A dual-timeline historical fiction novel filled with danger, betrayal and espionage. I really enjoyed this page-turning book that kept me engaged and interested in it the entire time.

I love historical fiction and this didn't disappoint. The writing was not concise at times and I felt like I was reading someone else's distracted thoughts on occasion, but all in all, I enjoyed this one. Could have done with a bit more surprise and action. I did appreciate the story.

I really enjoyed this title. Whilst there have been many historical fiction novels centred around the court of Elizabeth I and her spy masters, this was a wonderfully unique and fresh idea to have the central character unable to hear or speak and relying on lip reading. It made for even more of a sense of fear and danger at a turbulent time. Tom is the Queen's apothecary and finds himself right at the heart of the Queen's court and the plots and danger when he is appointed by Francis Walsingham to use his skills to help spy for him.
Moving between the present day and the 16th Century, we follow Tom's life and Mathilde's who inherits what she comes to learn was Tom's residence and the secrets and heartbreak it holds.
Richly haunting and gripping. A must-read for any historical fiction fan.

The Queen's Spy by Clare Marchant is the first book of it's kind I have read till now. It can be classified as a thriller but it's not a traditional one. The book travels between two people bringing to 2 sisterhood different generations but both of them have a similar life journey. And at the end of the day, both of them crave for a family.

Their journey towards that and what happens with them is the story that follows. Though the story travels between 1700s and the current days, the author was very clear in depicting the parallel paths that both the principal characters travel on. And the story which took place in the 1700s was very interesting to read. The whole thing was fascinating and it was intriguing to know that the author had woven that part of the story around some true facts.

Overall, it's an interesting story which is moderately engaging. This book is worth 4 stars for me. I am giving this honest review in exchange of an ARC that I got from the publisher and Netgalley.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't a right fit for me. I ended up liking the past plot more than the present, as the present character felt immature and undeveloped. Still, the plot itself was immersive and interesting enough for me to keep going as I wanted to know how the story ends. As a history nerd, I appreciated the history aspect and I felt like the details and events from that time period were represented pretty good. With more attention given to the present storyline, I feel like this book could be better rounded and would be rated higher.

Even if it's well researched and well written I found the dual timeline confusing and the story didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

It's 1584 and Elizabeth I rules England. With dangerous plots to kill her and her never ending fights with Mary Queen of Scots. This takes us through to present time. I did have a but of a hard time with the way it was done but I just read it a bit slower. When Mathhilde gets a summons to Lytton Hall she finds her past a shock but even more so when she is searching for answers of a mystery hundreds of years old. 3.5 stars

⭐⭐

This is a hard review for me to write. It wasn't a BAD book by any means, but I also felt like something was missing. It just didn't WOW me. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I didn't particularly like Mathilde, and honestly didn't feel like her storyline added anything interesting to the plot. Tom's was definitely the more engaging of the two. However, even his storyline just plodded along without a lot of excitement. The romance was underdeveloped as well. This one just didn't hit the mark as much as I was hoping it would. 🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This book is a dual timeline with Tom in 1584 and Mathilda in present day. Tom's story was well told and intriguing as a mute having trained as an apothecary becoming involved in the court of Queen Elizabeth 1 at the time when there was plotting and counterplotting to bring Mary and Catholicism back to the throne. The descriptive writing of the goings on at court was very interesting, as was Tom's back story. Fast forward to 2021 when Mathilda, who is leading a nomadic life as a photographer around Europe is unexpectedly left a house in Norfolk by her father, who she thought was dead. I enjoyed both story threads and the connections between them across the centuries.

This is my type of historical fiction. Combining a present day timeline with one from the 1500s, Marchant does an excellent job overlapping and keeping you interested in both sets of characters. The entire time I was curious if there would be some major plot twist but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it’s more a story about paralleling lives of ancestors and learning to find new family and except loss of the others.

The character building was well done, with obviously well researched French history and a dash of delightful botany. There were moments that seemed to drag when the characters became a bit lost in their own minds, but for never long enough for me to lose interest. Over all the pace of the story was steady and consistent and I did find myself very eager to finish, due to the connection between the duel timelines and how Marchant’a writing was able to draw me in.

I was a huge fan of Clare Marchant’s debut novel, The Secrets of Saffron Hall, so I was very keen to read her ‘difficult second novel’ which features a character from the first novel, but has moved forward slightly in time historically to the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

Well, Clare has made the ‘difficult second novel’ look as easy and breezy as the first with this book. Again we are dealing with a dual timeline, in modern day Norfolk, and sixteenth century London, following the lives of two nomadic souls. In the present day, rootless Mathilde has travelled to England to find out more about an unexpected inheritance and family she had no idea existed. However, she has no intention of staying in the ancient house with its hidden secrets any longer than she must. But the ghosts that haunt the place aren’t keen on letting her go until she has uncovered their stories.

