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Traitor (John Shakespeare Mystery Book 4) Kindle Edition

by Rory Clements (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 3,311 ratings
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The Elizabethan spy discovers conspiracy and murder in northern England in this historical mystery inspired by true events.

England, 1593. Under the threat of a second Spanish Armada, the maverick magician Dr. Dee has created a secret weapon for the crown. Now John Shakespeare—court spy and brother of the famous playwright—has been sent to Lancashire to keep the man and his invention safe.

But when the country is a hotbed of secret loyalties and civil unrest, a simple assignment leads to deadly complications. Shakespeare stumbles upon Catholic priests in hiding, a mysterious Bohemian seductress, and—of course—murder.

Between facing off with a nefarious witch hunter and attending one of the first performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the intrepid John Shakespeare fights to stay alive while on the hunt for a deadly traitor.
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  1. Book 4 of 7
    John Shakespeare Mystery
  2. Print length
    497 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    William Morrow Paperbacks
  6. Publication date
    November 5, 2013
  7. File size
    1313 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CGZXQOE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (November 5, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 5, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1313 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 497 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 3,311 ratings

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Rory Clements

Rory Clements

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
3,311 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Linda A. Caduto
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good condition!
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2023
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Pleased with the quality of this book!!!!!
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James Dainis
4.0 out of 5 stars Many Different Plot Lines
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2014
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John Shakespeare is an Intelligencer for the queen, the equal to a CIA agent today. In most novels in this series that usually involves uncovering a treacherous plot or solving a murder. Things are a lot more complicated in this novel. He must protect a newly invented top secret device, a perspective glass (telescope) and its inventor from falling into the hands of the enemy. While staying in Latham, the Earl of Derby suffers from a mysterious ailment and dies. Was he poisoned? By whom? A priest is killed and has in his possession a mysterious message that may or may not point to treason. Can John solve that? And then, his adopted son, Andrew, is accused of a hanging crime and flees to the forest and joins a band of vagabonds. Can John Shakespeare find him and save him? If that is not enough on his plate, Shakespeare also has to infiltrate a Spanish Fort to open the gates for the English army. The plots just keep rolling on and on.

It is an interesting novel and I like the descriptions and the characters. It just seems that there is too much squeezed into this book even though it is almost 500 pages in length. After the death of the Earl of Derby, that plot line just seems to drop as John Shakespeare goes off into another plot line adventure. I find it hard to believe that the best way they find to protect this secret telescope from falling into enemy hands is to strap it to the chest of a man, Ivory, who is a bit of a scoundrel, and then have only one man to protect him. Ivory is forever sneaking away to seek out taverns and gambling dens of the lowest sort. After sneaking away one time he does get severely beaten for cheating but somehow the telescope is undamaged and not stolen. That really does seem a hard part of the story for me to believe. Why not simply keep this telescope locked in a secure castle surrounded by armed guards?

The book shifts back and forth from what John Shakespeare is doing to what his adopted son is doing. It is almost as if the reader is reading two different novels. Somehow everything does seem to come together in the end. It is a good book but it is a bit of a roller coaster ride.
3 people found this helpful
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M. L. Cockerill
5.0 out of 5 stars Zard review of Traitor
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2016
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This is the fourth book I have read in this series and like the past three books I loved it. It is gritty, dark, unpredicatble and although it moves along at a good clip you feel like you are being dragged through some pretty tough stuff. This book takes place after the Spanish Armada failed invasion, I think in the 1590's (I miss these details sometimes). If you want to know what it would be like to live in Elizabethan England during the 1580's and onward for the rich down to the poor this is a good series to read. You get the adventure, suspense and mystery in this book but you also get a great feel for the time. If you like history, if you like English history and/or if you like Tudor history READ THIS SERIES. It is great stuff but do not read it in bed at night. It will destroy and proper amount of sleep that you need.
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thorsprincess
4.0 out of 5 stars Adventure and Intrigue in a Rich Historical Period
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2015
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I enjoy the concept and detail that Clements brings to his books. He is a good storyteller, and his main characters and plots are interesting and compelling. After reading all his books, one quibble for me is his fascination with endless repetition of a few tiresome scatological expressions and a few too many details in awkward sexual encounters. (Mr. Shakespeare is much too fond of referring to his "yard, " as an apparently confident 17th Century man may have esteemed his dangly parts. I note that "pizzle," probably for its barnyard/slaughterhouse connotation, seems to be a favorite word for other men's members, particularly when demeaning a "lesser man," or when violently removed, or threatened with removal.) Clements' mysteries are entertaining, straightforwardly written, rollicking adventure plots, with sound historical foundation, and would appeal to a YA audience, if the author could tame some of his enthusiasm for the naughty bits. While the 17th Century is certainly an age of vulgarity, violence, cruelty, and unbelievable filth, its Rabelaisian excesses lose their shocking effect, soon becoming banal and tedious. I shouldn't be rolling my eyes at the hackneyed expressions used in a passionate scene involving the protagonist. I share Mr. Clements' enthusiasm for this incredibly rich historical period; it is truly riveting in its sublime and grotesque contrasts, and the author understands and brings intelligence and passion for the era, along with a modern sense that these people, while far removed from our time, are not far removed in their humanity, and/or lack of it. Modern depravity could never shock an Early Modern historian! I especially enjoyed the battle sequences and the unraveling of the mystery at the end of this book, where the need to move the plot quickly also caused characters become much more interesting and nuanced. with delightful plot twists leading to a satisfying denouement. John Shakespeare, intelligencer (spy) for Robert Cecil and Queen Elizabeth, is perfectly placed to allow readers to explore this complex historical period. Glimpses of the character's brother, young Will Shakespeare, increase the delight and intrigue of these mystery/adventures. I look forward to more books in the series!
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Kindle Customer Ella
5.0 out of 5 stars going back in time
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2014
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Traitor was a fascinating step back in time for a mystery. I felt like I was there with the characters. I particularly like the emphasis on the importance of family. It also seemed to me that not that much has changed in government. Loyalties were mixed and knowing clearly who could be depended on for honesty was almost impossible. I would like to read another in the series.
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Alice
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not whoopy good
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2013
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It was a good read, but not my favourite in the series. I wonder what will become of Andrew Woode, Shakespeare's adoptive son, in future books and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.
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gingblack@aol.com
5.0 out of 5 stars Each book better than last
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2019
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I like these books. The plots are interesting and the characters are very good. Perfect for historical mysteries. The ending was a bit convoluted but on the whole an enjoyable read.
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Top reviews from other countries

