One of our Great Reads you may have missed in 2011.
A lovely historical thriller, it stands alone, but the first, Heresy, is just as good so check it out too. Mathematician and memory master Bruno has another plot on the Queen’s life to foil in his service to the spymaster Walsingham. Gripping, exciting, one that really keeps you up all night turning the pages. I highly recommend it.
August 2011 Book of the Month.
The Lovereading view...
Full of intrigue and suspense and set in Elizabethan England this terrific historical thriller will be loved by fans of C. J. Sansom and The Name of the Rose. It features Giordano Bruno, maverick, renegade monk, philosopher and heretic, who has infiltrated a plot to oust Queen Elizabeth and must now find concrete evidence to enable Mary Stuart and her cohorts to be executed but nothing is easy when mysteries, secrets and the occult bar his way.
1583: Queen Elizabeth's rule is under threat. Plans for an invasion to put Mary Stuart on the throne of England are secretly being laid. And an astrological phenomenon believed to herald the death of one age and the dawn of another has led to frenzied speculation of terrible events to come. Giordano Bruno, the charismatic agent of Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to the queen, has infiltrated plotters at the French embassy. His mission is to secure the evidence that will allow the execution of Mary Stuart and her cohorts for treason. But his position there is tenuous. While the ambassador trusts him, his beautiful and cunning wife Marie seems determined to prise out his secrets. Meanwhile, the murder of a maid of honour within the palace walls involves Bruno in deeper mysteries. Occult symbols carved into her young flesh point to black magic, but the truth could be even more sinister!
'Impossible to resist ! Parris creates a convincing sense of the past, woven with so much intrigue that the head fairly spins' Daily Telegraph
'Parris writes with confident ease of Tudor London ! The dialogue balances nicely on a tightrope of period phrases and cut-to-the-chase colloquialisms. More, please' The Times
'Parris's plot is well crafted and full of surprises, an imaginatively satisfying addition to the many real intrigues surrounding the imprisoned Mary Stuart and the threats to Elizabeth's security' TLS
'Tense and lively, a welcome follow-up to Heresy, fully living up to its predecessor's promise' Daily Mail Praise for Heresy:
'Heresy has everything -- intrigue, mystery, excellent history and haunting sense of place. The beginning of a wonderful new detective series' Kate Mosse
'Fascinating ! The period is incredibly vivid and the story utterly gripping' Conn Iggulden (bestselling author of Bones of the Hills and The Dangerous Book for Boys)
'Heresy is a riveting read. Rich in both historical detail and ingenious twists, S. J. Parris has created a character in Giordano Bruno that will endure. A true rival to C. J. Sansom' Sam Bourne (bestselling author of The Righteous Men)
'Parris paces her yarn perfectly' Daily Telegraph
'The places and people are vividly described with a merciful absence of period language, and the solution to this exciting, well-written tale comes as a real surprise' Literary Review
Author
About S. J. Parris
S.J. Parris is the pseudonym of author and journalist Stephanie Merritt. It was as a student in Cambridge researching a paper on the period that Stephanie first became fascinated by the rich history of Tudor England and Renaissance Europe. Since then, her interest has grown and led her to create this series of historical thrillers featuring Giordano Bruno.
Stephanie has worked as a critic and feature writer for a variety of newspapers and magazines as well as radio and television. She currently writes for the Observer and the Guardian, and lives in Surrey with her son.
