Cruel as the Grave: 2 (The Queen's Man) - Softcover

Penman, Sharon

3.94

3,637 ratings by Goodreads

9781784974169: Cruel as the Grave: 2 (The Queen's Man)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784974161 ISBN 13: 9781784974169

Publisher: Head of Zeus, 2016

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April, AD 1193: A usurper threatens England's empty throne.

Richard the Lionheart languishes in an Austrian dungeon, prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor. Eleanor of Aquitaine, his mother, searches for a way to free her eldest son, aware her youngest plots to take the crown. When John seizes Windsor castle, Eleanor summons her trusted agent, Justin de Quincy, to do the impossible – mediate a truce with her rebel son.

De Quincy cannot but heed his Queen's demand, but he is already ensnared in another matter: the cruel murder of a young girl, daughter of an itinerant Welsh peddler. He is determined to bring her killer to justice and nothing, not even the threat of war, can keep him from pursuing her murderer.

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Review:

Readers of The Queen's Man, Sharon Kay Penman's first book about young Justin de Quincy, will feel right at home as Justin--the bastard son of a bishop-- continues to help England's aged Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine find out if her son, Richard the Lionheart, is still alive in a German prison while trying to keep another son, John, from usurping the throne. Newcomers might take a few more pages, but Penman's skill at making the daily life of 1193 England so immediately accessible should soon have them equally comfortable. Why would a messenger grab his mantle but not his boots before jumping out of a Winchester bawdy house window on a mild April night? Because that's where a treasonous message is hidden. What would Justin and his friend Luke have for supper at a Thameside cookshop? "Pork-filled pie and ginger wafers, washed down with cider." Why was "breakfast the day's dubious meal, not quite respectable"? Because, Penman tells us, "people were supposed to be able to satisfy themselves with a hearty dinner and a lighter supper." Details like these bond us quickly with distant ancestors--and make us wonder what particulars of our own lives will be fodder for future writers of historical fictions. --Dick Adler

Review:

'Energetic and adroitly plotted... Justin is so beguiling, and the action so lively and unpredictable, that readers will cheer Justin's return in further adventures' Publishers Weekly.

'Masterfully told... Penman's authentic period details, larger-than-life characters, and fast-paced plot add up to great reading for both mystery fans and history buffs.' Booklist.

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