Murder by Misrule

The Francis Bacon Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Anna Castle

Narrated by: Joel Froomkin

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Francis Bacon is charged with investigating the murder of a fellow barrister at Gray's Inn. He recruits his unwanted protégé Thomas Clarady to do the tiresome legwork. The son of a privateer, Clarady will do anything to climb the Elizabethan social ladder.

Bacon's powerful uncle, Lord Burghley, suspects Catholic conspirators of the crime, but other motives quickly emerge. Rival barristers contend for the murdered man's legal honors and wealthy clients. Highly-placed courtiers are implicated as the investigation reaches from Whitehall to the London streets.

Bacon does the thinking; Clarady does the fencing. Everyone has something up his pinked and padded sleeve. Even the brilliant Francis Bacon is at a loss - and in danger - until he sees through the disguises of the season of Misrule.

©2104 Anna Castle (P)2017 Anna Castle

Great Book. Great Voice artist!

I enjoyed this book very much. It’s always tricky with historical mysteries. Easy to fall into traps and tropes. The author did neither. Even minor characters were well drawn and three dimensional. Many of the twists and plot points caught me off guard – which is awesome. Details of the period were handled very deftly. Also, I’m glad I experienced this as an audiobook. The voice artist is amazing! I don’t rave easily, but he handled genders, accents and regional dialects like a master actor, which he must be. Kudos to all.

Entertaining!

Great summer read. I love reading about English history. Cannot wait to read Book Two.

Annoying characters

I am not sure if it was the performance or how the characters were written, but I had a tough time with this book. Just didn't care if the murderer got all of them.

delightful chatacters. history come alive. I feel as if I've been on vacation in oxford.

Thoroughly Entertaining

I truly enjoyed this book to the fullest. What a wonderful Historical Fiction that keep you on your toes with mystery, had you laughing out loud with witty writing ,and had you fully engrossed in the lives of the characters author Anna Castle developed. I looked forward to listening to this book every chance I got. I will without a doubt be looking for more of Anna's works.

Narrator Joel Froomkin was superb. He had a smooth and careful narration with a knack for keeping the listener engaged. I appreciated his ability to stay true to the heightened language but not go over the top. I would love to listen to more of his work.

Overall, a wonderful book. I would recommend it to all.

This audiobook was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Joel Froomkin

I had listened to Joel in the John Pickett mysteries and so enjoyed his way of reading and creating characters and voices.

Humor and suspense? Yes, please!

I downloaded this listen because I love the narrator. Froomkin just has a way of delivering a listen that elevates it, no matter the subject. He does the same here

The story was a good mix of history with Francis Bacon, the actual Francis Bacon, as the protagonist. That was fun.

There were multiple incidents of murder and the cast of characters, including Bacon, were a treat. There were some mirthful moments interspersed into the mayhem. A great historical and suspenseful mystery all around.

Delightful!

I was really impressed with this book and found the story very interesting. There is more than just a murder in the story. Before listening to this book, I had never paid much attention to the court system in England in the 1500's. I thought the author wrote great imagery with this book and I loved the unexpected twists and even the humor. Joel Froomkin did an excellent performance with the various characters. I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I will definitely listen to more books by Anna Castle and Joel Froomkin!

Murder by Misrule

Good story. It used a lot of language of the period, which was a little difficult to follow. But this was a funny and interesting story. Highly recommended it.

Sir Francis Bacon was a detective - who knew?

Sir Francis Bacon is charged with finding who murdered a lawyer. He has a team working with him, so the team does most of the work and Sir Francis is hardly in the book at all. I found that rather odd. The plot includes preventing a religious doctrine from being distributed widely. The team runs into some comedic situations, but also plenty of danger.

Joel Froomkin once again delivers a delightful performance. He is so good with British voices and accents and brings the pages to life. I think he made the book better than it would have been just reading it without the narration.

All in all, a fun story that also has characters who aren't what they seem. Bacon is almost murdered at one point and falls ill after he is attacked. His illness turns out to be a clue in itself.

I plan on listening to the next book in this series very soon. Enjoy!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.