Samuel Pepys has a problem. The incessant diarist of the 17th century has successfully negotiated himself into a position of minor power in the Restoration government of King Charles II after having inconveniently supported Oliver Cromwell and the Roundheads in the overthrow of Charles I. Life would be reasonably tolerable if not for his wife’s brother, Balthasar, a ne’er-do-well content to sponge off Pepys as a more appealing alternative to getting and keeping a job. If only Sam could find some way of getting Balty out of his life and his purse!

The answer to Pepys’ prayers, at least in the pages of Christopher Buckley’s latest satirical novel (Simon & Schuster, 2018), seems to come when he stumbles upon a plan to send Balty to the American Colonies on a vague quest to search for two judges who were responsible for condemning Charles I to execution. Once landed in the Massachusetts colony, Balty is taken under the wing of one Hiram Huncks, who is ostensibly going to help Balty find the judges but may have his own agenda.

Buckley is a master at historical satire, weaving comedic hijinks throughout an otherwise historically faithful account. Between yuks in The Judge Hunter, he delivers plenty of solid history about the founders of the American colonies, whether English or Dutch. The severe Puritans who founded the Massachusetts colony are reliably skewered, as are the even stricter sect that split for Connecticut when they thought the Bay Colony crowd was getting a little too loosey-goosey (narrator: they were not), and the Quakers who refused to renounce their faith despite severe persecution. I learned more about the second Anglo-Dutch War (truthfully, I’m not sure I even remembered there had been a first one) than I ever learned in school. “Excerpts” from Pepys’ famous diary are scattered throughout the narrative, and it was nice to have confirmation in the afterword that all but one or two were entirely made up. Too bad, because Buckley almost had me convinced to tackle the many-volumed classic work.

At the outset, I was concerned that Buckley was serving up too heavy a dose of slapstick, which would rapidly wear thin. Happily, as the plot progresses the characters acquire some more substantial traits than mere deliverers or receivers of punch lines, giving the overall work a pleasant depth.

The Judge Hunter is a worthy follow-up to Buckley’s first historical satire, The Relic Master, which set its skewed sights on the 16th century trade in saints’ remains. Buckley has stated his intention to continue the series with books set in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Based on past performance, those will be worth keeping an eye out for.

In this latest comic novel from Christopher Buckley, a hapless Englishman embarks on a dangerous mission to the New World in pursuit of two judges who helped murder a king.

This reads at a cracking pace - the action never slackens, the humour is witty and at times slightly comediac, whilst the whole tale is interspersed with extracts from Pepys' diary to add to the authenticity of the historical backdrop.

I loved the historical notes at the end which shows this this was brilliantly researched for a fictional account of adventure and political intrigue in 17th Century England, and of the story of the Dutch and English in the New Colonies. It is about time that some of these "lesser" historical characters take centre stage.

I was skeptical at first. Historical fiction plus humor? In this time period?

Boy was I wrong! Buckley created the most fun characters undergoing the craziest of adventures during a dark, tumultuous time in early American colonial history. I adore the main protagonist Balty (who is now one of my favorite characters in this genre) but the supporting cast is just as great. Every character has a very unique voice and the complexity of the relationships between them is very enjoyable.

The pacing is fantastic, continuing at breakneck speed for most of the novel with brief moments to catch your breath. And the ending! Oh the ending is just perfect. I highly recommend this to fans of the genre and really even those you aren't. This is such a unique story told in the best possible way that I think just about anyone who can read would enjoy it.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Simon & Schuster, and the author Christopher Buckley for the opportunity to do so.

It took me a chapter or so to get engaged with this title, but once I was engaged, I loved every minute of reading it. It offers humor with depth—and period detail. I kept reading bits of it aloud to my wife because they were such fun to share.

I just loved this book. It's quirky and it's funny and it's confronting in parts. I haven't read anything this entertaining in a good long while. Kudos to the author for making historical fiction not dry. If we lioved back then, we'd probably be pssing ourselves too.

Published by Simon & Schuster on May 1, 2018

The Judge Hunter tells the story of how New Amsterdam became New York, but tells it sideways, as the tale of an unwitting spy who is purportedly searching for two regicides who fled to New England because of their involvement in the death of King Charles I. A history lesson has never been funnier, even if the funny bits are invented.

