LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
London, 1570. The body of a “male child, malformed in the limbs” is washed-up in the mud of the Thames. While the Queen’s Coroner presumes him to have drowned, Dr Nicholas Shelby deduces that the marks on the boy’s body point to him being murdered but, since the boy is of no importance, no one cares, except for principled Shelby himself. When a second body is found bearing the same markings, he sets about discovering the killer’s identity, and it soon becomes clear that there are more victims besides. An exhilarating cast of characters emerge from the unfolding action, among them Bianca, an enigmatic innkeeper with apothecary skills. And so a richly suspenseful story of risk and betrayal plays out against a backdrop of political instability, paranoia and heresy.
Fans of CJ Sansom and SG Maclean will surely be heartily satisfied by this elegant historical mystery.
Books in The Jackdaw Mysteries Series:
1. The Angel's Mark
2. The Serpent's Mark
3. The Saracen's Mark
4. The Heretic's Mark
5. The Rebel's Mask
Serial Reader? Check out our 'Fall in Love With a Book Series' collection to find amazing book series to dive in to.
Joanne Owen
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The Angel's Mark Synopsis
'A gorgeous book - rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure... Historical fiction at its most sumptuous.' Rory Clements LONDON, 1590. Queen Elizabeth I's control over her kingdom is wavering. Amidst a tumultuous backdrop of Spanish plotters, Catholic heretics and foreign wars threatening the country's fragile stability, the body of a small boy is found in the City of London, with strange marks that no one can explain. When idealistic physician Nicholas Shelby finds another body displaying the same marks only days later, he becomes convinced that a killer is at work, preying on the weak and destitute of London. Determined to find out who is behind these terrible murders, Nicholas is joined in his investigations by Bianca, a mysterious tavern keeper. As more bodies are discovered, the pair find themselves caught in the middle of a sinister plot. With the killer still at large, and Bianca in terrible danger, Nicholas's choice seems impossible - to save Bianca, or save himself...
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Press Reviews
S. W. Perry Press Reviews
A remarkably assured and classy debut. Perry grabs your attention from the first paragraph and holds it throughout a fascinating journey into high and low life of Tudor London. This could, hopefully, be the start of an addictive series. - L C Tyler
The Angel's Mark has the pace of a thriller... S.W. Perry is a welcome addition to the ranks of historical crime novelists. - Simon Brett
An impressively dramatic and gripping debut novel. Elegantly written, thoroughly researched, The Angel's Mark draws us into the murky world of Elizabethan London where life is a game of chance, and savage death a close neighbour, quick to pounce on the unsuspecting. I predict that we will be seeing much more of Nicholas Shelby, physician and reluctant spy. - Anne O'Brien
I knew before I got to the bottom of the first page that The Angel's Mark was the real thing. In an increasingly crowded field, this one is going to stand out. - S. G. MacLean
Wonderful! Beautiful writing, and Perry's Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it. - Giles Kristian
A gorgeous book - rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure. It immerses you in the late 16th century and leaves you wrung out with terror. This is historical fiction at its most sumptuous. - Rory Clements
Author
About S. W. Perry
S. W. Perry was a journalist and broadcaster before retraining as an airline pilot. He lives in Worcestershire with his wife and two spaniels.
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