Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

It is 1865 and the time of Oliver Cromwell. Captain Seeker is in the pay of Thurloe The Chief Secretary. They must flush out the Royalists and Republicans who wish to assassinate Cromwell. There have been attempts already and the spotlight is on 3 men hiding in the backstreet Inn’s of the capital. Seeker is so well known in the back alleys of London he puts fear into many. Intertwined is the horrible killing of a man chained up and mauled by a bear, what bearing could this have on the plot to kill Cromwell. The story is spiced with Seeker’s everyday life the characters he is close too and brings you another side to the Soldier. I very much enjoyed the everyday colourful life of London which is shown in all its detail. You will be wanting to read this story in one sitting as it will keep you well enthralled.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author, S G MacLean, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Bear Pit in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
This is the fourth book in the series but would be relatively easy to follow if you haven't experienced the enjoyment of reading the previous 3 novels.
I thought the storyline was well thought out and written and keeps you hooked until the last page. The characters are well defined and the scenery highly descriptive.
Well worth a read.

A fantastic addition to the Seeker series; I can't wait to find out what the next instalment brings after that cliffhanger ending.

Fourth in a series, not read the rest. Didn’t matter.
London in 1656, Cromwell, intrigue and french spies plus the enigmatic Seeker.
Great plot, great characters.

Hi,

My next review is as follows:-

“The Bearpit:The Fourth Book In A Series By The Winner Of The 2019 CWA Historical Dagger (The Seeker) written by S.G.MacLean published in Hardback by Quercus on 11th July 2019 .416 pages ISBN-13: 978-1787473577
I very much enjoyed this writers three previous books:- “The Seeker”, “The BlackFriar” and “Destroying Angel” I was very pleased to receive a review copy of paperback copy of the fourth book. The author is the niece of the writer Alastair Macean, who wrote Ice Station Zebra and many other popular novels and so there is definite writing ability in this family.
This book starts on the 17th September 1656, when Oliver Comwell is Lord Protector and the Stuart kings are either dead or banished abroad.
Cromwell has many enemies and Captain Damian Seeker is an agent of The Lord Protector and has stopped many assassination attempts on Cromwell’s life. In this story there are many more attempts and it is up to Seeker to stop them.
The details of the story are fascinating and give an insight into life at this time with all the attendant difficulties. The plot with many dramatic twists and turns is very vivid and knowledgeable and the widely diverse scenes kept me transfixed until the last page.

I found particularly fascinating the way Seeker investigates the different lines of enquiry and gets insight into particular ways of behaviour of the characters.

This absorbing , brilliantly plotted and historically extremelly well researched story drives forward to it’s gripping conclusion. I lost myself once again in this historical mystery; this was a superb entertainment and I look forward to reading this very experienced writer’s future books which no doubt will be as imaginative as this one. Very strongly recommended.
Free rFreviLC(Copy Against orders, he follows some leads

An attempt is made on Cromwell's life and Thurloe enlists Seeker to help. Seeker ropes in Royalist double agent Faithly but is Faithly really working for Seeker? Meanwhile a man is found dead, mawled by a bear, but all the bears are dead. In chasing shadows Seeker finds that though closest to him are in danger and when he finds out who is behind it all, he knows that the game is more complex than he thought.
This is the fourth book in the series and the character of Damian Seeker is still a mystery. Here the focus is on Seeker's relationships with the women in his life and the modern feelings are still appropriate. I love the setting of these books as the Commonwealth rule is rarely used as a setting and the political machinations are, if anything, more complex that they first appear. Again there is a complex plot which builds layer on layer until the end when the reader realises that all is linked. The ending here is traumatic (for the fan) but leaves a glimmer of hope!

*Many thanks to SG MacLean, Quercus and Netgalley for ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
This novel is Book 4 in a series with Captain Damian Seeker, however, it was the first one for me. I must say that I did enjoy the plot and the characters. A consipracy to assassinate Oliver Cromwell was intricately woven and might have succeeded but for Damian Seeker whose intelligence and experience managed to uncover it.
I had some problems while reading as I had not read the previous Books and I was not familiar with the past of some characters but on the whole this did not influence my reading pleasure.
I have heard a lot of good opinions on this series, and this instalment definitely encouraged me to read the remaining three books.

ourth in this series, first I've read and despite the length of time it took me to read it (not the book's fault, mine), I did enjoy it and found the mystery really engaging. The characters, obviously built up in the previous three books, were a bit hard to follow but only because I don't have the full picture of them and their relationships.

