3.5 stars
This is a complex story of spying on behalf of Queen Elizabeth and on behalf of her rival, Mary (popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots) in 1572. It is a time of intense religious feeling, and the book opens with scenes of violence as Catholics slaughter Protestants (Huguenots) in France. In England there is fear that the Spanish are making plans to crush England via the sea in order to put the Catholic Mary on the English throne.

The adventures culminate with the establishment of Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

I enjoyed the exploits of Francis Walsingham and John Dee and loved reading the vivid descriptions of London and all the other locations - how disgusting the Seine and the Thames were! The story dragged in places, however. Also, there are some scenes that involve Mary, who is under house arrest in Sheffield, that involve sex toys, self-stimulation and stimulation required from her female servants that seemed to me totally unnecessary to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the chance to read an advance copy of this book.

I am a big fan of historical mysteries, so I was happy to have a chance to read a review copy of The Eyes of the Queen, which is the first title in a new series featuring the real-life John Dee - mathematician, astrologer, astronomer, alchemist, philosopher and also, by-the-way, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I - as the protagonist.

Clements’ tale weaves nicely among major historical events of the day: the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in France; Queen Elizabeth’s reluctance to execute Queen Mary, even in the face of numerous real and rumored plots to put Mary on the throne of England; Philip of Spain’s attempts to invade England; and the search for a rumored Northwest Passage. Many historical figures other than Dee, including Francis Walsingham, William Cecil, Philip Sidney, and of course, Elizabeth herself, have roles to play as well, fleshing out a nice historical background.

And the story itself is a good one, more of a spy thriller than a mystery, with multiple threads told from multiple viewpoints that kept me reading until the very end. John Dee’s character is an interesting mix of what today would be seen as scientist and charlatan, but Dee’s analytical skills were quite advanced for his time, and he puts them to good use. The author’s slightly understated writing style is also engaging. For example, in a moment when Walsingham and his aide-de-camp are puzzling over something, the author comments in a dry aside that “knowing what it isn’t doesn’t help them with what it is”.

I did have a couple of minor issues with the book. First, by the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, Queen Elizabeth would have been on the throne for nearly 15 years, so I have a bit of trouble imagining that she would only now be setting up a formal spying apparatus. And second, without being spoiler-ish, I wasn’t thrilled with some of the behaviors attributed to Queen Mary during her captivity. These may be based in fact, but I didn’t see that they added much to the story, and so the descriptions seemed rather gratuitous to me. But both of these are sort of minor, and overall, I liked The Eyes of the Queen a lot, and hope that more titles in the series are to come.

Please note that I tend to be pretty conservative in awarding stars, only giving five stars to maybe one in thirty or forty books. So four stars is a great rating from me and means I really do recommend this book. And my thanks again to the publisher, Atria/Leopoldo & Co, and NetGalley for the ARC, provided in exchange for my honest review!

Quick, propulsive, about a fascinating period of history with compelling real-life characters and modern appeal.

The premise is absolutely fascinating and the writing is excellent. I'm not entirely sure which parts of the book didn't fully resonate with me but it did slog in a few places and could be edited down just a smidge. That doesn't mean that I won't be looking forward to books in the series in the future because I think that there is a lot of material to be mind and in the author's desk hand will get better and better as a series goes on

This new series is set during Elizabeth I reign. It concentrates on her "ring of spies" led by John Dee. It has everything you expect from a spy book, intrigue, traitors, liars, and action. It was a good start to the series and I am looking forward to the next book.

this was a great start to a series, I love the Elizabethan age and am glad that this was used as the time period. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot. I look forward to more in the series.

Stunning historical fiction with elements of mystery and suspense. Set in 16th century England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth; this novel is brimming with twists and intrigue. Fans of Ken Follett will enjoy this historical retelling. Well written and captures the complex dynamics of this game of thrones. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC.

The Eyes of the Queen by Oliver Clements
Book #1: Agents of the Crown Series
Source: NetGalley and Artria/Leopoldo Co.
Rating: 2/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: I am the first to admit I am a sucker for a good bit of historical fiction, and I have a particular fascination with Elizabethan-era stories. I dove into this book anticipating an excellent period piece but what I got is something I still haven’t quite wrapped my brain around. I believe I lost faith and interest in this book very early on, but I continued with the book to the very end hoping it would take a turn for the better. My interest was lost, and pure disbelief set in following the descriptions of Mary, Queen of Scots and how she spent her days locked away as a “guest” of Queen Elizabeth. I can accept a lot of things and like to consider myself open-minded, but this description seems tremendously far-fetched and wholly unnecessary to the telling of this particular story. To make matters worse, I found most of the characters to be somewhat unrealistic and completely out of synch with what history tells us about the people, time and place. The point of historical fiction is to take the real and blend it with fiction to create a dynamic and interesting read based in reality. What I got with this book trends far more toward pure and somewhat fantastical fiction rather than historical fiction.

So this is historical/mystery set during the reign of Elizabeth I which is one of my favorite historical time periods to read about. So this has everything mystery, political intrigue, treachery and with a cast of characters pulled straight out of history. Walsingham is great as the chief spymaster for Elizabeth I who loses a key piece of encrypted intel about how to find the northwest passage so they recruit John Dee to go and recover it. This takes place over the course of 2 months in 1572 while both England and France are unstable and dealing with the Protestants and the Catholics jockeying for position and supremacy. I really enjoyed going from the point of view of Queen Elizabeth to John Dee to Walsingham to Mary Queen of Scots and many more. Right now Mary Queen of Scots is in exile after marrying her third husband who was suspected of killing her second husband and is now under house arrest in England after seeking asylum and this is who the Spanish want to use to get a Catholic back on the throne of England until Elizabeth finally relents and executes her for her treachery.
I really loved the mystery and historical aspects of this story as well as the political intrigue which is my favorite part of any historical novel. This was a really well written and well plotted book and it just keeps your interest throughout with all the layers of characters where nothing is what is seems at first and you have to keep reading to figure it out.
Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

I was initially intrigued by this book because of the gorgeous cover. I'm really interested in Tudor times and the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants. Walsingham is a great protagonist, as he is chief spymaster of Queen Elizabeth I. The descriptions of the Catholics punishing the Huguenots is explicit and scary. I'm drawn to stories of political intrigue and this book delivers it. It is extremely well-written, with deep characters and a well driven plot. I'm thrilled that is is a first in a new series and I certainly plan on reading the next book. I definitely recommend this book for lovers of historical novels, Tudor times and political intrigue.

I would like to thank Oliver Clements, Atria Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.