for the ordinary man drawn into machinations of those more powerful . The return of the 'plague' intrudes on everyday life , no one is immune - dread is all encompassing !

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is the final book in the Daniel Pursglove series, this time instead of the weather playing a major part in the story it is the plague.
In this book Daniel has once last chance to save his life by unearthing the last of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, while also having to infiltrate another group that is planning to kill the King.
K J Maitland does a great job of bringing 17th century London to life, but for me there were a few too many characters to keep track off, but overall this was an entertaining read.

A PLAGUE OF SERPENTS finishes off this series with plots within plots, and Daniel caught in the middle with everyone threatening to see him dead if he doesn't comply.

Both the plotters and the king are expecting Daniel to serve them, either to ensure the next plot to kill James succeeds or fails. I liked that the entire way through it was hard to know which side he'd ultimately end up on. He has no reason to like either side and both are threatening to kill him (and might well kill him even if he did comply.) It leaves you guessing just how true what he says is.

There are plots within plots within plots here, different people trying to orchestrate the different sides or trying to out manoeuvre someone else. Not only is Daniel trying to work out the identity of the elusive Spero but he's also dodging people who don't know enough - or know too much. It's a really nice snare to unravel as a reader, and the answers do come by the end (which was nice, though one was less satisfying than I'd have liked, if realistic.)

This book also continues the brutality of the world, with a very chilling scene toward the end with Daniel and Cecil. I liked that it didn't shy away from showing this, even if it is a more mild version of the possibilities.

The book's climax consists of tying up Daniel vs Fairfax and Daniel vs Waldegrave, one of which ends as you'd expect while the other is much more emotionally charged and unexpected. It was a nice way to finish it off, full of the same uncertainty their relationship has always had. The book then ends with the world of spies and the precarious nature of it all, which felt like a nice way to underscore the times.

This is the final book in a quartet set in the Jacobean period, in the years following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. The story revolves again around Daniel Pursglove, who has one last chance to save his own life by infiltrating the plotters and unearthing the missing conspirator, Spero Pettingar, before another attempt is made on the life of King James. The story is a little complicated and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but I really enjoyed this.

The historical setting is one of the most convincing I've read. London is brought to life and there is a real sense of the noise, the smell, the crowds of people, and above all the fear that lurks everywhere. Not only is there political unrest but the plague is starting to reappear and everyone lives in dread. The failed attempt on the King's life means that there are spies everywhere and nobody can be trusted. It's increasingly difficult to escape the city and the repercussions for being caught are horrifically violent. The atmosphere builds throughout and the sense of time and place is excellent. I always enjoy when an author manages to build the historical period almost as a character in itself but what made this really special to me was that it was also very natural and believable and never got in the way of the story with excessive descriptions. Instead the characters just felt like they really belonged in the period and that's not always the case with historical fiction.

I also very much enjoyed the details of the real life people who had been used as characters in this book. It's always fascinating to me that what can appear to be the most over the top or extreme stories are often the ones based in fact and make you want to know more.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

This is the final book in the Jacobean series set in the years immediately after the Gunpowder Plot featuring Daniel Pursglove and his search for the missing conspirator Spero Pettingar. I loved the first two books in the series but was a bit disappointed by the last book, Rivers of Treason, so I hoped that this final episode would finish the series off in style.
I did enjoy A Plague of Serpents but it didn’t blow me away as much as I had hoped. The plotting was very complicated and I actually found the ending a bit unsatisfactory.
The weather has played a major role in all the previous books but in this final book, it is the recurrence of the plague that is impacting on people’s lives. The story opens with a plague heavy prologue but it didn’t actually play as large a part in the book as I expected. Unlike all of the other books, this one is definitely centred on London with Daniel being charged with infiltrating a group of conspirators who are plotting to kill James VI. K J Maitland is second to none at historical detail and descriptive writing and she really brings the backstreets and rooms of 17th century London to life.
The story was quite heavy going to begin with. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and it was quite difficult at times to understand what was going on. There was a lot of plotting and intrigue with two separate plots against the king as well as Daniel trying to escape from the repercussions of his past actions. It did improve as it went on and built up to an exciting climax which I definitely didn’t expect.
I would recommend this series to lovers of Historical Fiction involving plotting and political intrigues. However, I think that it might be difficult to enjoy this one without having read the previous books.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, Headline for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"A Plague of Serpents" is the final book in the Daniel Purseglove series by KJ Maitland. I've gone back and looked at my other reviews, and I think I've largely enjoyed the series. I love the atmosphere these books create although to be honest, I'm not sure I fully understand what is going on. It's quite difficult to follow who is on who's side as some are double/triple agents. I just got caught up in the atmosphere of this series. Think it was wise to stop at 4 books though!

I have enjoyed immensely the previous books in this series, however I did struggle with this one at times, but I am unable to determine why. That aside I did persevere and finished the book and did enjoy it however it did seem overly long this time round. The story continues the exploits of Daniel and friends/foes, and this I did enjoy, however I found some of the newer characters lacking in substance.
All in all a good read.