The attempted assassination of Oliver Cromwell was well done, although it does make the assassins look quite incompetent. Though I suppose if it's based on actual records, they were! :D

There was an Americanism (dog leash = lead), but that also made me question if there were leads in the 17thC. Would it not have been just a piece of rope or something? If anything? But the author seems to have done her research, so I'll assume that's the case.

Anyway, I did enjoy it although it took me much longer to read than it really should have. And should I come across the rest of the series in the library, I would definitely take the opportunity to read them.

Political disagreement in modern mainland Britain is largely non-violent, with the dishonorable exceptions of Islamic extremists and – further back – Irish Republican terror. For sure, tempers fray, abuse is hurled and fists are shaken. Just occasionally an egg, or maybe a milkshake, is thrown. You mightn’t think it, given the paroxysms of fury displayed on social media, but sticks and stones are rarely seen. Scottish writer SG MacLean in her series featuring the Cromwellian enforcer Damien Seeker reminds us that we have a violent history.

In the last of England’s civil wars, forces opposed to King Charles 1st and his belief in the divine right of kings have won the day. 1656. Charles has been dead these seven years and his son, another Charles, has escaped by the skin of his teeth after an abortive military campaign in 1651. He has been given sanctuary ‘across the water’, but his agents still believe they can stir up the population against his father’s nemesis – Oliver Cromwell, The Lord Protector.

In London, Damien Seeker is a formidable foe to those who yearn for the return of the monarchy. He is physically intimidating, has a fearsome reputation for violence but, like many more modern heroes, Seeker has a fragile personal life. To put Seeker into a modern fictional context, he is Jack Reacher and Harry Callaghan in breeches, stockings and with leather gauntlets on his hands. He has a primed and cocked flintlock pistol by his side, but doesn’t trust modern technology. His weapons of choice are his own fists and a brutal medieval mace.

The story begins with the chance discovery of a mutilated corpse in an outhouse south of the river, in Lambeth – the seventeenth century version of 1970s Soho. The dead man was chained and appears to have been savaged by a dog, except that dogs don’t have five razor sharp claws on each paw. Seeker has to accept the impossible truth. The man has been mauled by a bear. But hasn’t bear-baiting been banned, and haven’t the remaining beasts been removed and killed? Like other practices banned by the zealous moral guardians of Cromwell’s government, bear-baiting and dog-fighting have simply – to use a totally anachronistic metaphor – slipped beneath the radar.

While Seeker searches for his bear, he has another major task on his hands. A group of what we now call terrorists is in London, and they mean to cut off the very head of what they view as England’s Hydra by assassinating Oliver Cromwell himself. Rather like Clint Eastwood in In The Line of Fire and Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard, Seeker has one job, and that is to ensure that the No.1 client remains secure. Of course, history tells us that Seeker succeeds, but along the way SG MacLean makes sure we have a bumpy ride through the mixture of squalor and maginificence that is 17th century London.

McLean’s research is impeccable. She provides us with a clutch of recognisable real-life characters, and even the desperados who do their best to kill Cromwell are actual historical figurs. She allows herself the luxury of a little what-iffery with the identity of the mysterious Boyes, ringleader of the plot, but this is all great fun and you would have to be a dull old thing not to be carried along with this excellent historical adventure.

The Bear Pit is published by Quercus and is out now.

An interesting yarn of Cromwellian times and attempts on the Protector's life at it's core. Lots of historical figures appear in this romp with Damian Seeker the lead character searching for the alleged.plotters. Scenes of old London are atmospherically depicted as the plot races along. Violent with a shock ending that then has an intriguing twist that hints at more to come!

I have read the previous three books and actually punched the air in my excitement at reading The Bear Pit.
Damien Seeker is back! He is still dependable, loyal to friends and family, and still trying to keep Manon, his daughter, safe. His love life continues to be complicated!
This book is the strongest one yet. There are fights galore, much skullduggery, turncoat traitors and a very loyal dog! A beautiful mix of historical fact and fiction.
17th century London was a foul and dangerous place. This story is set amongst the foggy, dank marshes of Lambeth, places not for the faint hearted citizen. The interregnum of Oliver Cromwell was oppressive and there have been many plots against his life. Damien has been charged with keeping the law and investigating the many assassination attempts, some involving Royalists who want to see Prince Rupert of the Rhine on the throne. Running alongside the main story is a murder mystery that is rather grizzly !
Throw in French spies, attempts to blow up Westminster chapel, and conspiracies involving troops loyal to the Royalist cause, and we have a fast paced, and a incredibly dangerous time for Damien. I found the ending to be rushed, but I am full of hope for book five!!
This is a brilliant series. Damien is a loyal and steadfast friend and an implacable enemy to those who cross him. The research is detailed and the story is so atmospheric and redolent of that period of history. I would love this to be filmed, perhaps Sean Bean could be approached?

