Karen Maitland's 'The Drowned City' is a captivating historical mystery set against the backdrop of the catastrophic 1607 flood that devastated the Bristol Channel. Maitland’s meticulous research and evocative prose vividly recreate the chaos and fear that followed the disaster, immersing readers in a world where the boundary between reality and superstition is thin. At the heart of this richly atmospheric novel is Daniel Pursglove, a compelling protagonist whose quest for truth navigates the treacherous waters of political intrigue, personal vendettas, and supernatural fear.

Daniel Pursglove is a fascinating and multifaceted character, making him a standout in Maitland's narrative. Recently released from prison, Pursglove is tasked by a shadowy figure in King James’s court to uncover the truth behind rumours of a Catholic Jesuit conspiracy tied to the flood. His journey to the submerged city of Bristol is fraught with danger and deception. Pursglove’s intelligence, resourcefulness, and moral complexity make him an engaging and sympathetic figure. His character embodies the tension between science and superstition, rationality and fear, that permeates the novel. Pursglove’s personal growth and relentless pursuit of truth add depth and intensity to the story as he navigates the wreckage and uncovers secrets.

While Maitland’s rich, descriptive language brings the 17th-century setting to life, some readers might find it overly elaborate. The detailed descriptions, though vividly painting the scenes, can occasionally slow the narrative pace and detract from the unfolding suspense. However, for those who appreciate lush, immersive storytelling, these descriptions enhance the novel’s atmospheric depth. 'The Drowned City' perfectly depicts a society on the brink, where natural disaster exacerbates existing tensions and fears. Through Daniel Pursglove’s eyes, Maitland explores themes of faith, loyalty, and the human capacity for cruelty and compassion. Despite its occasional verbosity, 'The Drowned City' is a masterful blend of history and mystery, with Daniel Pursglove as an unforgettable guide through its murky depths.

England is a fantastic canvas of historical bedrock that generates many ideas. I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you enjoy historical fiction. I also want to thank Headline and NetGalley for providing a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Karen Maitland's 'The Drowned City' is a captivating historical mystery set against the backdrop of the catastrophic 1607 flood that devastated the Bristol Channel. Maitland’s meticulous research and evocative prose vividly recreate the chaos and fear that followed the disaster, immersing readers in a world where the boundary between reality and superstition is thin. At the heart of this richly atmospheric novel is Daniel Pursglove, a compelling protagonist whose quest for truth navigates the treacherous waters of political intrigue, personal vendettas, and supernatural fear.

Daniel Pursglove is a fascinating and multifaceted character, making him a standout in Maitland's narrative. Recently released from prison, Pursglove is tasked by a shadowy figure in King James’s court to uncover the truth behind rumours of a Catholic Jesuit conspiracy tied to the flood. His journey to the submerged city of Bristol is fraught with danger and deception. Pursglove’s intelligence, resourcefulness, and moral complexity make him an engaging and sympathetic figure. His character embodies the tension between science and superstition, rationality and fear, that permeates the novel. Pursglove’s personal growth and relentless pursuit of truth add depth and intensity to the story as he navigates the wreckage and uncovers secrets.

While Maitland’s rich, descriptive language brings the 17th-century setting to life, some readers might find it overly elaborate. The detailed descriptions, though vividly painting the scenes, can occasionally slow the narrative pace and detract from the unfolding suspense. However, for those who appreciate lush, immersive storytelling, these descriptions enhance the novel’s atmospheric depth. 'The Drowned City' perfectly depicts a society on the brink, where natural disaster exacerbates existing tensions and fears. Through Daniel Pursglove’s eyes, Maitland explores themes of faith, loyalty, and the human capacity for cruelty and compassion. Despite its occasional verbosity, 'The Drowned City' is a masterful blend of history and mystery, with Daniel Pursglove as an unforgettable guide through its murky depths.

England is a fantastic canvas of historical bedrock that generates many ideas. I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you enjoy historical fiction. I also want to thank Headline and NetGalley for providing a free ARC in return for an honest review.

An historical novel set in Jacobean times just after the Gunpowder Plot. I had no idea about the tsunami and subsequent flooding of Bristol so found that element of the story interesting. I enjoyed the book but felt too many unanswered questions. What happened to Rachael and her father. Who was Spero and does he even exist? This is the first of a series so maybe the answers will appear in subsequent books.