Mabel clark
5.0 out of 5 stars book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2024
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bought on behalf of a friend. She liked it.
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Pauline
5.0 out of 5 stars Tension, honour, love, revenge
Reviewed in Canada on July 3, 2017
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I enjoyed this book. At times I had to take a break and put the book down as the scene became too tense. In a TV series or movie, you would hear the music as a warning that danger is around the corner, but in a book, words are the only tool. The author prepares the audience well for what is to come (almost) but of course, you can never guess it correctly with the Shakespeare books. I also enjoyed reading about Shakespeare's son Andrew Woode and his adventure. It's good to see the development of his character and the vagabond girl that he met. I like Shakespeare's assistant as well, even though we hardly ever see them together. As for Shakespeare's arch enemy, finally, I can see the light in the tunnel – yay! Well, not yet. We will see how long it takes in the series for the hated character to be gone. And instead of the cheap tricks of cliff hangers used by some TV series, a decent ending and settling of the scene makes you want to read the next book!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Persceptive
Reviewed in Italy on May 3, 2015
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From the point of view of history, Clements hits the nail on the head every time, an excellent book to read.
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Danlon
4.0 out of 5 stars Another Clement rousing tale! I am very appreciative of ...
Reviewed in Canada on August 19, 2017
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Another Clement rousing tale! I am very appreciative of the research by him in order to bring that era of English history to life warts and all.
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gammyjill
4.0 out of 5 stars Another good novel from Rory Clements
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2012
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British author Rory Clements newest novel, "Traitor", is the fourth in his John Shakespeare series. John is the older brother of Will, who makes appearances in the books, but the stories concentrate on John. He is an "intelligencer" for Queen Elizabeth's adviser, Sir Robert Cecil. The job of "intelligencer" seems to be a combination of aide/spy/flunky/and fixer. And what a large amount of "fixing" John Shakespeare has to do in "Traitor"!

"Traitor" is set in 1593, late in the reign of Elizabeth I. On-going troubles with Spain are coming to a head as a second Armada is rumored to be on the way to the British coastline. Also simmering are the problems between English Protestants and English Catholics. Robert Cecil has charged John Shakespeare with protecting the inventors of a wonderful new spyglass, trying to prevent the glass from falling into the hands of Spanish spies. Shakespeare is also investigating the disappearance of his adopted son, Andrew Woode, from his Oxford college. And there's a mysterious death of one of Elizabeth's supporters, as well as a group of vagabonds, who show up quite often. In fact, there are so many plot lines that the reader is sometimes hard-pressed to remember which character goes with which plot. That's characteristic of Rory Clements' previous novels, but especially so in "Traitor". Added to the plot lines is more military action in this novel than I remember in his previous books. But the military scenes are well-written and Clements thoughtfully includes three maps in the front of the book to help the reader keep up with the action.

I'm giving "Traitor" four stars instead of five because of the complexity of the plot. That's not normally a problem for me as a reader of historical fiction, however in this case I feel that Rory Clements is trying to cram five pounds of stuff into a three pound bag. But it is still an excellent read, particularly for Rory Clements fans.
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