Cover image of "Chaos," a thriller about counterfeit coins

Murder mysteries predominate among the countless novels of suspense that crowd the shelves in bookstores and libraries. The stakes are obvious when a murder takes place. Someone has snuffed out a human life. By contrast, a crime such as counterfeiting represents a lower order of threat­­—or at least that’s the case today, when all but the tiniest countries have so much currency in circulation that no counterfeiter could have an appreciable impact. But that wasn’t true in World War II, when Nazis and Allies alike printed counterfeit notes amounting to billions of reichsmarks, pounds, or dollars. And it was assuredly not true during the reign of Elizabeth I. Then, the circulation of counterfeit coins could undermine people’s confidence in the currency. The result might be chaos. Which is the title of A. D. Swanston’s Elizabethan-era thriller, the second in a series featuring a royal spy named Christopher Radcliff.

False coins undermine the queen’s advisor

Christopher is a former Cambridge don who has left behind the academic life to join the service of the queen’s closest advisor, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. In short order, he has risen to the post of the earl’s chief intelligencer. Christopher tunes into the rumor mill in London through a network of spies and informers, including a Marrano Jewish goldsmith named Isaac Cardoza and a beautiful prostitute named Ell.

When counterfeit coins surface bearing the earl’s image and coat of arms rather than the queen’s, the earl turns to Christopher in fury. The coins threaten his relationship with the queen­­—and promise chaos in the markets among traders who may no longer trust the money they’re paid. Christopher then enlists Isaac and Ell to help discover who is minting the false coins, and why. Unfortunately, the investigation they undertake will expose all three of them to great danger. And one will die in the process.

Chaos (Christopher Radcliff #2 of 2) by A. D. Swanston (2020) 399 pages ★★★☆☆

Image of genuine and counterteit coins from the era of Elizabeth I
The Elizabethan era silver coins pictured here all look identical at a glance. But in reality a practiced eye could spot the counterfeit ones. Some of these “testons” (shillings) contained copper that lent them a reddish hue. Others featured slight differences in the quality or character of the engraving. Image: University of Cambridge

A disappointing resolution

Chaos is the second of the Christopher Radcliff novels. In the first, Incendium, Christopher foils an elaborate, high-level plot to murder Queen Elizabeth and replace her on the throne with her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. It’s an outstanding piece of work, crammed with period detail and suspenseful to a fault from beginning to end. Chaos promises more of the same. Sadly, the book’s premise­­—that counterfeiters might turn the people of England against their queen­­—falls by the wayside as Christopher and his collaborators learn who is behind the counterfeiting and why. It’s disappointing. The explanation Swanston supplies for the counterfeiting might work in another context. But it doesn’t work well here.

About the author

Photo of Andrew Swanston, author of this novel about counterfeit coins in the 16th century
Andrew Swanston. Image: Penguin Books Australia

As his author website notes, A. D. (Andrew) Swanston “read a little law and a lot of sport at Cambridge University, and held various positions in the book trade, including being a director of Waterstone & Co, and chairman of Methven’s plc, before turning to writing. Inspired by a lifelong interest in early modern history,” he has written six historical novels, including the two Christopher Radcliff books and four others set a century later during England’s best-known civil wars. “He lives with his wife in Surrey, near to their three children and two grandchildren.”

Previously I reviewed the first book about Christopher Radcliff, The Incendium Plot (A spy uncovers a nefarious plot on the life of Elizabeth I).

For other novels of suspense set during this era, see Mysteries set in Elizabethan England.

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