Spills, thrills, deceit, and death... - Rated 
This book was my first experience of Ms Gregory's work and I have to say I was impressed. She obviously enjoys her subject and era and this is apparent in the storytelling. The characterisation is excellent (with the possible exception of Keylng and his animal obsession) and the setting of Restoration London is richly drawn.
Setting and characters aside, the story moves along at a brisk pace with plenty of red herrings and spills and thrills. There are plenty of nice little asides and sub-plots, each of which adds to the atmosphere and tension and ultimately leads to a thrilling and satisfactory conclusion.
If you are looking for a good old fashioned ripping yarn that stimulates (and educates) then this is a book that encourages you to engage with its subject(s). Oh, and for the reviewer who thought it had "too many words" I suggest you look in the childrens section where you can find plenty of books you can colour in.
Hugely enjoyable and intelligently written, I look forward to more in the series.
Enjoyable, and nicely written, but too many words - Rated 
Set in a Restoration London, bursting with vibrancy and licentiousness after a decade of puritanical abstinence during the Commonwealth, Susanna Gregory's A Conspiracy of Violence, is an atmospheric and tightly interwoven tangle of murder, mystery, political intrigue and buried treasure. Thomas Chaloner has returned to London in search of employment in his chosen profession - as a spy. But as the former employee of Cromwell's spymaster-general and the nephew of a regicide, he struggles to secure a position. Driven by the nagging of his Dutch lover, he is forced to accept a mission which is unattractive and dangerous and he soon finds himself hunting for gold in the Tower of London. But everywhere he turns he finds signs of plots to kill a king and, struggling to make sense of coded information, he no longer knows who to trust.
Gregory's novel evokes an engaging and warm, if one-sided, vision of Restoration London and many of her characters are exploitations of the slim facts known about real people. Between the historical facts, she has cleverly woven a complex, compelling and utterly believable fabric of betrayal and treason. The plot is intriguing and, despite what some reviews have said, it is not heavily weighted down with a history lesson, but rather by a vast array of critical characters. Each is nicely drawn and some has characteristics, like Kelying's love of animals and Evett's passionate hatred of wild beasts, which Gregory exploits mercilessly to extract the humour, but there are so many it is difficult to keep track of them all or of who has said what to whom. As a result the plot unfolds only slowly and at times one has to flick back a few pages to check who's who.
There is a historical note at the back of book which is helpful in tracking which parts of the book are fictional and which are based on fact. For those who are interested in such things, I'd suggest turning to it first. My favourite part of book was the inclusion of the bookselling Leybourn brothers - a lovely touch since the Leybourns were responsible for producing the maps of Restoration London from which, surely, Gregory must have drawn much of her landscape of London.
An enjoyable, and finely written mystery, that would have been better slimmed down to the bear bones.
Takes getting used to - Rated
I immensely enjoyed the entire Matthew Bartholomew-series and was therefore looking forward to this first book about Thomas Chaloner. However, I was slightly disappointed.
I didn't immediately take to Chaloner as I did to Bartholomew (maybe that's just me? Or maybe it's quite logical that you like a character better when you've read more than 10 books featuring that same character?). Apart from that, however, I felt that Gregory's 16th century London feels a lot less real than the 14th century Cambridge of her Bartholomew-novels. Also, the plot sometimes feels overly intricate whereas in any Bartholomew-novel you distinctly get the sense that there's a very tight and extremely well thought-through plot behind it all.
Be that as it may, 'A conspiracy of violence' is still a lot better than dozens of other historical novels, and I very much hope that after a couple more Chaloner-novels I'll get to like him as much is I do Matthew Bartholomew.
Hmmmmm....... - Rated 
The Matthew Bartholomew books are great, one of the best historical crime series going, so I was thrilled by the prospect of a new series set in Restoration London and couldn't wait for this to come out in paperback. But I'm sorry to say I found it a big disappointment. I'm not sure why: all the ingredients are there but this just didn't really work for me. In the Bartholomew books Gregory wears her learning lightly, never makes the fundamental mistake in this type of book of thinking that her readers want a history lesson as opposed to entertainment, but in this book the history does intrude. Pages of detail about the back story of people who make no appearance in, nor have much relevance to, the story itself; reams of in depth description of past events where a brief summary would have done. Another thing missing here is any light relief. The Bartholomew stories are full of gentle humour, leitmotifs which crop up like old friends - Michael stuffing his face, Clippesby gossiping with the animals. In this book everybody goes about their business in absolute and deadly seriousness at all times, not a hint of a smile. And there are surely several instances too many of people bashing each other over the head in moonlit gardens? As a fan, I'll give Gregory the benefit of the doubt and won't be put off reading future installments in this series. But I'm looking forward to the next Bartholomew far more!
A Change of Scenery - Rated
A change of lead character, a change of century and a change from Cambridge to London. Will it work, is it too much too soon. The reader need have not fears Miss Gregory carries it all off with consummate ease. The book is still beautifully written, the character are strong and soon become like old friends and the author proves that she is as knowledgeable about restoration London as she is about 14th century Cambridge.
England at last has a monarch back on throne, Charles II is ensconced in his Whitehall Palace and the dreary, drab days of Oliver Cromwell are fast fading to a distant memory. The capital is starting to breathe again after the stifling days of the Protectorate. But those difficult days have left their mark on the Londoner's, many have lost their means of employment. One such man Thomas Chaloner has become a spy for John Thurloe, the feared Secretary of State.
Thomas has recently returned from the Low Countries and is in desperate need of employment Thurloe has many enemies at court and recommends Thomas for a post with Lord Clarendon. In return he expects to be kept informed of any plots against himself.
While there Thomas finds out that Thurloe has already sent one of his ex-employees to the court and the man is dead, supposedly by footpads.
Thomas begins to uncover the greed and corruption that is rife among the men of power and soon finds that his own life has little value in the court of Charles.
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