| Title | : | Satin Cinnabar (Historical Mysteries Collection #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
Perfect for fans of C J Sansom, S W Perry and Denise Domning
“It paints views and pictures, it makes history spring alive, immersing the reader in the distant past.”
The battle is over, but now he’s the son of a traitor…
England 1485. The new Court of Henry VII is a dangerous time – Now the son of a traitor, Alex must hide his identity. But discovering the near decapitated body of his cousin could have even more catastrophic consequences. No one can be trusted, not even those closest to you.
Danger it seems, is never far away…
Without the brave soldier who led her to safety, Lady Katherine would have joined the fallen bodies. Returning home to find the enemy’s pennant flying overhead and an unfamiliar lord demanding her hand in marriage. Impulsive and hot headed, she must find a way back to her new friend, but where is he? And is she safer staying where she is?
Guilty or not?
After yet another murder, Alex’s discoveries could lead him to the killer or the gallows. While Lady Katherine has to make an impossible choice to retreat behind the safety of castle walls or risk more than her reputation to help solve these final riddles and catch the culprit.
Medieval London comes alive with suspense in this historical mystery set in 15th century England.
Satin Cinnabar (Historical Mysteries Collection #5) Reviews
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Great story!
Loved the writing style if this author, and what a great plot! The main male character, Alex, is so well formed and evolves as the plot progresses....the female lead here is a bit naive a d childish but very suited to this story. There is so much action and so many situations that it is very hard to put the book down for even a moment. It held my interest from the first paragraph until the last. The medieval England setting just after King Henry I takes the throne, usurping King Richard is an extremely chaotic time period in the country's history and a very useful background for this plot.
I found the book charming, funny, interesting, easy to read, romantic and very entertaining.
Needless to say, I highly recommend it to readers of historical fiction. I'm so thankful to be a woman born in the 20th century! Ignorance is not bliss!
I'm currently looking for other books written by Denvil. Well done! -
Written with obvious knowledge of subject and skill, Gaskell gives us a meager portion of her talents with this work.
Read full review in the
2012 September issue of InD’tale Magazine. -
A wondrous adventure to Medieval England. Romance, war, murder, deception, intrigue. The author paints a vivid picture of the time and place of 1485.
The hero Alex, of course does not start out to be a hero. He is just trying to survive, being on the losing side of the war. King Richard is dead and the Tudor Henry VI is now King. Alex was easy to fall in love with.
The female lead Katherine, she is naive and childish and there were times she got on my last nerve! All I can say is if this is how parents raised their daughters in Medieval times, it was a damn awful shame!
The murder mystery kept my attention and had me guessing until the very end and the villain was a delight to hate. A little bit of everything and a joy to read! -
Satin Cinnabar by Barbara Gaskell Denvil has received a Chill with a Book Readers' Award.
www.chillwithabook.com
"I just couldn’t put it down, I love this author, she manages to combine history with a good mystery, has obviously done her research."
"Wonderful book!"
Pauline Barclay
Founder of Chill with a Book Awards -
Lots of Action
I found that reading this in the series was most interesting. Not much of the historical period but an interesting plot and interesting characters although I found the central female to be rather insipid and would have liked to know more about the other females. -
"...for the portrayal of detail of life in early Tudor London, Ms Denvil is among the very best of writers."
This book has received a Discovering Diamonds Review:
Helen Hollick
founder #DDRevs -
Reviewed by Calantha
Book provided by the author for review
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book
As I started reading Satin Cinnabar, I was feeling very graphic images of battle scenes in my mind and thought at first I was watching a Mel Gibson Gladiator movie. The introduction of the main hero and his situation was very well written as it takes you into the scene of the battle. Next, Barbara introduces you to the heroine and explains a bit of her background using some friction of both characters. I really felt intrigued and wanted to continue reading as the imagery was flowing. I picked this book to read and review as I enjoy historical romances however, I was mystified of how the novel was going to turn out as I continues reading this book.
As there was interesting background characters such as Mary, Elizabeth and Alex’s cousin. I enjoyed reading about the different spices and about the science Alex would learn from the Spiceman of the different herbs. I am wondering if the author had a background in herbs and spices as I would not think to make herbs and spices a murder weapon.
I was shocked as there was a bit of sex scenes in this novel as it was more of survival than of romance which many romance tend to not do. However, if Barbara had incorporated a lot of sex scenes, I believe, it would not fit in this story line, so this was impressive. I really enjoyed the romance story combined with a murder/mystery plotline made this a novelty for someone who reads a lot of romance suspense.
Warning: I’d suggest that anyone who is not much for reading about graphic violence, this story has a lot of graphic battle scenes and images. As I started reading it, the violence stood out as Alex’s cousin dies. If someone was sensitive to reading about murder and blood, I would recommend that they do not read this novel as the murder and the enemies were nasty. I had a hard time reading this book in one sitting as I enjoyed reading carefully of the chapters so I could figure out who was harming some of the characters. I would want to read another novel of this author, but probably want a less depressing murder story, however it did make you sit on the edge, hoping to figure out the killer. I believe a story exploring more of Alex and Katherine’s romance and maybe a continuation of their potential offspring would be interesting to read. -
Interesting historical novel set immediately after the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and the defeat of the Yorkist king Richard III. The hero Alex and his cousins lose their titles and lands, and he must go into hiding from the triumphant Tudors. This novel combines both a romance and a murder mystery; the best parts are the detailed graphic descriptions of 15th century London--the living conditions, the affect of drastic political change upon the country, disease and death, clothing, prison conditions, food and medicine, architecture. The hero is likable, the heroine is a twit, and the other women in the story are very intriguing.
