The Heretic’s Mark, the fourth instalment in S.W. Perry’s excellent Jackdaw Mysteries series, is another winning piece of historical fiction featuring the redoubtable duo of Nicholas and Bianca Shelby (and their loyal groups of friends from the Jackdaw Inn too, of course). This time around, Nicholas has been maliciously implicated in a plot to poison Queen Elizabeth I, and the high number of people willing to believe the accusation suggests that his previous good works for both the crown and the country are now worth very little.
With the queen’s physician having already been executed for his supposed role in the plot, things are looking very bleak for Nicholas, which prompts him and Bianca to flee to her hometown of Padua by following the Via Francigena pilgrimage route. The couple certainly face danger from the agents of the crown who are pursuing them, but they also face mystery and puzzlement due to the strange young woman named Hella who has joined them on their journey. As if things weren’t already bad enough for Nicholas and Bianca, Hella is predicting an imminent apocalypse, and it seems that her religious leanings might not prevent her from engaging in a spot of violence herself if she thinks the situation warrants it.
Another thrilling and engaging mystery from the pen of S.W. Perry, The Heretic’s Mark has pretty much everything a fan of historical fiction could want. The story is a bit of a slow burner, but the returning characters are just as personable and interesting (if sometimes a tad infuriating) as always, and the introduction of religious zealot Hella adds an unusual dimension to the plot. As with previous books in the series, Perry has clearly done a massive amount of research into the period, which means that the sights, sounds, and smells experienced by Nicholas and Bianca on their journey really ring true.
With the queen’s physician having already been executed for his supposed role in the plot, things are looking very bleak for Nicholas, which prompts him and Bianca to flee to her hometown of Padua by following the Via Francigena pilgrimage route. The couple certainly face danger from the agents of the crown who are pursuing them, but they also face mystery and puzzlement due to the strange young woman named Hella who has joined them on their journey. As if things weren’t already bad enough for Nicholas and Bianca, Hella is predicting an imminent apocalypse, and it seems that her religious leanings might not prevent her from engaging in a spot of violence herself if she thinks the situation warrants it.
Another thrilling and engaging mystery from the pen of S.W. Perry, The Heretic’s Mark has pretty much everything a fan of historical fiction could want. The story is a bit of a slow burner, but the returning characters are just as personable and interesting (if sometimes a tad infuriating) as always, and the introduction of religious zealot Hella adds an unusual dimension to the plot. As with previous books in the series, Perry has clearly done a massive amount of research into the period, which means that the sights, sounds, and smells experienced by Nicholas and Bianca on their journey really ring true.