1543.King James V is dead, and Scotland is thrown into turmoil.As the country is torn asunder the nation’s criminals flourish.Out of favour with their master, Simon Danforth and Arnaud Martin escape the discontent in Edinburgh and travel to Stirling, hoping to find peace.Instead they find murder, and must pit themselves against a shadowy killer.Investigating the brutal death of a mysterious, … a shadowy killer.
Investigating the brutal death of a mysterious, beautiful woman, Danforth finds himself locking horns with a master criminal whose identity is shrouded in secrecy, but who has his own private army of enforcers.
With Martin bent on revenge against the doctor who let his sister die, can Danforth unmask the killer and stop his friend turning his own hand to murder, or will the flames of vengeance consume them both?
Recommended for fans of CJ Sampson, SJ Parris and Ellis Peters.
Praise for Steven Veerapen
“A superb, page-turning debut. The author balances gimlet-eyed research with narrative drive and clever reveals… Danforth is a strong yet torn central character… I look forward to reading the second book in the series.” Richard Foreman.
Steven Veerapen was born in Glasgow and raised in Paisley. Pursuing an interest in the sixteenth century, he was awarded a first-class Honours degree in English, focussing his dissertation on representations of Henry VIII’s six wives. He then received a Masters in Renaissance studies, and a Ph.D. investigating Elizabethan slander. Steven is fascinated by the glamour and ghastliness of life in the 1500s, and has a penchant for myths, mysteries and murders in an age in which the law was as slippery as those who defied it.
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Kin this second book of the Simon Danforth series, Simon and his friend Arnaud Martin travel to Stirling from Edinburgh. Their patron, Cardinal Beaton, has been arrested and imprisoned following the death of King James V. In Stirling, Danforth and Martin intend only to visit Martin’s mother. But shortly after they arrive, Madame Furay, a friend of Martin’s mother, is found murdered in her home. Danforth and Martin become deeply involved in discovering her murderer. The book is complex, not only because words are spelled as they might have been in 1541. Danforth makes constant allusions to ancient history, drama, and mythology. Also Danforth and Martin spend a goodly amount of time talking philosophically about religion and politics. Thus the book is very dense, and I had to read carefully and occasionally reread. The author seemed to lose sight of the plot in order to include these erudite discussions.
The author, a scholar immersed in studies of England’s Henry VIII, turns his attention to myth and history of Scotland at that time. Religious and royal turmoil bring soldiers Danforth and Martin on a dangerous trek of murder and mystery. Well written adventure.
This entire series is worth reading.
I think I got this because it was a free ebook, and really liked it. Didn’t matter it was the second in the series and I had not read the first. The setting is Sterling, Scotland right after the death of James V. The murder investigators are two gentlemen on hiatus from employment with Cardinal Beaton (a real historical figure) while the Cardinal is imprisoned. One of the fellows is half French, half Scot and the other is an Englishman (always, therefore, of suspicion to the Scots). The initial murder is of a young Burgess’s wife. I was entertained by the way they went about investigating and meting out justice at the time. The author did a good job at research.
An historical novel that brought to life what I would imagine could happen. I enjoyed the journey.
This book had an interesting twist on the characters. No one is quite whom they seem to be , good story and the author pulls you right in.
What a fine book! The characters and the historical setting were quite good, and there was a fascination with the “normal” people that felt real as opposed to either twisting history or repeating history, yet there was a sense of reality to the times and places that I really enjoyed.
This was a very good historical piece. I’d like to read more and get to know Simon better. I was distracted enough by misprints that I actually started keeping track of them. Not misspelled words. Not bad punctuation. Not even misused words like their and there. There were whole phrases in a sentence that would be repeated. I’m not sure what the process is for formatting a Kindle book, but if there was payment involved, the author should get his money back, or hire someone new. I counted 14 pretty big errors in the first 50% of the book then decided I just wanted to enjoy it and quit editing. Now I’m ready for more. It was a good read.