Highly entertaining story of witchcraft and conspiracy set against a fully realised and researched historical setting. Loved

Unfortunately I decided to DNF this at 35%. Whilst I liked the narrator and the start of the story I am finding that not a lot is happening. The descriptions are beautiful and the setting is set very well but it hasn't grasped my attention.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

THE DROWNED CITY is a great historical mystery set in a city awash with rogues taking advantage of disaster, religious bigots using the disaster to promote their own ends, and lots of people who don't want questions asked.

This is a historical fiction full of tension and small details, weaving a new story around the pillars of history, imagining what might have happened among the chaos. It works so well, giving you both the sense of being deeply rooted in place and time while having the freedom to imagine and create something new.

The Stuarts era is full of suspicion, with spies under Robert Cecil (who we see in this book.) The story makes full use of the watchful, doubtful era and the inability to trust anyone is really telling the truth. I particularly enjoyed the suspicions over Daniel's true mission - find the truth, or find a scapegoat?

The main mystery in Bristol is narrated from Daniel's perspective, first person past tense. Bookending this is his time in London, which was narrated in third person past tense, while scattered among his investigations were break aways to time in London seeing what other characters were doing (also third person past tense.) The different narrative types helped keep them all separate, know whether you were dealing with the investigation or a cutaway.

The cutaways very much felt like they were setting up something that would weave over future books, introducing characters unrelated to the mystery in Bristol and showing the wider atmosphere of fear and suspicion at court and in the country at large.

This is the first book in the series, with the second one already out and a third on its way next year. I am certainly interested in continuing to read them as it feels like there is going to be an overarching mystery tying them together.

‘The Drowned City’ by KJ Maitland is first in the Daniel Pursglove historical crime series. Maitland is a new author for me and the premise is fascinating. After the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, King James I is nervous of Catholic rebellion. Pursglove is plucked from prison and offered amnesty if he tracks down an elusive Catholic conspirator, Spero Pottingar, believed to be in Bristol. While there, Daniel must also prove if the recent deadly Bristol flood was a natural disaster or witchcraft.
I enjoyed the Jacobean setting, unusual in historical crime novels, but found it slow to get going. Daniel’s introduction – we first meet him imprisoned in Newgate – is negative. Why he’s imprisoned isn’t explained, nor do we learn about his life prior to being locked up. But we do know he’s a magician and this sleight of hand proves useful as the story unfolds. I finished the book with no clear idea who Daniel Pursglove is.
The description of the Bristol flooding – a true event – is well done, visceral and moving. Death, destruction, disease, loss of livelihood. Maitland doesn’t spare the reader in her descriptions of violence and rotting corpses. People simply disappeared – drowned, safely embarked on a ship before the flood, or slipped away to start afresh somewhere new. Daniel has no idea if Pottingar is a real person or an invention. He may be in Bristol, have fled, or never been there at all. This gives wonderful opportunities for fictional twists and turns and when the twist came at the end, I was surprised.
‘The Drowned City’ is steeped in historical detail but at the expense of plot and character development, possibly because this is the first in the series. More is sure to be unveiled in further books but as the first book, this failed to keep me interested. Daniel’s reason for being in Bristol got lost at times in detailed description and the convoluted factions, with so many clues and red herrings that I got lost and the tension left the page. The middle section was particularly slow.
So, not a page-turner for me but if you like dense historical crime mysteries it may suit you.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

A historical mystery set in Jacobean England. Bristol has just experienced a tsunami and a body of a young woman is found. Not from the disaster but murdered.
We are also introduced to Daniel Pursglove, a street entertainer who has just been released from Newgate.
What we get is a dark atmospheric story with great characters.

This is an interesting story set in the period just after the Gunpowder Plot. Bristol has been submerged by a huge wave and Daniel Pursglove is released from Newgate to track down a Jesuit who is supposedly lurking in the city. It is a time of superstition and the threat of witches looms around every corner. Daniel has to place himself in danger to discover who is committing vile murders and whether the Jesuit threat is real. An interesting beginning to a series of books based on Daniel Pursglove, very evocative of the period with some terrible scenes of cruelty. Thanks to the author, the publishers and to Net Galley for the opportunity to read the boik in return for an honest review.