I’m not going to lie: I squealed when I received the invitation to review The Bear Pit. You know I’ve adored the first three books and I was so excited to get back to Seeker and his world of mysteries – especially as I was a bad fan and didn’t realise this book was coming.

This book made me laugh, made me cry and left me with all the emotions that I didn’t know what to do with. I can’t recommend it enough.

After learning about Seeker’s past in Destroying Angel, we return to London this time, with schemes and plots to stop and Lord Protectors to save. Before I get into the plot itself, I wanted to make a comment on how much I loved seeing Seeker’s past and future joining together. His daughter is in London, even if he can’t openly acknowledge her. But so is his lost love, Maria. Their differences are holding them apart but their few meetings make it clear neither has succeeded with moving on.

Damien Seeker is one of my favourite characters. He has a ruthlessness that make men fear him but you cannot fail to notice his big heart or the lengths he will go to in order to protect those he cares for – even while he denies he feels anything. It might be the times the series is set in, but I’ve never seen a character fit the word honourable as much as Seeker.

Returning to London might meant the reappearance of the favourites from the first couple of books. But Yorkshire isn’t finished with Seeker yet and characters follow him from the north. Seeing those two worlds collide – and Seeker attempting to straddle the two – made for entertaining reading.

The plot is certainly more intense than previous books. It follows the same style: two seemingly unrelated crimes take place but links between the two start to appear as the plot progresses and just when you think Seeker is going in circles, he makes a break through that changes everything.

There was far more personal danger to the characters this time. Ingolby is lucky to survive the book after not one, but two attempts on his life. As for Seeker himself… well, without giving anything away, I did mention that this book made me cry. Enough said.

The apparent disconnection of events meant the pace is gentle despite the underlying tension, until the different elements come together and then you’ll find yourself unable to put it down. There are fights, chases, battles, bears, dogs, assassins… Seeker always finds himself in the midst of danger, but this one certainly eclipses the other books.

A tense, action-packed novel full of lovable characters and villains never who you think they are. Returning favourites, and foes, gives you the sense that Seeker’s world isn’t as big as he feels it is. I can’t recommend this series enough, whether or not you’re a fan of historical fiction. If you’re looking for a solid mystery, this is it.

This is a new sub genre for me,historical crime fiction.
What a rollercoasrer of a ride. I loved it. The book is very well researched. I could taste the tang of corruption and smell the streets so vivid is the writing I was totaly engrossed by the story line.
I will definately read more of this type of fiction by the author.

S G MacLean is one of my favourite authors of historical fiction, so I was delighted to read her latest book, The Bear Pit. It is the fourth book in her Damien Seeker series, set during the Interregnum under Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. I’ve read the previous three books. Reading them takes me back to England in the 17th century, a time and a place full of danger and unrest, teeming with spies, exiles and assassins. Whilst I was happy to read them as standalones, I think it would help to follow the progression of events if they are read in order.

This one begins in September 1656 as three men are waiting for Oliver Cromwell to emerge from Westminster Abbey on his way to the State Opening of Parliament in Parliament House. Their plan to assassinate Cromwell had been in preparation in Cologne and Bruges for a year and a half, but that day it was thwarted. However, they will not give up.

Damian Seeker, Captain of Cromwell’s Guard, works for John Thurloe, Cromwell’s Chief Secretary and spy master, in charge of the security of the regime, running a virtual secret service. Thurloe is floundering under all the reports from the Continent about plots against Cromwell’s life and to reinstate Charles Stuart as King. He tells Seeker until they have corroboration of the rumours they don’t have the time or capability to look into the matter. Not wanting to go against Thurloe’s orders, Seeker decides to take part in a raid on an illegal gaming house which ends with the discovery of the body of an elderly man chained to the wall by his neck and half eaten, obviously ravaged by a bear. But bear baiting had been banned and all the bears had been shot recently – or so it was claimed. Where had the bear come from and why was the man killed? And what connection, if any, does the murder have to the plots to kill Cromwell?

Like all good historical fiction The Bear Pit blends historical fact and fiction. There was indeed a plot to assassinate Cromwell in the autumn and winter of 1656 as described in the novel, whereas the mystery of the man killed by a bear and the subsequent search for the bear’s whereabouts are fictional.

