Frustrated in his wish to be appointed Curator and embarrassed in front of his fellow natural philosophers, Harry Hunt decides to leave the Royal Society and his mentor Robert Hooke behind, and accept the invitation of Sir Jonas Moore to join the Board of Ordinance. His first task, to investigate a murder… When Lloyd first introduced Harry Hunt in The Bloodless Boy (a First Clue starred review and a New York Times Best New Historical Novel of 2021), the 17th-century physicist was Robert Hooke’s assistant and the investigator of the gruesome murders of London boys. A year has passed since the sensational attempt to murder King Charles II. London is still inflamed by fears of Catholic plots. Harry Hunt—estranged from his mentor Robert Hooke and no longer employed by the Royal Society—meets Sir Jonas Moore, the King’s Surveyor-General of the Board of Ordnance, in the remote and windswept marshes of Norfolk. There, workers draining the fenland have uncovered a skeleton. Behind him, the rower, Verdier, strained at his sculls, hefting them through the water, but Boilot knew anyone running along the quayside could easily keep up with them. The voice had sounded elderly, perhaps belonging to one of London’s watchmen employed to keep them from the almshouse.

Boilot reached out and stroked the watchman’s hair. With his other hand, he slid the knife’s point through the man’s coat, seeking soft flesh between ribs, angling the blade to pass between the bones. At that time England, following the Restoration of the monarchy, was under the rule of King Charles II and his wife, Queen Catherine of Braganza. It was a period of great upheaval, where mistrust was very much rife. Queen Catherine was a Catholic who married King Charles II in 1662 as part of an alliance between England and Portugal. By no means a favourite, due to her religious beliefs, she was seen by some as relatively inconsequential, but as Hunt discovers, a covert operation is being undertaken to poison the Queen, alongside many of her Catholic cohorts, at a not-to-distant gathering in London. But with his task becoming more complicated at every turn, Harry’s investigations lead him far from London, across the sea to the dangerous streets of Paris in search of a missing man and a famous diamond. But with more than one party taking an interest in his mission, and with impostors, assassins and a threat to the Queen’s life to contend with, will Harry be able to escape this adventure with his life?He saw no one. He jogged between two sheds, where the shadows were deepest, keeping his footsteps light. The smell of fat from meat brought in by a Greenland whaler—the boiling performed that day on the quayside—nearly overpowered him. The skiffs moved on, slowly, quietly, their trails scratching white on the water. The Tower’s silhouette expanded ominously as they reached almost to its foot.

I’ve never read a mystery set in this time period, & it was really fun! I enjoyed learning a bit about how the English justice system handled murder inquiries at the time. The setting was also decently written, & the scenes on the water were especially interesting. Yeah, I’m just not a fan of the villain confessing to everything for no apparent reason. He felt guilty, I guess? Although a year has passed since the sensational events of The Bloodless Boy, Londoners still live in fear of Catholic plots. For Harry Hunt, no longer in the employ of the Royal Society and estranged from his friend and mentor Robert Hooke, the chance to investigate a skeleton found in Norfolk’s windswept fenland offers the opportunity to leave the events of the previous year behind him – and to get himself into the good graces of Sir Jonas Moore, the King’s Surveyor-General of the Board of Ordnance. Four and a half stars. Highly recommended for fans of cerebral mysteries in the style of The Name of the Rose and Father Cadfael. It's not derivative, but there's something about the descriptive prose and very clever construction which reminds me of both of them.

A rope dragged a second skiff, a twin of the first, behind them. Looking dangerously low, it was weighted down by bundles. Sharp protrusions pushed into the canvas covering them, and coiled tubing escaped from under it. Despite the rower’s size and obvious strength, he struggled to make headway against the river’s flow. As the follow up to The Bloodless Boy I was really expecting to enjoy The Poison Machine and I absolutely wasn't disappointed. The perfect historical mystery that has a pace that holds your attention throughout. It is certainly a book that makes you think and I actually feel like I learn something when I read a Robert J Lloyd book. He clearly researches his facts and loves to then share with his readers through his creative writing. He brings his characters to life brilliantly. They are all believable, complex and fabulously thrilling. Lloyd once again infuses his world with the sights, sounds, and smells of the late 17th century…for what’s bound to be one of the best historical novels of the year.” —CrimeReads Next, past the Erebus, a Navy second-rate, newly fitted, its planking gleaming smartly. Only a single stern light far above them illuminated its anchorage; the navigator stayed well clear, keeping to the darkness beyond its reach. The smell of tarred surfaces, hemp cloth, oil, and flax wafted over the water. The ship awaited its full complement of men, and those soon to join it—yet aware of the fact or not—were mostly ashore, spreadeagled boozily along Wapping High Street. The author does a wonderful job bringing the simmering religious persecution of the era to life. The fictional narrative is skillfully woven around a framework of actual historical people and incidents and it's done so seamlessly that it's not always apparent where history shades into fiction. He does a great job with the characters and even the secondary characters are three dimensional and believable. I loved the respect and finesse with which he handles the historical (and fictional) characters.

London, 1679 — A year has passed since the sensational attempt to murder King Charles II, but London is still a viper’s nest of rumored Catholic conspiracies, and of plots against them in turn. When Harry Hunt — estranged from his mentor Robert Hooke — is summoned to the remote and windswept marshes of Norfolk, he is at first relieved to get away from the place. A shame, because the basic story of the body found, the doppelganger missing and the quest for answers is good. The diamond in the cannonball is also good. Even the escape from the Bastille was pretty clever since it feeds into Harry's natural philosopher strengths. The return of a clever cipher, the French commissionaire that is a frenemy were all good themes. But the story could have used new characters for villains, without recycling and/or tainting the old and it would have been much stronger for it.Recognising he was not to live, the watchman lifted his eyes to Boilot’s. He clasped his hands together. ‘. . . Maintain . . . defend . . . true reformed Protestant religion . . .’ he croaked. He could taste blood in his mouth. He tried to rise, but could not. Boilot helped him, turning him to sit against the wherry so he could look over the river, at the lights of Southwark. Stimulating, riveting and highly entertaining, The Poison Machine is another skilled and thrilling read from this fascinating of writers. Highly recommended! Outstanding ... Lloyd skillfully combines an endearingly flawed lead, jaw-dropping twists, and the fraught, conspiracy-laden politics of the Stuart Restoration. " —Publishers Weekly , Starred Review

Accompanied by his friend Colonel Fields, an old soldier for Parliament, and Hooke’s niece, Grace, Harry confirms Sir Jonas’s suspicion: the body is that of a dwarf, Captain Jeffrey Hudson, once famously given to Queen Henrietta Maria in a pie. During the Civil Wars, Hudson accompanied the Queen to France to sell the Royal Jewels to fund her husband’s army. He was sent home in disgrace after shooting a man in a duel. But in Norfolk, he finds that some Royal workers shoring up a riverbank have made a grim discovery — the skeleton of a dwarf. Harry is able to confirm that the skeleton is that of Captain Jeffrey Hudson, a prominent member of the court once famously given to the Queen in a pie. Except no one knew Hudson was dead, because another man had been impersonating him. The Poison Machine is a nail-biting and brilliantly imagined historical thriller that will delight readers of its critically acclaimed predecessor, The Bloodless Boy . I'm represented by Gaia Banks at Sheil Land Associates literary agency. Many thanks are due to Gaia, who has championed both books with an astonishing energy and attention to detail.This is my favourite period of history. I love murder mysteries set in Restoration London. This one can be read as a stand alone although I would definitely recommend reading The Bloodless Boy too.