Samuel Pepys is Clerk of the Royal Navy, giving him the means to support, albeit reluctantly, his unemployed relatives, including his feckless brother-in-law, Balthasar de St. Michel. When Lord Downing hatches a plan to annoy the colonial Puritans who have sheltered two regicide judges (Whalley and Goffe), Pepys recommends sending Balthasar (“Balty”) to the colonies, because he knows of no one with a greater natural talent for annoyance.

In Massachusetts, Balty is both annoying and annoyed. He has little in common with Puritans, who immediately threaten to skewer his tongue with a hot poker for his blasphemous manner of speech. But as he learns from Colonel Huncks, who has been assigned to assist him in judge hunting, the Puritans would happily murder him rather than give up Whalley and Goffe, given that Whalley and Goffe did God’s work (in the Puritans’ eyes) by ridding England of Charles I, who was no friend of Puritans.

Unlike Balty, Huncks is competent. He’s also a British spy. Much of the novel’s humor comes from the contrast between Balty’s bumbling and Huncks’ efforts to keep him alive as they pursue their mission. Huncks’ true mission is not to find the regicides but to gather information in anticipation of the arrival of the British Navy, which plans to attack the Dutch colonists in New Amsterdam, a plan that Pepys opposes on the ground that the Navy is not equipped to win a war.

With that setup, the story proceeds on two fronts: in England, Pepys faces accusations of disloyalty, much like the colonists who are harboring Whalley and Goffe, while in New England, Balty hastens forward on a mission that never seems to be supported by a plan. In blissful ignorance of political matters, Balty goes about his business, inadvertently saving a pretty Quaker named Thankful from being flogged to death after she wanders nude into a Puritan church nude as an act of protest.

Balty might be annoying but he isn’t rude, and his unwarranted sense of self-importance adds to his charm as a character. He also has a good heart, which makes him a likable character. Balty finds himself drawn to Thankful, perhaps because he has seen her in the nude, but Thankful also has a good heart and is another character the reader will easily like. A bit of romantic comedy adds spice to the historical comedy, with familiar figures of colonial history making cameo appearances. In fact, Christopher Buckley appended a short discussion of actual history to the novel, giving context to the story’s characters and events.

The Judge Hunter isn’t an action novel, but it has enough action to keep the story energized, and more than enough silliness to keep the reader laughing. At the same time, parts of the story are gruesome. Some scenes are sad and some of those are poignant. That’s what happens when fiction is based on history: reality intrudes. That isn’t a bad thing, because one of the novel’s points is that life and the people who live it can be quite funny, even clownish, but that the incalculable value of life can only be measured against the certainty of death. And if we must die, we might as well die laughing.

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Christopher Buckley made a name for himself writing political satire. For his last couple of books, he's take a turn toward comedic historical fiction. The Judge Hunter is set in 17th century England and the American colonies. Samuel Pepys is trying to get his good-for-nothing brother-in-law out of his hair, so sends him on a wild goose chase in the American colonies. Ostensibly, he is there to hunt the judges who executed Charles I. But he gets caught up in political maneuverings that will impact the direction of history in the New World.



Buckley pairs the hapless Englishman with a seasoned colonist in a classic buddy set up: the rugged, world-wise tough guy who assists the young, naive, hapless main character. They have adventures, they run into trouble, they nearly get killed, they get lucky. Buckley has fun playing with the colonial-era history and setting. But the story didn't click for me. It was entertaining, but I just kept wondering what happened to the brilliant satirist who lampooned modern American politics. I liked that Buckley better.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Deftly weaving historical situations and characters into a delightfully complex plot, Buckley's story revolve around Baty de St. Martin who is sent to the American colonies to find the remains two regicide judges who escaped there.

But what of the man appointed to "help" him. And all the English-hating Puritans of Massachusetts and New Haven -- not to mention the Dutch.

Packed with action and great characters, I raced through this book.

Christopher Buckley most recent novels have progressed from tales of selling fake religious relics to souls in search of salvation to his latest book featuring Samuel Pepys younger brother trying to make a name for himself in America by "hunting" two judges accused of Regicide.

Readers of The Judge Hunter would benefit from some historical knowledge of Puritan America, but even those of us who are poorly informed about America's early history can enjoy his wit and puckish humor. I got bogged down a little bit by the political machinations of the early colonists, but let my confusion wash over me as i enjoyed the "spy story" for what it was---a great romp through Puritan America.

Buckley's anti-hero was so inept, yet so engaging, that he pulled me in to the story and I was very invested in the success of his mission.

Fans of Buckley's earlier comedic novels will find this a huge departure in style and subject, but his gifts as a writer won't let the reader down.

...'then they took New York!'

