by Niall Leonard
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jul 2021
272 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
Based on a true story, M, King's Bodyguard is a gripping, atmospheric thriller about anarchy and assassination in Edwardian London, and one detective's mission to preserve the life of his king and prevent a bloody war in Europe.
From humble beginnings in Ireland, William Melville has risen through hard work, intelligence, and occasional brute force to become head of Scotland Yard's Special Branch, personal bodyguard to Queen Victoria and her family, and the scourge of anarchists at home and abroad. But when the aged Queen dies in January 1901 and the crowned heads of Europe converge on London for her funeral, Melville learns of a conspiracy, led by a mysterious nihilist known only as Akushku, to assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany at the ceremony.
Racing to prevent the atrocity, Melville and his German counterpart Gustav Steinhauer find themselves tangled in a web of adultery, betrayal, and violence. As the funeral looms ever closer, Melville realizes that Akushku is the most resourceful and vicious foe he has yet encountered—but is the greater threat from Melville's enemies, or his allies?
"[S]uspenseful... Leonard makes his lead sympathetic without glossing over the brutality Melville employs to do his job. Fans of The Day of the Jackal will be pleased." - Publishers Weekly
"The narrative pace never flags, and even the obligatory scenes of shootouts, explosions, and hurtling locomotives are refreshingly vivid. The novel's quieter moments are, however, its best, and none is better than its final twist...A briskly paced, richly atmospheric historical thriller." - Kirkus Reviews
"Based on real people and real events, the story is both tense and methodical in equal measure as Melville follows frustratingly opaque clues as the clock ticks...Leonard delivers a crisp procedural elevated by intriguing characters on both sides of the law." - Booklist
"Authentic, rich, and completely absorbing, Niall Leonard's new novel is historical but feels like its own magnificently built world, an Edwardian London as morally murky and lovingly detailed as Philip Kerr's Berlin. We can only hope there are further Melville books to come." - Charles Finch, author of An Extravagant Death
"Niall Leonard expertly evokes time and place, and makes it all seem so effortless I suspect he has a time machine in his attic. M, King's Bodyguard mixes equal parts intrigue and suspense, and will keep you up all night reading." - Alex Grecian, author of The Yard
This information about M, King's Bodyguard was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Niall Leonard is a screenwriter for film and television and the author of the Crusher trilogy. Born in Northern Ireland, he lives in West London with his wife, E.L. James. M, King's Bodyguard is his first historical novel.
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