- Title:
- To Play the King (Francis Urquhart #2)
- By:
- Michael Dobbs
- Pages:
- 315
- Rating:
- 4
After scheming his way to power, newly elected Prime Minister Francis Urquhart faces a crisis that could destroy his Government. But as he plots the drastic measures needed to save his political future he finds one determined man standing in the way – the idealistic new King. Urquhart will stop at nothing to cling to power. As he prepares to expose the scandalous activities of certain members of the royal household, he threatens to bring down not only his Royal opponent, but also the Monarchy itself.
Again, a masterful performance. I did enjoy the way in which the first book ended and wouldn’t have minded if the only change between titles was the final scene, but there clearly had to be some further change to some of the earlier story for continuity to be possible. I didn’t quite enjoy this as much as the first, but I suppose my monarchistic views have been subsumed by recent titles by authors such as Ken Jack. The ending of this one also seemed slightly rushed, but at this point I suppose Dobbs new there was a third story to tell and so it made more sense.
To sum, really worth picking up, but do go for the first in the series if you haven’t, don’t start here or you’ll miss out on a corker.