Another brilliant parody of history depicted by Christopher Buckley. This exposé, the story of Stuvyesant and the English attainment of New York, within the context of the Dutch-English wars casts our eyes back in a refreshingly new way.
Samuel Pepys, his position and his diaries are the hook to begin with. His brother-in-law gives us the subtext. Baltasar “Balty” St. Michel is an annoying nincompoop whom Pepys manages to have dispatched to the new world to track down the judges who'd sentenced Charles 1. Charles II is still determined to see them pay.
To cut a funny story short Balty, fumbling in the best traditions of '1066 and all that', or a Mel Brooksian movie at the very least, manages to shape history, along with the taciturn spy Huncks, whom one can't help but feel sorry for, being saddled with this Rowan Atkinson type figure. The commentary on the practices by the 'godly' is illuminating bringing to the fore the stringent effects of religious laws on communities. The treatment of both the Indians and other religious groups like the Quakers by these puritanical pilgrims shows the disconnect between faith and grace. There really is much than can be unpacked in Buckley's work. The casual introduction of famed figures is wonderful, with hilarious added touches that only a fictionalized account can allow. Hence Stuyvesant's Brazilian parrot, who makes a nicely framed presence on the book cover, offers us a question right from the get go, did we but know it.
Slickly written, a comic, yet true look at history through jaded and not so jaded eyes. Hidden away is at least one nod to the current political contretemps when Stuyvesant muses that they need a bigger wall to keep the English out and perhaps he can persuade Charles II to build it.
Read the who's who at the end to see well known descendants of the various figures portrayed. Quite an eye opener.
I loved every minute of this witty foray into the early times of the 17th century New World.

A NetGalley ARC

The book gives a dismal look at life under the Puritans and then throws in details about life in these early Colonies, religion, religious clashes, Natives, politics, more politics, and the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Frankly, I knew little about a lot of this which made the book interesting but at the same time, slow as I fought to imbibe it all.

Humor is sprinkled throughout and of the wry, subtle type I adore. Yet, there is also terrible darkness and some violence (especially against a woman who was used more or less to propel the actions of the men) that didn’t sit neatly side by side with the jokes. It left me unsettled at times.

As the story continued, I was hooked. How would things turn out and what would happen to the characters? The ending just avoided going out of control. I was also left wondering what happened to a few key fictional characters. Considering what one had been through, I really needed closure that I didn’t get. All in all, I enjoyed “The Judge Hunter” for taking me back in time and whetting my appetite to learn more about early New England. The humor tickled my funny bone. But the unevenness and the way one character was left with an unfinished fate took away from my grade. B-

Christopher Buckley tells the tale of 17th century England and America in his new book The Judge Hunter. Samuel Pepys sends his ne'er do well brother in law, Balty, off to the colonies ostensibly to hunt some of the killers of King Charles. What he finds when he gets to the Connecticut colonies is his true mission-becoming a spy for the English against the Dutch. The book is a tale of early history and swashbuckling adventure which is a bit of a stretch for Christopher Buckley. His wry sense of humor prevails, however, and we follow Balty's tale enjoying every minute of it.

Christopher Buckley is determined to write political satire for each century. His latest book The Judge Hunter places the reader in 1664, using Samuel Pepys as the mainstay and his foppish brother-in-law Balthasar (Balty) St. Michel as his tool as the story moves between London and the New England Colonies and New Amsterdam. Torys, Papists, Puritans, Quakers and numerous tribes of native Americans all find a place in this political romp.

Balty is our guide in the New World. He is a disaster who is repeatedly saved by Colonial Hiram Huncks. Together they defy any number of ambushes and questionable situations while on Balty’s quest to hunt down the Judges who were partially responsible for the death of King Charles I of England. This is but a part of the story and this is where the book hits a snag. Balty is on one mission and unbeknownst to Balty, Huncks is on a very different undertaking. The two adventures never seem to cohere and unify the plot.

Trying to reach back to my middle school American History education I found that my knowledge of this period was sketchy. Buckley gives a thorough description of the history, and geographical delineation of the various sects interspersed with his trademark humor. Unfortunately much of it fell flat when taken with the barbarity and intolerance of the times. Most of the players were self-serving and unsympathetic. A few compassionate Quakers were thrown into the mix as a ploy to keep the whole from being so badly tainted. The political intrigue was slowly parceled out and kept my attention but I always felt as if there should be more to the story.