Back in the 1500s, Tom also also travelled from France to make a new life. Both deaf and mute, he also finds it difficult to fit in and put down roots, until he finds how useful he can be to England’s powerful Queen in her war against the cousin who would usurp her throne. Tom and Mathilde’s stories run parallel in their quests for a home and a family they never knew they wanted or believed they could ever have.

What I really loved about this book, and what makes it stand out for me in the canon of dual timeline romances, is the featuring of a male protagonist as the vessel for the story in the past timeline. Clare slips as easily into the skin of sixteenth century male servant just as easily as she did the shoes of her female protagonist in the historical part of her previous novel. She has managed to capture life from his perspective – poor, foreign, physically disadvantaged – absolutely perfectly so that he feels fully authentic and really brings the period to life. The peril in which those without power lived day to day, subject to the whims of their capricious overlords and living in a court full of danger and intrigue. You can feel the fear emanating from the pages.

Equally, in the modern day, I loved the prickly character of Mathilde, thrust into an equally strange environment. Fiercely independent but secretly lonely and vulnerable, she has put up a barrier to everyone else that is going to be hard for anyone to break down. However, over the course of the novel we understand, along with the other characters, why she is as she is and how to get at the real person underneath. Despite her awkward character, you can’t help but sympathise with her, and long for her to see what she could have if she lets people in.

The author has woven the two timelines together perfectly again, the transition between past and present not at all jarring to the reader. Bothe timelines are alive with imagery – sights, sounds, scents bringing each setting fully to life. Exploring the flat, open landscape of Norfolk, and the dank, crowded streets of Elizabethan London with equal aplomb, this is a truly transportive novel. Particularly emotionally, I found, as both the plights of Mathilde and Tom moved me, especially the ending.

This is a great read for anyone fond of this historical period, fans of dual timelines, or those who just love a well-written, immersive novel exploring love and relationships and what humans really need to live fulfilling lives.

The book covers an historical timescale that has always interested me but the main characters in The Queen's Spy have always been on the periphery of my knowledge.
It was good to get a better understanding of the Babbington plot as my ancestry leads back to Bebbingtons from the same area.
A lot of time spent in Inns thick with smoke and foggy London streets but worth a read for anyone with a love of history with a dash of romance.

I was looking forward to reading this and sometimes don't mind a dual timeline but this one I feel didn't work really well for me.

The two stories just didn't gel well and they didn't get me excited or make me want to read on. It was a bit slow and didn't flow well, it was more like two separate stories rather than one where both stories meet some where, at sometime!

The story lines were a bit flimsy and it took me a while to read it as I got distracted and started reading other books instead. It was alright but not my favourite style of Historical Fiction writing.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Avon Books for approving me for an ARC of this book. I read Clare Marchant’s debut The Secrets of Saffron Hall last month and loved it so I hoped this one would live up to my expectations.

I’m pleased to say that Clare Marchant didn’t disappoint with this book. There’s always that pressure to be as good as your debut and Clare has delivered a story that is oozing with history and memorable characters.

I was so pleased to see the return of Tom from Clare’s first book. Whilst he featured as a secondary character in Saffron Hall he was one of my favourites. In The Queen’s Spy we meet Tom as an adult and learn what happened to him and Eleanor when they fled England. I loved that he had learnt so many apothecary skills from Eleanor and found a way to communicate despite being deaf and mute.

Historical fiction has got to be up there as one of my top genres to read but when a book is set during the Elizabethan era then my inner geek comes out as I love that period! Anything to do with Henry VIII or his children’s rule will always grab my attention. Tom’s role in helping to keep Queen Elizabeth on the throne was very interesting, his disability was seen as an advantage and although he suffered a lot of heartbreak I was pleased with how his story played out.

The likeness between Mathilde and Tom was uncanny. As soon as we learnt more of Mathilde’s back story you could see that these two characters were connected by more than just blood. Mathilde had my upmost sympathy for her start in life and the situation she came to at Lutton Hall. I could understand her confusion and the hurt but by the end of the story I felt she had found a true connection with the house and those around her.

With a dual timeline that cleverly weaves past and present together, the final conclusion is both satisfying and brilliantly executed. I wanted to solve the mystery of the triptych and the hidden message but I also didn’t want the story to end.

Enthralling interwoven tales of mystery, espionage and love, set in dual timelines switching between the present day and Tudor England under the disputed reign of Elizabeth I, where dangerous plots are being hatched to release Mary Queen of Scots from her imprisonment to reign over England.

Tom has had a difficult life, abandoned by his parents and fleeing from England to France then back to England in search of safety and security. As a highly skilled apothecary, his talents are soon in demand at the palace of Queen Elizabeth I and it seems his luck has finally changed.

Mathilde has led a solitary, nomadic life following the loss of both her parents and earns a living as a photojournalist. After receiving a mysterious official letter, despite her intended anonymity, she is forced to make a detour and travels to England to resolve the matter.

