Review – Priest of Gallows

Posted June 2, 2021 by Carole in Reviews / 9 Comments

Review – Priest of GallowsPriest of Gallows by Peter McLean
Series: War for the Rose Throne #3
ISBN: 9781529411317
Published by Quercus Publishing on May 27, 2021
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Epic, Fantasy, Fiction, Military
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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five-stars

Gangster, soldier, priest. Queen's Man. Governor.

'If you haven't yet picked up this riveting and unique series, I highly recommend you do' Fantasy Book Critic

Tomas Piety has everything he ever wanted. In public, he's a wealthy, highly respected businessman, happily married to a beautiful woman and governor of his home city of Ellinburg. In private, he's no longer a gang lord, head of the Pious Men, but one of the Queen's Men, invisible and officially non-existent, working in secret to protect his country.

The queen's sudden death sees him summoned back to the capital - where he discovers his boss, Dieter Vogel, Provost Marshal of the Queen's Men, is busy tightening his stranglehold on the country.

Just as he once fought for his Pious Men, Tomas must now bend all his wit and hard-won wisdom to protect his queen - even when he can't always tell if he's on the right side.

Tomas has started to ask himself, what is the price of power? And more importantly, is it one he is willing to pay?

'If you like your fantasy with a side of dark and gritty, you won't want to miss this' CHRISTINA HENRY, bestselling author of The Girl in Red on Priest of Lies

This was so good! I went into this book with high expectations since it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I am happy to report that this book maintained the level of excellence that I have come to expect from this series. I honestly cannot understand how this series isn’t more popular than it currently is. I really think that all fans of dark fantasy need to give this book a try because it has the perfect combination of action, great characters, political maneuvering, and bloody violence to keep things very, very interesting.

This book picks up shortly after the events of the previous installment so I would definitely recommend that this series be read in order. Tomas Piety has been serving as Governor of Ellinburg. He has handed the reins of his gang, the Pious Men, to his second in command, Bloody Anne, while he serves his role as a member of the Queen’s Men. A note from Dannsburg telling him that the Queen is dead and he is needed. He gathers his closest men and starts his journey. He is not ready for everything he is about to encounter when he arrives at the House of Law.

This book is told from Tomas’s point of view and I love the way that he is able to navigate even the most difficult situations. He is a tough man but he has his limits and lines that he will not cross. This is a brutal story and not for the faint of heart. It was eye opening to realize just how deeply the corruption in this realm extends and to learn just who really holds the power. This was a book that I found almost impossible to set aside and couldn’t wait to see how Tomas and his crew would be able to navigate the difficult situation that they found themselves in.

I would highly recommend this series to others. I found this to be a fantastic read that kept me hooked from the start. This is definitely a darker story with plenty of bloody action and a whole crew of wonderful characters. I will definitely be reading more of Peter McLean’s work in the future.

9 responses to “Review – Priest of Gallows

  1. Oh that’s great! I saw it on your Stacking the Shelves and I was curious about it. I’m glad it was a good one! I think I need to try this series!

    • This is not a religious book at all. Not even a little. Tomas was made a priest in the army after his unit’s priest was killed but he is a gangster. There is a lot of killing and no preaching in this story.

  2. I’ve never heard of this series, but I’m happy to hear it lived up to your high expectations. I love it when a book is everything I anticipated and more!