The Bear Pit by S.G. MacLean, Book Review

You know that contented feeling you have after a delicious meal in good company? That’s how I felt after finishing The Bear Pit. In fact, I enjoyed this fourth book in the series as much as the first. (To read my review of the first, The Seeker, type this into the search bar on the top right of The Crime Warp blog page). I’m not that familiar with 17^th English history, and as the author portraits this period with a lightness of touch and excellent historical writing skills, it’s an engaging way to find out about Royalist plotting, assassination attempts on Cromwell, the Lord Protector, and life in London during this post Civil War period. I particularly enjoy the intrigue – who is a spy, who might be a double agent, who might be persuaded to change allegiance - S.G. Maclean draws interesting characters.

I’ve noticed that she doesn’t ever reveal that much about Seeker himself, yet the fans of the series all seem to be intimately familiar with him, some even in love with him. This is the subtle skill of the novelist, to hint and let the reader fill in the blanks with the longings of their own desires. Damian Seeker is a complicated man, coping with the never-ending demands of a challenging position as Captain assigned to Cromwell’s spy master Thurloe. It is his single-minded loyalty to the Commonwealth and his work that drives him. I don’t see Seeker’s loyalty as motivated by some kind of idealism or religious fervour, rather a desire to see order and peace after a horrendous war which divided families and communities, even if it means imposing this order with a ruthless force and cunning. This doesn’t mean he hasn’t got romantic feelings however, he’s able to set them aside when his work requires him to do this. But at what cost? I wonder if there will ever be room in his life for romance and love. 

The plot is full of twists and turns, edge of the seat excitement and intrigue. Apart from foiling a plot to assassinate Cromwell, Seeker needs to apprehend the murderer of a man mauled to death by the last remaining bear in London. The author interweaves fact with fiction to create an exciting story allowing the reader to lose themselves in a bygone age. The Bear Pit could be read as a stand-alone, but you will then probably want to read the next book to see what happens going forward. This series is addictive.

S.G. MacLean is a Scottish crime writer with an academic background in 16th and 17th history. She has won the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger for The Seeker and is also the author of four popular historical thrillers set in Scotland. Shona MacLean's first novel, The Redemption of Alexander Seaton, has been selected as Waterstones’ Scottish Book of the Month! The Bear Pit was released by Quercus Books on July 11th 2019 in hardback for £19.88, Trade Paperback £14.99, and in Audio and eBook.