Historical crime is my favourite fiction genre and I'm a huge fan of C J Sansom, S G MacLean, Andrew Taylor & Rory Clements. After reading this book, I will add S W Perry to this list...what a fantastic read this book is!
Whilst, sadly, I haven't read the first book (`The Angel's Mark' by S W Perry) that introduced us to Nicholas Shelby, I thoroughly enjoyed `The Serpent's Mark'.
The writing is beautifully and vividly descriptive, transporting the reader to Elizabethan England, particularly London where many of the events take place and we learn much about the city at this time. The 2 main characters, Shelby and the headstrong Italian, Bianca Merton, have formed a strong relationship based on the events from the first book.
Bianca is now the owner of the Jackdaw tavern and also an apothecary, whilst Nicholas is a physician struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife.
The book centres around a gripping and dramatic story line of espionage, murder and conspiracy - I was hooked to the final line and would highly recommend to any fellow historical crime readers. You will not regret it!
Whilst, sadly, I haven't read the first book (`The Angel's Mark' by S W Perry) that introduced us to Nicholas Shelby, I thoroughly enjoyed `The Serpent's Mark'.
The writing is beautifully and vividly descriptive, transporting the reader to Elizabethan England, particularly London where many of the events take place and we learn much about the city at this time. The 2 main characters, Shelby and the headstrong Italian, Bianca Merton, have formed a strong relationship based on the events from the first book.
Bianca is now the owner of the Jackdaw tavern and also an apothecary, whilst Nicholas is a physician struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife.
The book centres around a gripping and dramatic story line of espionage, murder and conspiracy - I was hooked to the final line and would highly recommend to any fellow historical crime readers. You will not regret it!