The Trip to Jerusalem - Edward Marston > Reviews (1)

Even though Edward Marston has been around for quite a while and, over time, has written 40 crime novels set in different historical periods, I had never heard of him until a few weeks ago when I picked up one of his books. It was a random purchase (£1.99 at the Works, part of their constant 3 for £5 offer), and I was drawn to it by its intriguing plot and pretty cover. After reading it I discovered that The Trip to Jerusalem is actually part of Marston's Elizabethan Mystery Collection that features two other books - The Queen's Head and The Merry Mystery, but each works individually as a stand-alone book, and so you don't need to read all three to understand the story.

The book is set at a time when the Black Plague is terrorizing the citizens of England, and many people are dying. Westfield's Men (the theatre company) are forced to leave London and their loved ones behind to go on tour in order to get away from the disease, and plan to make their final destination York, where they will perform at an inn called 'The Trip to Jerusalem'. Their journey leads them in and out of trouble, especially with a rival theater group's constant interference, and many notable murders along the way. Nicholas Bracewell, the company's book-holder, seems to be the only member with the resources to get them there safely, and he is put to the test as the plot begins to thicken and his own life is endangered.

There are so many characters in this book, and Marston chooses to write in the 3rd person to allow readers to get to know each of them. I was sceptical about this at first, mainly because it took a while for some of the characters to grow on me, and he would usually change perspective just as I got used to one character, but I quickly adjusted to this and found that it actually added to the fast-paced nature of the book.

Marston develops the murder mystery element of the story really well - it isn't too predictable, and I really appreciated how intricately woven the plot is once I'd reached the end. It's clear that a lot of time was invested in thinking about how everything was going to be pieced together, and then hidden in a way that would keep readers guessing. I'm not really into murder mystery stories, but this was really good and I will definitely be checking out some more of Marston's stuff in the future.

Marston's historical background is clear in the way he describes the environment that characters are living in. He includes a lot of contextual information, mainly revolving around the religious conflict of the time and its effects, but he also describes the way that people lived really well. He doesn't paint an idealistic picture of England during the Elizabethan era, opting instead to bring to light the filth, grime and corruption that allowed the plague to spread and last for as long as it did. His language is accurate as well - not entirely archaic, but not completely modern, making it easy to read. One thing I really liked was the fact that he gave each of his characters their own voice.

This book is very dialogue-heavy, and I found that I quickly began to associate different speech patterns to their appropriate character - for example, Nicholas Bracewell is quite eloquent and well-spoken, whereas Lawrence Firethorn is blunt, out-spoken and very dramatic.

I thought it was really interesting that Marston chose to focus on Nicholas Bracewell and make him his protagonist. The Trip to Jerusalem isn't the only book that Nicholas features in - Marston has created a 16 book series with him as the protagonist, and works to make him a compelling character. Nicholas Bracewell sailed with Sir Francis Drake on his global expeditions, but has now settled down to manage Westfield's Men - a theater company full of strong characters. I liked Nicholas from the moment he was introduced in the book - he isn't as arrogant as the actors, nor is he as loud. He is a little reserved, and a little awkward, but he is also clever, intuitive and alert. Readers trust his judgements and can relate to how normal he is. Apparently, The Trip to Jerusalem is third in the Elizabethan Mystery Collection, and Nicholas' character has developed a lot in each book. This is something I am keen to explore further because I honestly can't imagine him being any different to how he is in this book!

Marston does a good job in developing each of the other characters and linking them all together. Like I said, it took a little while for some of the characters to grow on me, mainly because I wasn't used to their loud personalities, but by the end of the book I really liked each of them - even the darker ones with a questionable sense of morality. Marston approaches themes of murder, religion, sex and violence with a humorous tone that keeps everything quite light-hearted, and so I don't think that anyone sensitive to this will be offended or upset, but just in case I thought I'd slip this in.

The book is really short - 11 chapters in total, each of a decent number of pages. I actually found it to be the perfect length, given the plot - it allows the story to be fast-paced, and doesn't leave anything unchecked so that you get a proper sense of resolution by the end of the book. I think it's quite an ideal summer read, because whilst it is funny and full of compelling characters, it's also well-written and consists of a really interesting plot. I would recommend this to anyone, particularly those who like historical fiction and murder mysteries.

Currently The Book People are selling the Elizabethan Mystery Collection for £4.99 in paperback; £1.99 from The Works, and around £5.99 from amazon. If you check out the abe books website you can actually find it from different wholesalers from as little as 62p with about £2.99 delivery (UK only).