Douglas Skelton

Jonas Flynt has barely recovered from his last mission when he is given a new one. He is tasked to find a lawyer called Templeton who knows the secrets of the Fellowship, secrets he may be willing to divulge. However as Flynt starts his journey he doesn't realise he is part of a bigger game, one designed to destroy him.
I really like the last book in the series and this one is equally as good. Set in the early days of the reign of George I, life in London is portrayed in all it's grime reality. However by moving the latter part of the action to the wild northern countryside Skelton has added another dimension to his writing and it really works.… (mere)

Exciting historical thriller series continues

Jonas Flynt! Once more mired in the machinations of Colonel Nathaniel Charters. As he’s reminded obliquely by Charters, his life is in the Colonel’s hands. Hang for highway robbery or work for Charters. Unknown to all but a few Charters “commands a small company known as the Company of Rogues…to be used either as informants or agents in defence of king and country.”
Charters is a spymaster. For Jonas, in the end I think it’s a matter of his choice to continue with Charters. Jonas is a man of integrity, despite his history of wrong doing.
It’s 1716. Working for the Company he’s trying to find a witness to the machinations of the Fellowship. This is a group of powerful men who remain hidden in the shadows, playing the long game. Placing men in powerful positions to do what the Fellowship wants, which is a world bending to their desires. Untold wealth and influence at home and abroad.
Illegitimate Jonas has already killed his lordly father, a degenerate. His half brother, Lord James Moncrieff, a member of the Fellowship, (who desires to be the Grand Master) wants revenge. Jonas finds he needs to head north to discover the whereabouts of the witness. It’s a long and tortuous trek, leading to a deranged lord. Jonas finds himself embroiled in a seperate plot of Moncrieff’s, and needed help comes from friend Gabriel Cain. Help or what? Jonas is puzzled! Although his best friend, something seems a little off about Gabriel.
Before the tale ends, Jonas is beaten and near hanged. Bodies litter the ground behind him.
An intriguing historical thriller that takes us through the stews of London, and on into even more dangerous territory.
I kept thinking about Jonas and the atmosphere, the edge of things, the picture beyond the action, long after I’d finished. Why? I guess the plight of the anti hero appealed to me. And then there’s Jonas’ reactions to rats! Ugh!

A Canelo ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change… (mere)

Douglas Skelton's A Grave for a Thief is the third volume in the Company of Rogues series, the first of the series that I've read. Set primarily in early 18th Century London, the series features Jonas Flynt, a sort of rogue with ethics. He's been a soldier, a highway man, and a gambler. Recently, he's been blackmailed into working for the Company of Rogues, a sort of non-official secret service.

One of the Company of Rogues' primary activities is keeping track of The Fellowship, a shadowy group willing to break the law and fomenting civil disturbances in order to turn a profit. In this title, Flynt is searching for a missing lawyer, Christopher Templeton. Templeton suddenly disappeared when he was about to provide the Company of Rogues with damning information about The Fellowship. This search leads Flynt far from London to a quiet village in the north—a village that's too quiet. A few bullies speak and act as they wish, the rest try to remain unnoticed in the background.

A Grave for a Thief fits into the swashbuckler genre. There is a mystery here, but it's not solved so much by careful investigation, but by Flynt's willingness to leap into potentially explosive situations and fight his way back out of them. I prefer my historical mysteries with more intellectual cantral characters who are more clearly situated within the politics of their time. Flynt's no fool, but he's quick to take foolish actions and the Company of Rogues v. The Fellowship struggle doesn't include specific political events or characters from the time.

Would I read another Company of Rogues title? If it came my way, yes—but this isn't a series I'm going to follow as obsessively as I do, for example, C.S. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series or S. J. Parris' Giordano Bruno series.

If you enjoy your historical mysteries packed with action and clear "teams" of good guys and bad guys, you'll enjoy A Grave for a Thief. Even if that's not your primary area of interest, it provides an entertaining read when you're looking for a new title.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.… (mere)