Here you'll find the plot-heavy variety of historical fiction, so full of intrigue, betrayals, and interlocking motivations that the end of the book nearly overflows when it comes time to explain what's been going on. To elevate it from the usual formula, it contains a much more interesting and diverse cast of characters than has become the standard in this type of historical fiction. True the main protagonist is the spy-fixer type, but the rest of the cast carries it, with a range of well-characterized viewpoints, including a transgender sex worker based on a real historical character. (I think it's probably best to view the character as genderfluid at least in the context of the book, else the switching between pronouns in close third person becomes awkward. However, I'm not an expert on this and would love to hear the perspective of some trans people on how the portrayal is done). Details of representation aside, everyone passes the "are they a person" test, which is impressive, given the amount of interlocking involvements to keep track of. I can recommend this if you're looking for a historical fiction plot-fest that gives page time to a wider breadth of characters than just the kings and queens.