I didn’t enjoy the story as much as his foray into the 16th century with The Relic Master. I appreciated the inclusion in the Historical Notes of the progeny between the 17th Century genealogy and the present. Imagine Princess Diana being the descendant of the King’s mistress who bore him 5 illegitimate children.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC.

To be completely fair to this book, I should mention that I read it immediately after reading another (completely different) historical fiction novel that completely blew me away. So my expectations were perhaps a bit inflated. But I still really enjoyed this book. I love how Christopher Buckley injects his historical fiction with so much humor. It makes for a fun read, and that is always something I like when it comes to historical fiction. I definitely laughed out loud a few times while reading this.

That said, I did have a few problems with this book. The first is that there were a few historical inaccuracies (Winthrop was governor of Massachusetts, not Connecticut) that drove my inner history nerd just a little bit crazy. It wasn’t anything terrible, but if a book features historical figures as characters, I’d prefer they remain as true to reality as possible. Changing facts just to make it more convenient for the author isn’t something I like seeing in novels. My other issue with this book is how it handles female characters. There are far too few of them, and the ones who did make it into the story are one-dimensional and are mostly there to annoy the male characters. I know women weren’t making history on the same scale in the 17th century, but they were a part of it. And they certainly did more than nag and demand jewelry and favors. Again, this isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker (because it’s not like the king would have sent a woman to hunt down the men who killed his father), but it was a bit disappointing. Same could be said of the portrayal of Native Americans in this book. I don’t think it’s particularly historically inaccurate (though feel free to argue that if you’re more familiar with the topic than I am), but I was hoping they would play a bigger role than just “watch out for warring tribes on the trail”. I would have loved to see more examples of Native Americans and women in this book.

Aside from my complaints, the story was pretty interesting. It’s based off of real events (though don’t take it too seriously – obviously the author took a few liberties), and it’s definitely a different take on early American history than I’ve seen before. I did like seeing colonial America from the perspective of a (naive) Englishman – it was fun to see his reactions to how the colonists lived. The story did slow down a bit in the middle, which really affected my reading pace, but it picked up a bit by the end, and I do think it was a pretty solid novel.

I have long been a fan of Christopher Buckley - I met him at a book signing years and years ago, and he's absolutely as delightful and wry in person as you'd imagine from reading his books and/or columns. I usually fly through his books - his particular brand of snarky wit resonates with me and the characters he devises are always appealing and entertaining (even when they're decidedly dastardly). This story, however, just couldn't grab me... It may be because I find the time period/topic of Restoration England to be one of the least interesting periods of English history (I know, I know - but I do). It may be because Samuel Pepys' style - or the diary-mode of writing in general - has never been a favorite. Or it may be because there's just not a lot going on here for the vast majority of the book... There are still glimpses of Buckley's signature style, but I found them a little thin on the ground, relative to the slogging bits, where we were following the hapless Balty around in circles.

I still consider myself a huge Buckley fan, this just was not one of my favorites.

Although I think it helps tremendously in the enjoyment of this if you have at least a smidgen of knowledge about the 17th century, Buckley will back you into the period with humor and style (and there's wikipedia for the details.). Who would expect a comic take on Samuel Pepys' brother in law Balty being sent to the New World to track down two judges who fled there after ordering the execution of Charles I? Balty's travels through America brings him slam up against the untamed world (at least in his view.). His companion Huncks is awesome, making this a buddy trip odd couple. At the same time, you get some insight into Pepys via diary entries. This wasn't my favorite of Buckley's books but it's a darn good read that informs as well as it entertains. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction with a sense of humor.

It’s 20 years after Charles II’s Restoration and the old poleaxe is still seeking revenge against the surviving men who caused his pappy’s head to be separated from his shoulders (aka the fallout from the English Civil War). Two of the judges who found Charles I guilty of high treason have fled to the New World. Naval officer and future celebrated diarist Samuel Pepys decides that his annoying half-French brother-in-law, Baltasar “Balty” St. Michel, should be the man to bring the judges back, mostly as it gets him out of his hair! But Balty soon discovers that there’s more to his mission in the colonies than simply hunting down a couple of old men…

I used to quite like Christopher Buckley’s lightly humorous, satirical books but, in the 11/12 years since I read Florence of Arabia, it looks like either my tastes have moved on or he’s just written a dud because The Judge Hunter did nothing for me.

