the first three books in this series are totally indispensable and get 5 stars each from me......i was waiting eagerly for months before this the 4th in the series was published and was very very very disappointed when i got to read it......its nowhere near as good as the others its as if the great mr cornwell has ran out of ideas/inspiration..theres none of the great sweeping eventful and at times thrilling action of the other books..i was left feeling very deflated...maybe just maybe it deserves another read - watch this space !!!!