Charlie Tuesday makes the acquaintance of Lily Boswell, a gypsy and spy for Amesbury, the day after a small bakery in Pudding Lane has caught fire. Thrown together by necessity and a common cause – to discover more about the Brotherhood of the Sealed Knot – they have to outrun the flames to find the sea chest that holds a secret which could bring down England.

This is the second volume in the Thief Taker series and picks up a few months after the events in The Thief Taker. As the series has at its centre an overarching mystery – that of Charlie Tuesday's parentage and childhood, along with several recurring characters – I definitely would recommend that one reads the series in sequence, as several events will make little sense if one begins the story with the second instalment.

The author incorporates a number of historical figures into the narrative, and very cleverly bases the dangerous secret on a real controversy, and the cause of the Monmouth Rebellion, namely that the Duke of Monmouth was the legitimate heir to the throne. Unfortunately the odd historical inaccuracy (for example that Barbara Castlemaine had given birth to four of the king's children, when it was in fact five by the time the novel is set) and several plot inconsistencies, along with incredible coincidences and the suspension of disbelief for too many times, slightly marred my enjoyment of the novel. I thought that the descriptions of the inferno that engulfed London were truly terrifying and brought across some of the conditions that citizens would have faced, even if I got the impression that the author had slightly exaggerated here and there for dramatic purposes.

I thought Lily an unusual choice and therefore a good addition to the cast, though it was unfortunate that she was being treated merely as a foil for Charlie for most of the time.

Though I prefer the first volume in the series, the fact that the mystery surrounding Charlie still hasn't been solved in full, and because Lily turns up again in the third instalment, with the possibility of further revelations being made about her, means that I'll definitely be on board again for Dark Stars. ( )

Charlie Tuesday Charlie Tuesday is at it again in Fire Catcher, C.S. Quinn's latest book & follow-up to her first book, The Thief Taker.  Charlie is London's best thief taker and he knows a little bit about everything and everybody. He was an orphan, left at the Foundling hospital when he was just a baby so he's learned to survive on London's streets and back allies and he does this all in bare feet! Yep that's right, he runs all around town hunting down criminals, recovering stolen property and stopping plots against the King and the city -with no shoes on! :  ) He actually sounds rather fun and charming, like one of those hot dates your parents wouldn't approve of because he's penniless and hasn't finished school yet that is until I think of him running around the city barefoot and then it totally turns me off! : ) Although, the story is set in the 1600's so maybe it was more acceptable then. I would think though that with the widespread plague and the fire burning through the city you would want to have your whole body covered from head-to-toe but what do I know?! LoL Alright enough about Charlie Tuesday, I still love him regardless. He's unique and there is never a dull moment when he's around.
 
The Fire Catcher picks up where The Thief Taker left off with Charlie trying to find out where he came from & what the key goes to that he has worn around his neck since he was a child. Quinn in both of her books has done a fabulous and very thorough job with the historical detail. I've learned so many little things that I didn't know before about London, the Great Plague, the Great Fire, alchemy and the list goes on. I thought the book was a little long though but she is a really good story teller so you stay pretty engrossed in the plot. It was very enlightening and a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us and Charlie Tuesday next.
 
**I received this ARC from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
 
 
    
 
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Charlie Tuesday Charlie Tuesday is at it again in Fire Catcher, C.S. Quinn's latest book & follow-up to her first book, The Thief Taker.  Charlie is London's best thief taker and he knows a little bit about everything and everybody. He was an orphan, left at the Foundling hospital when he was just a baby so he's learned to survive on London's streets and back allies and he does this all in bare feet! Yep that's right, he runs all around town hunting down criminals, recovering stolen property and stopping plots against the King and the city -with no shoes on! :  ) He actually sounds rather fun and charming, like one of those hot dates your parents wouldn't approve of because he's penniless and hasn't finished school yet that is until I think of him running around the city barefoot and then it totally turns me off! : ) Although, the story is set in the 1600's so maybe it was more acceptable then. I would think though that with the widespread plague and the fire burning through the city you would want to have your whole body covered from head-to-toe but what do I know?! LoL Alright enough about Charlie Tuesday, I still love him regardless. He's unique and there is never a dull moment when he's around.
 
The Fire Catcher picks up where The Thief Taker left off with Charlie trying to find out where he came from & what the key goes to that he has worn around his neck since he was a child. Quinn in both of her books has done a fabulous and very thorough job with the historical detail. I've learned so many little things that I didn't know before about London, the Great Plague, the Great Fire, alchemy and the list goes on. I thought the book was a little long though but she is a really good story teller so you stay pretty engrossed in the plot. It was very enlightening and a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us and Charlie Tuesday next.
 
**I received this ARC from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
 
 
    
 
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A rousing tale of fire, intrigue, survival, and suspense, this book definitely doesn’t let the reader get bored. I found myself swept along for the adventure right along with Charlie and Lily. Yet, I felt that this book suffered if you haven’t read book 1. Another reviewer mentioned that it could stand alone, but I found myself getting lost in certain chapters without that background knowledge. Still, a fast-paced book that entertains and keeps the heart pumping.

The reader gets a real sense for the London streets and times of 1666. I get the feeling the author is intimately familiar with London as a place. She describes street layouts and buildings with incredible detail. Her exploration of the intrigue at Charles II’s court and the inner workings of how alchemy works added to the great world that Quinn built.

I liked her writing style, with shorter chapters and constantly changing POVs. Usually, this would actually irritate me as that format is an easy way to get lost in a deluge of POVs or shifting scenes. Yet, the way the author told her story with near constant action and a limited number of POVs make this format successful here. The shorter chapters kept me moving like crazy as London burned and Charlie and Lily raced towards a confrontation with Blackstone.

Both Charlie and Lily are great leads to tell this story through. They’re gritty, strong, and street-smart. They thought on their feet, which was important as the Great Fire of London was raging and death stalked their steps at every turn. I loved going with them on their journey to find out Charlie’s past, to defeat Blackstone, and learn to trust each other.

The earlier Blackstone chapters, though, threw me for a spin. I felt like I was missing something when they talked about his motivations, Teresa, and the secret rites he did with “his” boys. As I haven’t read the first book, I don’t know if these missing pieces would be present or not. Yet, I was confused more than once in trying to see how this all fit in with the overall story of the book. In the last third, everything made more sense and came together. Yet there are still points mentioned in the Blackstone chapters I don’t see how they worked into the overall storyline.

I’d still recommend this work to lovers of suspenseful adventure tales in historical fiction, despite the foggy points in some chapters. Another reader may get those points more than I did. This book still has the great suspense, background, and characters to carry it through and recommend it. I enjoyed the experience of reading it.

Note: Book received for free from publisher via GoodReads giveaway in exchange for honest opinion. ( )