Thursday 6 June 2019

The serpent's mark - SW Perry


Hardcover, 424 pages
Expected publication: June 6th 2019 by Corvus
Series: Nicholas Shelby #2
Historical fiction Mystery Thriller
To review

It was hard solving a crime or getting to the bottom of a conspiracy in the olden days. How anything got done I do not know, but then again, things did not get done so...yeah.

Nicholas was a doctor, but then he could not save his wife from dying in childbirth, so he became a drunkard, then he solved something and on of the queen's men took notice. He also made a good friend in a local tavern owner (and hey maybe one day there will be love there). And now he gets called upon a again.

A young boy is in danger. There is a conspiracy to overthrow queen Elizabeth. And Catholics are sneaking around. Business as usual in London.

I like Nicholas, he has come to see that medicin in that age is total bs. I mean the things they practiced. Horrible! He is smart and resourceful and he does not give up.

Then there is Bianca Merton. Catholic, owns a tavern, and trying to stay under the radar. I do like her. She has a brain, she has guts and she does not take BS. They make a perfect mix to solving a mystery.

I liked the conspiracy in question, and I can not say anything about it. Then there is this devil doctor too who was a creepy zealot. People who think they are right are just so scary.

It is not a fast book, how could it be. Solving this takes time, talking and effort.
I enjoyed it. It makes you think.

Treason sleeps for no man...
London, 1591. Nicholas Shelby, physician and reluctant spy, returns to his old haunts on London's lawless Bankside. But, when the queen's spymaster Robert Cecil asks him to investigate the dubious practices of a mysterious doctor from Switzerland, Nicholas is soon embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens not just the life of an innocent young patient, but the overthrow of Queen Elizabeth herself.
With fellow healer and mistress of the Jackdaw tavern, Bianca Merton, again at his side, Nicholas is drawn into a dangerous world of zealots, charlatans and fanatics. As their own lives become increasingly at risk, they find themselves confronting the greatest treason of all: the spectre of a bloody war between the faiths...


15 comments:

  1. with all the technology at our disposal today and still we can't solve some crimes i often wondered too how they did it in the olden days. I think I would like this one Blodeuedd thanks

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    1. I guess like 1 out of 1000 was solved then

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  2. I like a book that makes you think.

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  3. "Then again...things did not get done." True lol

    I feel this way about shows set int he 80's too when they don't have cell phones. Things are so much easier now that you can just call someone when trouble comes up lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. How on earth did people survive without cellphones! It must have been mayhem ;)

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  4. I love olden mysteries. Technology is great and all, but an old time mystery is the best

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  5. A historical mystery! Sweet, I need more of these in my life!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  6. I didn't know about this one but it looks good there!

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  7. OH... another historical mystery. They are becoming my favorites! I feel like you reviewed another book about a doctor's wife dying in childbirth. I guess it did happen often back in the day.

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  8. Does sound interesting. I've never tried historical mysteries. I tried historical romances and they weren't my thing, but maybe mysteries would be.

    Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart

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