Death on the Romney Marsh is the second in this excellent series by Deryn Lake featuring the brilliant 18th century apothecary John Rawlings and the “blind beak” London magistrate John Fielding. Not knowing that he is walking into a deep web of conspiracy, Rawlings is summoned to attend a patient in a house near the lonely Romney Marsh. One of the first things he discovers is a body near an abandoned church carrying a coded message. On his return to London the victim is identified as a French spy who has come to make contact with two underground spies. Nobody knows who they are apart from the fact that they go by the name of The Frog and The Moth. Rawlings soon finds himself back at the Marshes not only investigating a murder but also uncovering the secret agents.
Since I read Death on the Romney Marsh when it originally came out, it was nice to listen to it on tape after such a long time. I hoped that I was not going to be disappointed and have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised not only with the reader but the way in which the reading came across. Soundings Audio has found a good reader in Michael Tudor Barnes. He certainly knows how to bring out the different characters in the story, including the women. He also knows how to portray Georgian 18th century London, from the way they spoke to describing exactly what is going on.
Michael Tudor Barnes manages to draw you seductively into the story with such
ease that you could be forgiven for forgetting what century you lived in. This
novel is excellently told and I hope it will not be the only one made into an
audio book. It would be even better if Michael Tudor Barnes read all the books
in the series for Soundings Audio.
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Ayo Onatade