Lord Spencer's book takes one of the most important events in English history -- the regicide of Charles I -- and opens the door to the world of the time, offering compelling portraits of the men who did the unthinkable and killed a divinely-appointed monarch. A fascinating and gripping portrayal that highlights many figures who have been shrouded behind the mists of time.

This book does a fairly good job of doing what it sets out to do: describing the fates of the 'men who dared to execute Charles I'. If that wasn't exactly what I was expecting, despite the fact that it states it right there on the cover, the deficiency is clearly mine. I picked up this book to expand my study of British history beyond the Tudor era, but this was probably not the best introduction to the English Civil War.

Instead of looking at Charles I and why the people decided to rise up and kill him, this book details the punishments that were meted out or avoided at great cost when Charles II came to the throne. Since I knew little or nothing about the people involved, it was difficult for me to remain interested in their stories. I really needed more background and broader knowledge in order to appreciate these individual stories.

I was impressed by the demonstrations of deep faith on the part of the men who were methodically hunted down and executed employing the most violent methods. They had dared to kill a king and were still certain that God was on their side. The hunters are more difficult to sympathize with as they spend years and valuable resources tracking down men, even once they are silenced and aged, so that they can be brought to 'justice'.