Following a shame and scandal that took her away from her parents in London, Mallory Bright returns, hoping to hide herself as an assistant to her father, a locksmith. But it’s 1580, and according to the mores of Elizabethan England, locksmithing is no trade for a woman, nor should Mallory have received a scholar’s education, including ancient and modern languages.

However, her father’s old friend, Sir Francis Walsingham, the queen’s secretary, witnesses Mallory’s talent for picking locks, and he realizes what a weapon she’d be in his campaign against Catholic subversives. The previous years have seen a not-entirely-covert war against those whom, rightly or wrongly, Sir Francis and the crown see as plotters to subvert Protestantism in England and topple Elizabeth from her throne.

Walsingham has long fascinated novelists and historians, and no wonder; he may have been the first national spymaster in history. Here, I find Mallory’s connection to him contrived, and her background even less credible, while her scandalous past is nothing less than operatic. But if you can get past that, The Locksmith’s Daughter offers a few pleasures, chief of which is sixteenth-century London, which Brooks has in the palm of her hand. Whether it’s common attitudes, daily routine, the casual way the law treats human life, scenery, or details of dress, she puts you right there.
Mallory’s closest friend, Caleb, is an actor-playwright, always good for color and theme (artifice, romance, deception). The adventures that Mallory undertakes for Sir Francis are truly hair-raising, and none go as planned. Many people die as a result of his efforts, some quite horribly.

The serpentine plot forces Mallory to rethink everything she’s ever believed, and she’s never far from confrontation and recrimination, even if she sometimes narrowly escapes them — for now. There’s even a rakish, passionate peer, Lord Nathaniel Warham, Caleb’s patron, who takes a keen interest in Mallory and seems to see through her.

But despite these promising elements, to me, The Locksmith’s Daughter fails to deliver. Brooks’s style involves too much tell, not enough show. After doing such a marvelous job setting up crackling conflicts, she douses them with generic responses, whether sentences like, “Wonder and terror coursed down my spine,” or scads of rhetorical questions (“Did I make a mistake? What could I have done?”)

The author wants us to believe that Mallory, though an exceptional woman for her time, is still at least partly in thrall to common views of gender roles. Fair enough, but rhetorical questions don’t prove that; Mallory needs to show it, not just entertain it, and whenever she criticizes herself for stepping beyond her role or her station, I don’t believe her. This split between the world she dreams of and the one she lives in is a difficult point of character to convey, but it’s crucial. And though I know what Brooks is trying to say, Mallory’s words and thoughts in those moments seem handed to her rather than coming from within. It’s as though she were a member of Caleb’s acting troupe, speaking her lines.

The romance, too, feels a little forced. The reader knows right away that Lord Nathaniel has fallen for Mallory, and when this notion finally occurs to her, it’s obvious that the lady doth protest too much. She would be easier to believe if they quarreled more often about anything substantive, rather than who insulted whom, and there are plenty of contentious issues floating around, not least religious persecution.

Naturally, he rescues her at key moments, which disappoints this feminist reader, but it’s also the way he (and others) come to her aid, revealing that they knew a particular secret all along and have acted accordingly. It’s a shame that such an able storyteller should resort to melodrama, but perhaps she knows her audience and figures that skeptics like me aren’t part of it. ( )

Thanks to Book Club Girls & HarperCollins Publishers via NetGalley for a gifted copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

Trigger Warnings for sexual assault, physical abuse, and torture. If I'd have known about the violence and torture, described so vividly and extensively, I would never have read the book. I skipped over those parts while I was reading but I really can't recommend this book. I know not everyone feels the same about these topics, since many other reviewers gave it 4 and 5 stars and didn't even mention the violence.

Now you know the bad, so let me also share the good: A well-researched historical novel about spies in Elizabethan England. A strong female heroine, intriguing plot, great descriptions of clothes, architecture, the social order, word usage and morals of the time, realistic interspersing of fictional characters with actual people.

I also think this novel should be classified as a romance in the same category as a "bodice ripper." Another genre I don't usually read and wasn't expecting.

This book just wasn't for me, but for its over-the-top violence I'm rating it only 1 star. ( )

The longest book I've read in some time. I found the historic details of the story fascinating. With Queen Elizabeth I on the throne it was not a great time to be living, it was especially not a good to be catholic. The powers that be didn't need much of an excuse to haul you off and throw you in The Tower, where they left you to rot or sealed your fate with torture. Many were persecuted and accused of being traitors to the Queen with slim hope of being released or pardoned. Mallory Bright, the locksmith's daughter, was a woman unlike any other, she had skills that were the envy of many men. She had few friends and trouble seemed to follow her everywhere. Locks were meant to keep secrets safe - but did they? ( )

This book is not of a genre I would normally pursue. I saw it at the Porter Library in Westlake, Ohio and checked it out along with another book. Each book was something that could be checked out for 7 days. I had not started The Locksmith's Daughter when my 7 days were yup - so I purchased a copy of it. I am so glad I did! The period of history covered in this book (Elizabethan England) is one that I have always enjoyed and am fairly well read in, Karen Brooks did a wonderful job of incorporating history into the Life of Mallory Bright. Absolutely one of the best books I have read in a long, long time.

"This book was originally published back in 2016 by Harlequin MIRA. Some may have been given the impression this is a traditional historical romance, but it is not. It is pure Historical fiction- with a love story written into it. HF lovers will not want to miss this book!! " I copied this brief paragraph from another reviewer: wagner.sarah35 That person said it so much better than I. ( )

Set in Elizabethan England, this novel is well-researched and follows the increasing dangerous adventures of Mallory Bright, a locksmith's daughter, as her lock-picking skills lead her into a dangerous line of work as a spy for the notorious Sir Francis Walsingham. Filled with plenty of twists and new connections between all the characters, this novel is fast-paced without being hurried and manages to check almost all the boxes for elements I appreciated in historical fiction: a plot rooted in actual historical events, complex characters, insights into actual historical figures, and female characters who take charge of their own fates. An excellent read for fans of historical fiction set in the Elizabethan era. ( )