A Surfeit of Guns

by P.F. Chisholm

Book Overview

Sir Robert Carey took up his northern post as Warden of the West March in order to escape the complications of creditors and court life. Trouble, however, is where the dashing Carey, possibly a cousin of the Queen, finds it.
One black night in 1592, Carey is on night patrol along the unsettled border anchored by the garrison in Carlisle. It's a disaster. First, there's the fugitive he has to hand over to the warring Scots. Next come Wee Colin...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1890208353
• ISBN13: 9781890208356
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Surfeit of Guns

Sir Robert Carey's adventures in the late Sixteenth Century are set in the reign of Elizabeth I. Characters are well developed. They have a jolly time. Guns disappear and reappear. The guns work and do not work. But alls well that ends well. I did need to gather a glossary of Elizabethan fashion terms to fully understand all the nuances of clothing going on and coming off. That internet exercise only added to the fun.

An Elizabethan Courtier among the wild Borderers

Sir Robert Carey is the perfect swashbuckler - with empty pockets and enough craft to be more than cardboard. Even years at Elizabeth's court have not prepared him for the treachery and double dealing on the English/Scottish Borders. A marvellous chase after stolen guns and more involvement with his strait laced, married love season a plot filled with the sights, sounds and smells of the 16th Century. Let down a little by the poor binding of this edition, as pages fall out after a couple of readings.

Humor, romance and history blend well in this series

I have now read all three of P.F. Chisholm's novels chronicling the adventures of Sir Robert Carey, "the Elizabethan detective" and I await with the next installment with anticipation. Based on a real historical figure in the 16th century, Sir Robert Cary is part Cary Grant, part Harrison Ford, a charming courtier who, despite being a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, has trouble staying out of debt and on the right side of the law. All three books in the series are highly readable and recommended for fans of historical fiction, as well as anyone interested in the Anglo-Scottish border "troubles" of the 16th century.