A really engaging and atmospheric historical fiction piece. Excellent writing and the plot was rich and mysterious. A super fun read

I hadn’t managed to get round to this, but was lucky enough to receive a proof copy of the second in this series The Traitor in the Ice, so I decided to read them together in a short gap I had. I was immediately drawn into a turbulent seventeenth century Bristol in the aftermath of a giant wave that moved as far inland as Glastonbury Tor. Once thought to be a tsunami this event is now considered to be a storm surge. Using this dramatic event as her backdrop, Maitland introduces our hero Daniel Pursglove, a magician currently incarcerated in Newgate Goal. He’s surprised to be visited by King James I of England and his advisor Charles FitzAlan. He sends Daniel on a mission to Bristol to root out Catholic traitors. He hopes to bring good news back for King James I and perhaps change his own fortunes.
Daniel is drawn in to the terrible hate and recriminations between Catholics and Protestants, not to mention a conspiracy to murder. The research is meticulous and I loved the way the author really embedded her story in the history of the time. Whether it was the detail of a costume, the interior of someone’s home or the atmosphere caused by witchcraft, superstition and betrayal of that time. It honestly felt like looking in on a real moment from history. I felt the anxiety and fear of a time where the King is irrational and his supporters carry out persecution and suspicion on his behalf. I found myself struggling to imagine how incredibly stressful living through this must have been. I didn’t solve the mystery before it was revealed and I did have one of those moments where you go ‘Oh! That’s why that happened’. I found myself flipping pages back to look at the clues. This was a fascinating historical murder mystery and the second book didn’t disappoint either.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Headline and the author for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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While it was slow to start, I really enjoyed The Drowned City and had a fun time working through its mysteries.

It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I particularly liked how it seemed that the main plot would be one thing but then the protagonist got sidetracked and it turned out that the side quest was the main quest all along.

The writing style was a bit clunky at times but I'm definitely going to be picking up book two to see what happens next!

Overall rating: 4/5 stars

I will admit it did take me a longer than usual to get into/through this book…however, I’m still glad I read it.

It is very much set up like an introductory novel to a series where we follow Daniel Pursglove, a prisoner who has been temporarily released to find this mysterious Spero Pettingar.

When Pursglove arrives in Bristol, he gets sidetracked from his main mission due to a murder and mutilation of a horse :(

It took me a while to figure out that this was the main plot of The Drowned City and the search for Pettingar is part of the wider plot that will extend across the series. The POVs in London don’t seem totally relevant now but I imagine that they plant seeds for what is to come in the next books in the series. Once I was able to focus on the plot for this book, I did enjoy the story, although the internal monologue for Pursglove did read clunky and not smooth at times.

That being said, I’m invested in Pursglove’s adventure to find the traitor so I’ll definitely try to get my hands on the next book in the series!

I’ve read and very much enjoyed other books by KJ Maitland but The Drowned City is, for me, by far her best. She’s excellent at historical detail and in any of her stories, the reader is transported to a different time and place. This is the first of two books featuring Daniel Pursglove, a street entertainer who’s imprisoned in Newgate. He has skills that will help James I; his reign is threatened by Catholic plots, conspiracy and political intrigue.

Maitland weaves a spellbinding story of revenge and mystery in a thriller which also explores a post flood Bristol. I knew little about the events depicted here and the authors skill in bringing history to life is apparent on every page. This is a winner in every way; a murder mystery, a thriller and historical fiction which brings a turbulent Jacobean period very much to life. Absolutely loved this and looking forward to the follow up. A triumph.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

As a fan of historical novels, The Drowned City has introduced me to a new, unexplored time in our history and I am hooked. K J Maitland's writing is addictive, you are hooked in to the characters she creates and their lives as the story unfolds. Dark, as life was then - we learn of Witches, superstition, religion and the hardships faced by many.

I am looking forward to readimg more from K J Maitland.

I was given a copy of The Drowned City by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Well written and researched this is a beautifully descriptive book though a number of the descriptions prove to be somewhat gruesome. Atmospheric clever descriptive intelligent and engaging from start to finish. Brilliant characters throughout especially our somewhat reluctant hero, who I look forward to following in more adventures. A real feel for time and place with surprising twists in the hunt for a murderer, at times the tension of the action sequences found me holding my breath.
Completely recommended.

The Drowned City by K. J. Maitland is an historical detective novel set in 1606, in the reign of James I of England and VI of Scotland. It takes place a year after the Gunpowder Plot and conveys the fear and suspicion between Catholics and Protestants at the time. I felt the book could have been more condensed, and the pacing quite slow, but it was an enjoyable read overall, and an interesting time period to read about.

