Jack Blackjack…always the innocent perpetrator!

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Death Comes in Threes (A Bloody Mary Tudor Mystery #9) by Michael Jecks    

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️   

Ah Jack! Our beloved, narcissistic opportunist, devoted mostly to his own survival. 
Because Jack does have his moments of wanting to be more than he is. Alas those moments are few and always end up differently to how he planned.
His latest misadventures takes up sixteen parts veering between Jack’s point of view and John Blount’s chronicles.
Queen Mary is supposedly pregnant and spymasters serving Mary, Elizabeth and Philip are plotting, weaving plans for what comes next. Even those on the same side are confusing each other as they move their strategies forward in secret. And our unlikely, somewhat loveable anti hero Black Jack is caught between them all. Jack’s accused of murdering three people, of course all is happenstance. When he innocently tries to clear himself he trips over so many plots it makes his head spin, which he’s doing already due to the amount of times he receives blows to the head in this tale! (In my opinion Jack’s end is going to come from dementia due to severe brain injury caused by concussion. Or he’ll be quietly eliminated in the alleyways of London. Or be slain by a cuckolded husband. Or…? Hmm! So many possibilities!)
Fascinating that we have Blount recounting his opinions about Jack, and almost has him killed. Well, he does pay Humfrie the assassin for that but Humffries fortunately holds his hand.
Jack accidentally succeeds in both foiling plots and supporting other plots at a dizzying rate. All on the eve of Queen Mary dying and Elizabeth taking over the throne.
Quo Vardis Jack?
I can hardly wait to see what will happen to one of my favorite rogue’s of chance as Elizabeth comes to power.
Underlying this tale is Jeck’s succinct understanding of the various powers and persons at play at this particular time which catapults this tale from reasonably interesting to immensely intriguing! Well done, a fascinating tale of intrigue, happy coincidence and a bumbling assassin whose main concern is self preservation.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.

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