England 1716, and Jonas Flynt, freshly recovered from his encounter at the end of A Thief’s Justice, has been recruited by Colonel Charters, the leader of the Company of Rogues, to find a missing man.

But this is no ordinary manhunt – Christopher Templeton is a lawyer who has been working with the shadowy Fellowship and knows many of their secrets. He has also, however, developed a conscience, and it is vital that Flynt find him before the Fellowship do – but he has vanished with barely a trace.

As his search takes him from London to a quiet – too quiet – village in the North of England, Flynt finds danger surrounding him. Something terrible is waiting for him in the village, but someone else is following his every step…

Sorry, this reviews a couple of days late – I always try and get my NetGalley reviews for new releases out on the publication date, but that was two days ago. Life got in the way – nothing to be concerned about, just work. Oh, and a review ARC that I tried to get through, but eventually gave up on. That wasn’t this book, just to clear…

While not out-and-out mysteries, I really enjoyed the first two Jonas Flynt novels. They really tick my “unknown history” box, being set in the early days of George I’s reign, something that the school history syllabus rarely mentions, a time when the King barely spoke any English and spent a fair bit of his time in Hanover. That’s never enough for a novel, but the character of Jonas Flynt, ex-highwayman, current… um, spy, I suppose, is a mesmerising presence. It’s interesting to see the outlines of the author’s plans for his character arc, with the first book focussing on one aspect of his life, the second focussing on the London elements, and this one moving him from both as he considers which direction to take (which I presume we will discover in the next book).

This is definitely the least mysterious of the three novels, being far more of an out and out thriller, a la Jack Reacher, only with horses, flintlocks and swordsticks. You might be thinking that’s a criticism, but it’s really not – in fact, it’s the opposite because despite this, I had trouble putting the book down. Flynt’s story is a gripping one, as is that of his adversary Montcrieff and his friend (?) Gabriel and I’m really interested to see where all the threads are leading. Even the side characters have distinct characters, something Skelton seems very skilled at creating without wasting pages on endless backstory, but integrating it into the plot seamlessly. The inhabitants of the northern village, for example – I’d read more about them, but I doubt we’ll see them again.

This is one of the finest historical series of recent times and if you’re in mind to try an historical thriller, you really should check out this series – in order, preferably, as there are necessary spoilers for revelations in previous books, especially the first, An Honourable Thief.

Many thanks to the publishers, Canelo Crime, for the review copy via NetGalley. A Grave For A Thief is out now in hardback and ebook.