Beautifully drawn characters, generously peppered with historical details and cleverly woven into an immersive and twisting plot.

This was the first time reading Clare's work and if this is the quality of her work I will have to read her debut book The Secrets of Saffron Hall.
The Queen's Spy was a highly enjoyable read, I really enjoyed the dual storylines. 1584 timeline set in Elizabeth 1st era of England was fascinating and made me get a sense of that era and the really felt for Tom and how he tried to navigate in a world where he could not hear or speak. The 2021 timeline of Mathilde was fascinating and really was intrigued about how she was going to navigate her new world in England and her new family.
If you enjoy historical fiction books, I would highly recommend reading The Queen's Spy.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for allowing me access to this book in return for a review.

Read if you like: Tudor England history, dual timelines.
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This book tells the story of Tom, a person who was born with hearing loss and doesn't speak, becomes Queen Elizabeth I's apothecary and spy. In the present, we have Mathilde who comes to England after finding out she has family that she didn't know about. While in England, she discovers something that could uncover a secret that has been hidden for almost 500 years.
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I really loved Tom and Mathilde as main characters. They were complex and trying to find a place for themselves in the world and trying to find their 'families.' I also liked how the dual timeline was done!
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CW: torture, death, violence.

Two travellers of different generation in search of home. Tom travelled from France and was quickly acknowledged for his apothecary skills which eventually landed him in Queen Elizabeth I court. His lack of hearing and speaking had always disadvantaged him unless he started spying on behalf of the court. It is the Tudor period. Queen Elizabeth has threats all around her and with Queen Mary trying to take over, situation is tense. Tom makes her perfect spy as no one suspects him of understanding anything and they don't know he can lip read. Tom also is efficient as he uses shorthand.
Mathilde, in the present time, recieved a mysterious letter asking her to come to Norfolk where she discovers that her father, who she believed to have died when she was young, was not only alive until a few months ago, but has actively been searching for her and her mother. Mathilde has grown up never staying at one place but she's always wanted to put down her roots. Her new found sister is excited for Mathilde to be home but others are sceptical.
Mathilde finds a triptych hidden in the small chapel and thus begins a journey to find answers as to what happened.
I enjoyed the different period storyline. They were similar yet spoke of their own time. I was equally invested in Tom as I was with Mathilde and my heart went out to them both. I loved how the story progressed, the mysteries kept me engaged with the plot. Being a history graduate, The Queen's Spy pulled me in, from the house to the events and the eventual discovery of the truth. And to think this is probably just one such instance of that time.
I got emotional; I mean I had to take a breather to gather myself and continue reading. The pacing was so consistent, even without reading the year, I knew who's storyline I was reading. I needed answers and I knew that is how it would end, yet I didn't want it to end.

The year 1584 and Elizabeth I is on the throne of England. But a dangerous plot is brewing at court, people believe that Mary Queen of Scots is the true Queen of England and her loyal supporters will stop at nothing to take her cousin’s throne.
Tom, the queen’s trusted apothecary, is a deaf mute and this makes him the perfect silent spy.

The year 2021: and travelling the globe in her camper-van is Mathilde. She has never belonged really belonged anywhere. So when she receives news of an inheritance, from her father who she thought had died years ago she is soon shocked to discover she has a family in England as well.

The medieval hall she inherits conceals secrets, and she quickly makes a haunting discovery. Can she unravel the truth about what happened there all those years ago? And will she finally find a place to call home?

This story is told from two perspectives and in two different timelines. I really enjoyed Tom’s story, how he struggled all his life and finally finds a home in London only to have this taken away from him because he catches the eye of one of the Queen’s men who uses him to thwart a plot to steal Elizabeth’s throne.

The present day story was not as enjoyable, I did not take to Mathilde and found her to be uninteresting and that part of the story was a bit repetitive. I also did not like the instalove story line between Mathilde and Oliver. I feel her time would have been better spent building a relationship with her sister.

I still give this book 4 stars as the medieval portion of the book was brilliant and well written.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I find the Tudor period fascinating, so I jumped at the chance to read The Queen's Spy. I also am a huge fan of authors embedding their characters in the middle of historical events; this really grounds the narrative and brings authenticity to the work. I was so pleased to find this happening in TQS.

Some of the things that really stood out to me were; Tom. Oh, Tom. I found his whole story completely absorbing. I actually wish we'd just had a standalone Tom book because honestly, to me, it really outshone the other timeline. It was rich in history and character development. I really felt like I was standing alongside Tom as he carried out his work. Another thing was the thought and research that has clearly gone in to portraying this time period - flawless. I could visualise everything.

Not so great to me was the second timeline. I'm usually a fan of dual timelines (think Kate Morton), but I really struggled to get on with Mathilde. She was incredibly closed off to those around her including the reader. I found her to be an inaccessible protagonist and because of that I will admit that I found myself skimming through her chapters.

All in all, it's a 3.5 from me.
Is it rereadable? Yes. For Tom.