The Bone Fire

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What to expect

The brand new Oswald de Lacy thriller, for fans of C.J. Sansom, Minette Walters and S.J. Parris.

A Publishers Weekly Book of the Year!

'Living legends Andrew Taylor and Susanna Gregory; bestselling phenomena SJ Parris and CJ Sansom... a league of extraordinary resurrectionists. If you love their books, I invite you to visit fourteenth-century England, with SD Sykes ... Savour the company of young Oswald de Lacy, among the most appealing historical sleuths currently on the hunt.' A.J. Finn

'A fascinating glimpse of an almost forgotten period of history.' Andrew Taylor

'Sykes give it (plague) a life and character of its own - swift, remorseless and deadly' New York Times

***

1361. Plague has returned to England - thirteen years after the devastation of The Black Death.

As destruction advances towards his estate in Kent, Oswald de Lacy leads his family to the safety of a remote castle in the marshes - where his friend Godfrey is preparing a fortress to survive the coming disaster.

The rules are clear: once the de Lacys and other guests are inside the castle the portcullis will be lowered and no-one permitted to enter or leave until the Pestilence has passed.

And then a murderer strikes.

Oswald is confronted with a stark choice - leave and face the ravages of the plague, or stay and place his family at the mercy of a brutal killer. With word of his skills as an investigator preceding him, it falls to Oswald to unmask the murderer in their midst. Host, guest, or servant - everyone is a suspect in this poisoned refuge of secrets, deceit and malice.

(P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

An intriguing and vivid addition to an increasingly interesting series, and a fascinating glimpse of an almost forgotten period of history.
Andrew Taylor
Living legends Andrew Taylor and Susanna Gregory; bestselling phenomena SJ Parris and CJ Sansom... a league of extraordinary resurrectionists. If you love their books, I invite you to visit fourteenth-century England, with SD Sykes ... Savour the company of young Oswald de Lacy, among the most appealing historical sleuths currently on the hunt.
A.J. Finn
Chilling and evocative. This book will have you gripped from the first page to the last
Tracy Borman
If you love C.J. Sansom, you have to read S.D. Sykes. Her Oswald de Lacy series just gets better and better. The Bone Fire is a wonderfully claustrophobic and compelling mystery, filled with clever twists, fascinating characters and flashes of Sykes's sly wit. Utterly immersive, utterly gripping historical crime at its very, very best.
Antonia Hodgson
An ingenious, twisty plot with memorable characters in an intriguing siege narrative
Rebecca Mascull
Sykes' fourth is anchored in a grimly evocative first-person narrative reminiscent of Poe, and there's a whodunit to boot.
Kirkus
Neatly done, crisply-paced historical... written with a fine sense of place and time
Shots Magazine
Sykes effectively uses her diligent research in the service of a memorable plot. This outing reinforces her place in the historical mystery genre's top ranks.
Publishers Weekly
The setting is fantastic [...] builds to a satisfyingly twisty climax
The Times
SD Sykes proves that she is not only on top of her historical fiction game but is also a mistress of the detective genre
Historia Magazine
Enjoyable 'locked castle' mystery
The Sunday Times
Atmospheric, and well told
Choice Magazine
Sykes give it (plague) a life and character of its own - swift, remorseless and deadly
New York Times
As the number of victims rises, Oswald knows he faces a threat every bit as great as the plague that now besieges the castle walls
S Magazine
An absolutely engrossing historical mystery
Booklist
Sykes gives it (plague) a life and character of its own - swift, remorseless and deadly
New York Times
Praise for S D Sykes
-
Sykes is a master at combining historical setting with mystery
The Times
The medieval CJ Sansom
Jeffery Deaver
The whodunnit aspect is neatly done, the family secrets and waspish relationships are intriguing, and humour and originality are abundant.
Daily Mail

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