Plague Land: Oswald de Lacy Book 1 - Rilegato

Sykes, S D

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 144478577X ISBN 13: 9781444785777

Casa editrice: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 2014

Riassunto

Oswald de Lacy was never meant to be the Lord of Somerhill Manor. Despatched to a monastery at the age of seven, sent back at seventeen when his father and two older brothers are killed by thePlague, Oswald has no experience of running an estate. He finds the years of pestilence and neglect have changed the old place dramatically, not to mention the attitude of the surviving peasants. Yet some things never change. Oswald's mother remains the powerful matriarch of the family, and his sister Clemence simmers in the background, dangerous and unmarried. Before he can do anything, Oswald is confronted by the shocking death of a young woman, Alison Starvecrow. The ambitious village priest claims that Alison was killed by a band of demonic dog-headed men. Oswald is certain this is nonsense, but proving it - by finding the real murderer - is quite a different matter. Every step he takes seems to lead Oswald deeper into a dark maze of political intrigue, family secrets and violent strife. And then the body of another girl is found. SD Sykes brilliantly evokes the landscape and people of medieval Kent in this thrillingly suspenseful debut.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

The medieval CJ Sansom (Jeffery Deaver)

Sykes's damp, depopulated, miasmic Middle Ages is well evoked, making this an impressive debut with at least one sequel on the way. (The Herald, Scotland)

A novel full of suspense and intrigue that will have you gripped. (Best magazine)

PLAGUE LAND is a fascinating historical crime novel about a world turned upside down, inhabited by a rich cast of characters. A terrific debut and a wonderful start to a brand-new series. (Antonia Hodgson, author of THE DEVIL IN THE MARSHALSEA)

Plague Land is a gripping historical crime thriller, an engaging coming-of-age story and a richly textured evocation of 14th Century Kent. I was totally hooked. (Jake Woodhouse, author of The Amsterdam Quartet)

There are plot twists aplenty . . . PLAGUE LAND is a quest to rebuild identity in an apocalyptic world, a theme that makes this new medieval series one I will be sure to follow. (Martine Bailey, author of An Appetite for Violets)

If you're looking for a well written and engaging book set in the Middle Ages, or you happen to like thrillers, mysteries and "whodunnits", then this is your cup of tea. Sykes has really reset the bar for medieval mysteries. Throughout the book, every clue brings with it unexpected twists and turns. When you think you know who the killer is, you're slapped with yet another surprise. (Medievalists)

The mystery is engaging and . . . I found the whole subject of the Plague and the feudal system fascinating. It's a period of history I wasn't familiar with but one I'd love to investigate further. This book fills the gap between the late Ariana Franklin and CJ Sansom and I look forward to reading more of the adventures of Oswald and company. (From First Page to Last)

There's a nice, cliché-free sharpness to Sykes' writing . . . that suggests a medieval Raymond Chandler at work, and there are no phony celebrations of the peasantry or earth-mothers thrusting herbal concoctions down grateful throats. Plenty of action and interesting characters, without intervention of the libertarian modern conscience that so often wrecks the medieval historical novel. (Independent)

Plague Land is an extraordinary debut novel - confident and clever, bringing the reader so close to the history it evokes . . . I found everything about Plague Land unputdownable as it immersed me so fully in the mid-14th century, carried along as I was by these excellent characters as well as by S.D. Sykes' wonderful writing. There is a lot going on in this book, all of it fully engaging - S.D. Sykes is to be congratulated. One of my top books of 2014 without doubt. (For Winter Nights)

Descrizione del libro:

A thrillingly suspenseful crime novel set in medieval Kent in the aftermath of the Black Death.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
• Data di pubblicazione: 2014
• ISBN 10: 144478577X
• ISBN 13: 9781444785777
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 352