The Spymaster's Brother

The final book in the Francis Bacon Mystery series by Anna Castle centers around the protagonist's brother, Anthony Bacon.  When the story opens Anthony has returned to England after living in France for 13 years. While he was in France Anthony built a huge intelligence network throughout Europe. He and Francis are seeking a wealthy patron and offer Anthony's services to the highest bidder. Since he is suffering with severe symptoms of gout, Anthony has trouble walking unassisted and with his self care. When a dead body is found next to Anthony's coach, Francis thinks his brother killed someone because the dead man had been spreading vicious rumors about Anthony that could ruin his reputation and the value of his network. Francis's sidekick Tom Claraday believes Anthony's secretary committed the murder and the two of them set out to find the killer.

This series has been highly entertaining. I love the two sleuths, Francis and Tom. They work well together and their different personalities do not hinder their investigations. It actually helps them determine the identity of killers. While reading the Spymaster's Brother, I became so intrigued about Anthony Bacon's life that Internet research into his life occasionally interrupted my reading of the book. His life story is fascinating. It was intriguing enough to overshadow my enjoyment of the book. I feel my independent research was more interesting than the plot. Had I not checked out Anthony's life story, the story probably would have been another entertaining read for me.

The period details are another enjoyable part of the series. The author wrote the setting descriptions well enough for me to want to visit England, especially Cambridge where Tom Claraday was at school in the early books in the series. Ms. Castle's knowledge about the Elizabethan time period shined throughout the series. I hope she continues to write historical fiction.

4 out of 5 stars. Anna Castle take note, a series based on Anthony Bacon and his assistant living in France building that spy network would be great reading.