London, March, 1557, and Jack Blackjack, assassin in the service, indirectly, of the Princess Elizabeth, is back home. Well, he’s moved to a nearby parish, but only so that he can carry on sleeping with his neighbour’s wife without raising too much suspicion. His perilous journey too and from the West Country is a distant memory, and as far as he can see, the only problem in his future is which of the local women he should be seducing…

When he discovers that the local woman of his desire, Rachel Nailor, also works for the same people as him, he is somewhat concerned when he is tasked to escort her to France. Luckily for him, that perilous journey never happens, when Rachel is violently killed on the floor of the church vestry. Unfortunately for him, the powers that be are certain that Jack killed her to avoid the trip. The only way out of trouble – find the real killer. It’s just a shame that Jack hasn’t got a clue how to go about finding a murderer…

So after three disappointing reads, we come to an old friend of the blog – Michael Jecks, with the eighth Jack Blackjack book. And it’s the sort of book that demonstrates that there are always exceptions to my recent Doc-ologue.

You see, the Jack Blackjack books aren’t traditional detective books because there isn’t a detective in sight. They all have a whodunit aspect in them, but they play more as thrillers. Jack’s rasion d’etre is always to save his own skin, but this time the only way to do it is to solve a murder. But while Jack is not an idiot – his self-preservation skills are second to none – but his deductive skills are lacking. One particular highpoint for me was when about one third of the way through, he dismisses an idea as being stupid, and then two thirds in, he presents the same theory as a stroke of genius.

So you can forget all the Doc-ologue bits about clues and stuff – the only way Jack is going to solve this is by surviving the killer’s attack at the end. And in this case, that’s just fine.

Because this is, as with the rest of the series, is a great read. Jack is a lot of fun and his trials and tribulations, often self-inflicted, kept the pages turning. And the history…

I really wish I could put my finger on what brings the history in some books to life and what makes it feel like a painted backdrop. Perhaps it’s the use of the period to influence, not dominate, the plot. The danger of going against the reigning queen in favour of her sister adds a layer to the story and the life of London both livens and enhances the plot.

I love this series – they’re not traditional detective tales per se, but they are great thrillers and a ton of fun. Eight tons of fun in fact…

Murdering The Messenger is out in hardback and ebook from Severn House on 3^rd October. Many thanks for the review e-copy.