Some of the things I enjoy in this book are the return of characters from the earlier books -Sir Thomas Faithly, Lawrence Ingoldby, Manon, Marie Ellingworth, to mention just a few, and the glimpses we see of other historical figures – such as John Evelyn, a young Samuel Pepys, the poet Andrew Marvell as well as John Milton and one of my favourite historical figures when I was at school – Prince Rupert of the Rhine. I was fascinated by the details of The Cabinet of Curiosities, assembled by John Tradescant and his son, in Tradescant’s Garden in South Lambeth. In her Author’s Note S G MacLean states that these were indeed, very much in existence and were open for business as well as being a public attraction. The remains of the collection are held in Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.

S G MacLean is a wonderful storyteller and her books are full of authentic detail skilfully interwoven in the stories without holding up the action. The Bear Pit is a fast-paced book, full of action and danger and wonderful characters, especially in the figure of Damien Seeker. He is the hero of the book – strong, dedicated to his work, indefatigable in his search of the truth and loyal to his friends and colleagues. The atmospheric setting complements the plot – the streets of London in winter, the cold, fog and damp and in particular Bankside in Southwark and the eerie atmospheric wastes of Lambeth Marsh. I was completely absorbed in the book. I found it compelling reading both the murder mystery and the assassination plot gripped me and I raced through it, eager to find out what happened. I was absolutely incredulous at the ending though, but it does give me hope that there may be fifth Damian Seeker novel.

Many thanks to the publishers, Quercus, for my review copy via NetGalley.

The fourth in the Damian Seeker series and Damian is still watching (and saving) Oliver Cromwell's back whilst struggling with his own domestic and love lives. After some trips north in previous books we are firmly in London with this one and there are two interlinked mysteries for Seeker to solve. The first involves a series of plots against Cromwell's life, the second the grisly murder of a seemingly harmless ex-soldier.

The tale progresses well with the usual page turning tension, though the final denouement of the murder plot is ridiculous, involving a long exposition of what happened by one of the characters. Even so this is a good read.

THIS is exactly what I’d expect from this series! And a major improvement on book three, which to be truthful possessed none of the usual ‘Seeker’ flair for me.

Now, “The Bear Pit” is a story with pace, determination and the unforgettably menacing personality of Captain Damian Seeker. It was brilliant from start to finish.

A year after his stint up north, where his life before ‘all things Cromwell’ was based, he’s back in London to discover yet more intricate plotting among the faithful Royalists to remove the Lord Protector from power once and for all.

There are many, many times where events balance on a knife edge, fully intent on cutting deep and coming
way too close for comfort, even by The Seeker’s standards.

Fact and fiction mingles beautifully this time around, and there’s an interesting little section at the back to inform you of the names of ‘characters’ who actually existed and those that were added by the author to maximise the drama.

This was a story I could sink my teeth into, a little like some of the characters we meet along the way… GREAT STUFF.

First thing first: I didn't read this book, I inhaled it and didn't go to sleep till I turned the last page.
Because this book is a page turner that keeps you hooked till the last page and makes you turn the pages as fast as you can.
The plot is engrossing, full of twists and turns, fast paced and flows flawlessly without any hiccup or pause.
I love Damian Seeker, a well written and fleshed out characters, so full of humanity. The cast of characters is interesting, some are very fascinating and I liked the them.
I fell in love with this series when I read the previous installment and I remember it as darker and bleaker. This one is somehow lighter, with a lot of humour and I even like it better than the previous one.
The historical background is well researched and lively making this series one of the best historical series I read.
It was a great reading experience, I cannot wait for the next installment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The Seeker is back. Not just back but back in London, surrounded by his extended family. Shona MacLean returns London for this fourth book in the series and it is a definite return to form in this outstanding story. Once more Seeker is trying to foil plots against Oliver Cromwell whilst trying to sort out his convoluted private life. A visitor from the past seems to threaten the secret he has taken so much care to protect whilst a meeting with an old friend threatens his composure. Soon he is on the trial of not just conspirators and assassins but a fighting bear.

Once again this is an exceptional historical crime novel that is packed with fascinating historical background, not least historical characters such as Andrew Marvell, Samuel Oepys and the Tradescant Family. Highly recommended to anyone that enjoys historical fiction that is full of adventure.

Another excellent book in the Seeker series. Always a pleasure to read, the book cracks along at a good pace with a cast of interesting and believable characters. We join Seeker again after his exploits in Yorkshire and this time he is investigating a mystery that begins with a body that has been killed by a bear, all of which were thought to have been destroyed. Against the political intrigue and Seeker's personal life this book tells its tale with the period feel consistent throughout. The only thing that was frustrating about this book was the end. This is because it wrapped up a little too quickly and left things unanswered, presumably for the sequel which will be making its way to by TBR pile!!