It starts alright with Buckley painting an amusing Blackadder-esque picture of 17th century England with Pepys getting wound up by Balty, Balty’s entrance into the New World after the harrowing Atlantic passage and Balty meeting the roguish Huncks, a compelling blend of Aragorn and James Bond. Then the narrative founders for much of the book as Balty and Huncks fruitlessly meander around New England. A fair amount happens but nothing that was especially entertaining, just a lot of visiting local authorities, asking them where the judges are, repeat, and so on. Their characters and story didn’t grab me as that unique or enthralling and the jokes were non-existent.

It doesn’t help that neither of our duo’s strivings have any consequence on the final outcome, whether or not they succeed! This is basically the story of how New Amsterdam became New York, a drearily bloodless change from Dutch to English power, and Buckley stays true to history with our two protagonists playing no part in what was an anticlimactic ending. Buckley’s fictional Pepys diary entries interspersing the chapters added nothing besides a bit of historical celebrity and could’ve easily been left out to no effect on the overall narrative.

The scene where Huncks takes on a New England proto-police patrol single-handed was exciting and Buckley is skilful in bringing to life the 17th century. On the whole though it isn’t a lot and I was bored and unimpressed most of the time. Unfortunately The Judge Hunter isn’t the fun historical comedy I hoped it’d be – definitely not among Buckley’s better books.

I would buy a copy for a friend but this was not my favorite Buckley novel. I loved Thank You for Smoking and Supreme Courtship and Florence of Arabia and Bomsday and No Way to Treat a First Lady. I just did not like this one. Not a fan of old English.

[P. G. Wodehouse] will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in.

– Evelyn Waugh

I do not invoke the sainted name of the genius Wodehouse lightly. Yet I say to you that this book may be mentioned in the proximity of the name of the best comic writer in the English language. Although C. Buckley does not achieve the pinnacle of comic novel-ness (if that's the word I'm looking for), it is only because PGW is, and will forever remain, the yardstick against which all are measured. If C. Buckley fails to deliver laugh-out-loud lines with the frequency of The Master, it can only be answered that this novel is the best to come down the 'pike in our benighted age, and you will laugh out loud. I urge you to take a break from the shambles that our world has become by irresponsibly neglecting your dreary duties and enjoying this book.

I don't think it is an accident that the dunderheaded hero's name, Balty, is close to Wodehouse's most memorable comic creation, Bertie Wooster. Furthermore, his reluctant sidekick Huncks resembles what Jeeves might have been like if he had lived in colonial New England and been better schooled in the art of homicide. It is icing on the cake to have the real-life literary/political figure Samuel Pepys assume the unlikely role usually played by one of Bertie Wooster's aunts in the original canon, i.e., the catalyst that gets the good-hearted but dopey and work-adverse hero into his hair-raising adventures.

Pepys gets a subplot of his own that allows Buckley to lay a well-deserved hatchet into the scheming English aristocracy of the 1660's. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, the humorless and quarrelsome New England religious hypocrites (today styled as quaintly sainted Puritans) are deservedly pilloried as a group that mouthed the platitudes of tolerance when it suited their purposes but outdid their former oppressors as soon as they got the opportunity.

I hope it's not a spoiler to say that the heroes eventually get the best of their nemeses in an extremely satisfying manner for the reader.

If you have joined the legions who insist that all novels must have strong female and minority characters, preferably armed to the teeth, you may have to punish yourself unnecessarily by skipping this book. More's the pity for you. To be clear: there are admirable female characters in the book, but they function as somebody's wife or heterosexual love interest. If that's a deal-breaker for you, move along.

Heartfelt thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me a free electronic galley copy of the most enjoyable read I've had in a while.

I'm a fan of Christopher Buckley's novels, especially his contemporary ones. This is his second historical novel, after the great The Relic Master. In this one, Buckley takes us to 17th century New England, home of Puritans, Quakers, outlaws, and Native Americans. Our "hero" is the hapless Balty, brother-in-law of Samuel Pepys, who is charged with finding two regicidal judges wanted back in England. But is that really his mission?

He is paired with Hiram Huncks, a soldier and fixer, who helps Balty navigate the New World. This novel is amusing in parts, but never laugh-out loud funny like some of Buckley's better work. The best parts were those set in New Amsterdam, governed at the time by Peter Stuyvesant. Here we see the kidnapping of a parrot, get descriptions of the pastoral beauty of what is now Manhattan, and witness the bloodless takeover by the British (who re-name it New York). Buckley obviously knows his history and has done good research but somehow I never became immersed in the story. It may be that the very contemporary-sounding language prevented me from buying into the portrait of 17th century America. Still, it was a diverting read, and I will follow along to wherever Buckley takes us next.