This review includes the seven mysteries in the Thomas the Falconer series including The Ruffler’s Child, A Ruinous Wind, The Jingler’s Luck, The Ramage Hawk, The Mapmaker’s Secret, the Maiden Bell, and The Muscovy Chain. The series is complete, so you don’t have to wait for the next one to be published.
If you enjoyed the Brother Cadfael mystery series by Ellis Peters, you may enjoy the Thomas the Falconer series as well. The Brother Cadfaels are set in the 12th century while the Falconer series is set in the 16th century during Queen Elizabeth’s reign. These books are short (around 200 pages) and easy reads.
Thomas Finbow is in charge of the falconry of Sir Robert Vicary, but he is more than a mere falconer. Besides being a former soldier and a superb hunter, he has an innate intelligence, a good set of eyes and an abundance of common sense. A widower, he cares for his daughter as well as his hawks. He has the full trust of Sir Robert and often serves as the lord’s surrogate in various searches for justice. Thomas is readily able to piece together disparate clues and form conclusions about the mysteries that occur on the Berkshire Downs and other locales.
Pilkington provides an authentic sense of Tudor England and gives clues to the time period that are far more than the “in 1569” sort. Instead, he situates the reader in time with clues like “the year of the Armada” when the Spanish Armada attacked Britain, or Queen Elizabeth being unable to attend a large house party because she has locked herself in her rooms to mourn the death of her favorite, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. The prose is tight but descriptive and the mysteries compelling.
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Thomas the Falconer Mystery series (Boldwood Books, January 13, 2020) is available through:
Your local independent bookseller | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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