Secret World

Packed with plot, this is perhaps a little busy as Kit Marlowe goes home to Canterbury, gets involved with a murder and then finds himself drawn into the dark world of Robert Poley and the other conspirators around Walsingham, as well as solving secrets, hearing about treasure trove, and tracing the ends of a story which began at the siege of Malta.

I enjoyed the domestic scenes as Kit goes home to visit his family after four years away, and the use Trow makes of what little we know about the shadier side of Marlowe's life.

My reservations, though, are that there's little sense of sixteenth-century atmosphere as everyone talks and thinks pretty much the way we do - and Trow's Marlowe is far nicer, kinder, less risky and dangerous than the man must have been in reality.

A fun read.

This is the seventh book of MJ Trow that features Kit Marlowe. The story plays off in in 1589 and you'd expect it to be a bit slow. But it starts with a bang when Kit visits family and finds an old family friend dead in her bed. Marlowe tries to solve the mystery and you get more respect for police that must do investigating without CSI help!!! Enthralling read.

Since Elizabethan era is one of my favorite historical periods, I couldn't pass this one up. I'm glad I didn't because I was not disappointed. It was a very enjoyable read. This book is the first that I have read in this series. I will be reading more.

All of the politics and intrigue during that time has always fascinated me. Especially when it comes to Walsingham, the queen's spymaster. I like the fact that Marlowe is not just a playwright but an operative as well. I know in real life it has been suspected that Kit was working for Sir Francis. I think it's fantastic that M.J. Trow has created such a great series based on that speculation.

Christopher Marlowe is very likable in this story. I enjoyed his interactions with his mother and sisters. I also enjoyed Walsingham's character along with Faunts. Well written with plenty of action including some interesting twists throughout. It held my attention from beginning to end.

As I mentioned above, I will be reading more from this series. This book was only 18 chapters, but it was a great short read.

Trow is a reliable author, a military historian whose books seamlessly blend 16 th century English history and mystery. This novel, an entry in his Christopher( kit) Marlowe series, is no exception. Reccomended for those fascinated by this historical period.

A Gripping Tale of Elizabethan Derring-Do, 11 Sept. 2015 This review is from: Secret World: A Tudor mystery featuring Christopher Marlowe (A Kit Marlowe Mystery) (Kindle Edition)
This is the latest in Trow’s ‘Kit’ Marlowe series and for his followers and also for new readers, it is a most satisfying and entertaining read.

Kit is the Elizabethan poet, celebrated playwright and atheist Christopher Marlowe, and sometime ‘projectionist’ for Francis Walsingham, the Queen’s Spy. He is charming, urbane, witty and generally adored especially by the actors of the Rose Theatre, who in this novel are struggling with Shaxsper’s ‘Henry VI’.

Marlowe is visiting his parents in Canterbury when he becomes involved in the disturbing murder of a ‘mad’ woman, Mistress Jane Benchkyne. At first it seems senseless, but Kit soon discovers that the victim was the owner of a jewel representing a map of the world, and that there are evil forces abroad trying to gain ownership of this jewel.

So begins a tale of derring-do which takes Kit from Canterbury to Kent, and of course the stinking and corrupt city which is London. It seems that there are more than one of these jewels and that together they are believed to lead to a vast fortune concealed by Sir Francis Drake. Walsingham is determined to gain possession of the complete set and dispatches his henchman, Nicholas Faunt together with Marlowe to obtain them, by fair means or foul.

Trow is a master in portraying the glory and the squalor of Elizabethan England, and the realism simply leaps off the page; you can almost smell the stink and feel the squish of boots treading through mud, offal and sewage on its teeming streets. What Trow also achieves, and what makes his stories accessible to the modern reader, is a level of humour and authenticity in his characterisations, with Marlowe quoting Shakespeare who perhaps lifted his lines from Marlowe? There is also, the odd deliberate lapse into modern idiom, for example, the lawyer at the Rose who states “I’ll get my people to look into it,” a phrase very resonant of twenty-first century society.

Overall this is a gripping tale, chock full of suspense and surprises, and marks Trow as a master of the Elizabethan mystery genre. If you don’t normally read historical fiction, then this will convert you. - Pashtpaws

Rating: Four Stars.

M. J. Trow continues Christopher Marlowe's escapades in search of answers to a murderous puzzle in Elizabethan England in Secret World; silver globes hold the key to a treasure of Francis Drake in Secret World.