Amazon UK £11.99 £3.99
Amazon US $5.91 $15.03
Amazon CA $24.02
This title was shortlisted for the May Book of the Month
Mystery / Espionage
Mystery / Espionage
1484-5
England
A fire-starter is
at the heart of this medieval tale of murder, mystery, treason and spies.
Emeline was about
to marry the earl’s eldest son, Peter Chetwynd, but following his death in a
fire, she finds herself betrothed to his younger brother Nicholas instead. He
is a cowardly wastrel and no one has a good word to say about him. Then fire
rages again on their wedding night with the marriage looking doomed almost before
it has started. Nicholas is rude and aggressive to his wife and prone to unexplained
disappearances. Having been brought up by a tyrannical father, Emma is aware
she must just 'do her duty' to her husband but is he quite all he seems? She learns
to think better of him, but then her father is killed in the arms of an unknown
mistress, their bodies burned in yet another fire.
At last the
family comes to realise that these deaths are connected with Nicholas becoming a
prime suspect. Then more suspects emerge with one in particular rising to the
fore. Meanwhile, Nicholas is off on another of his 'missions'…
Set in Richard
III’s brief kingship this entertaining tale rattles along, with dangers and
revelations throughout, punctuated by very likeable (and very dislikeable) characters. As with most mysteries, whether novels or TV, the plot does rely upon coincidences and appearances
at just the right moment, a common formula for this genre, but knowing this the trick is for the reader to spot the red-herrings which in a good novel is often not easy to do. And for this novel the ending
has enough of a surprise to be a very satisfying climax.
© Richard
Tearle
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