I didn’t realise when I began reading The Drowned City that K J Maitland is Karen Maitland, an author whose books I’ve enjoyed in the past. It is the first book of a new series featuring Daniel Pursglove, set in Jacobean England under the reign of James I of England and VI of Scotland. It is an historical thriller set in 1606, a year after the Gunpowder Plot failed.

It begins dramatically as a huge wave surges up the Bristol Channel, flooding the surrounding countryside in south-west England and parts of South Wales causing devastation and loss of life. The drama continues with Daniel Pursglove’s arrival in Bristol sent on the orders of King James to find Spero Pettingar, one of the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot. King James is fearful of his life as there are rumours of more Catholic uprisings and plots to assassinate him, especially if the flood is taken as a sign of God’s anger, revenge for the executions of the conspirators.

Daniel is an interesting character, but there is a mystery about him. He was in Newgate prison at the start of the book, but no details are given about what crime he had committed, and little is given about his family background. He is offered his freedom if he finds Spero, or torture and death if he doesn’t. King James is an expert on witchcraft and also fears the flood was caused by enchantments, by witches and sorcerers paid by Jesuits to wreck the King’s ports and open the country to an invading army.

Daniel’s real name is not Pursglove. He’s skilled at opening locks, described as a ‘crossbiter’ meaning a trickster, and hints are given about his origins – we know he had been educated as a nobleman and brought up to act the lord, but without money, title of position, raised in Lord Fairfax’s Catholic household. He is also a most determined and courageous investigator and he needs all his skills during his visit to Bristol, as his life is in danger more than once.

I like description in a novel but it is excessive in the this book, so much so, that it slowed down the narrative almost to a standstill in places and I had to really concentrate to keep track of who was who and even what was actually going on. The detailed description makes it a long book.

There is an extensive Glossary at the end of the book that explains many of the terms that puzzled me and was unable to find in a dictionary – I wish I’d discovered it when I began the book, rather than in the middle. Maitland’s historical research is impressive but at times I felt I was reading a history book rather than a novel. However, overall I enjoyed reading it and I’m looking forward to reading the second book in the series, The Traitor in the Ice.

Description (from cover): “Gunpowder and treason changed England forever. But the tides are turning and revenge runs deep in this masterful historical thriller for fans of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor’s Ashes of London, Kate Mosse and Blood and Sugar.

1606. England stands divided in the wake of the failed Gunpowder Plot. As a devastating tidal wave sweeps the Bristol Channel, rumours of new treachery reach the King.

In Newgate prison, Daniel Pursglove receives an unexpected–and dangerous–offer. Charles FitzAlan, close confidant of King James, will grant his freedom–if Daniel can infiltrate the underground Catholic network in Bristol and unmask the one conspirator still at large.

Where better to hide a traitor than in the chaos of a drowned city? Daniel goes to Bristol to investigate, but soon finds himself at the heart of a dark Jesuit conspiracy–and in pursuit of a killer.”

My Thoughts:

This book is set in the 1600’s in Bristol in an England that is deeply divided between the Protestants and Catholics. King James I is on the throne and this story takes place a year after the Gunpowder Plot was foiled. James is terrified of assassination and sees death in everything and is very superstitious. He is paranoid and determined to prevent any Catholic uprisings in his Protestant England. Daniel Pursglove is in prison and is offered the chance of a pardon if he seeks out a missing conspirator from the Gunpowder Plot.

Rumor has it that the missing man is in Bristol, which has just been devastated by a tidal wave that killed hundreds and destroyed many homes and businesses. Daniel travels from London to Bristol to seek out the missing man and bring him to justice at the cost of his own freedom. If he is successful he won’t have to return to prison and will be a free man; if not, he faces torture and death. Daniel makes connections when he arrives in Bristol and no one is to be trusted.

This book was a long read at 495 pages. At times, I felt the writer used too many descriptive details and could have condensed the story somewhat. Overall this was a good read and a fantastic debut to this new historical mystery series. I loved the setting as it has been quite some time since I have read anything in this time period. The superstitions and the unrest during this time really shows throughout this book and the author did a wonderful job of researching the time period. The book did seem tedious in some areas, but overall, I found this to be a quite engaging read and I am excited to read the next book in this series.

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars
Author: K. J. Maitland

Series: Daniel Pursglove Mystery #1

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: April 1, 2021

Pages: 495

Genre: Historical Mystery

Get It: Amazon

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.