Mosse’s fans will relish this tale of secrets, love and treachery

Another of Mosse’s immersive dramas, which takes you to the heart of the past

Mosse does what good popular historical novelists do best – make the past enticingly otherworldly, while also claiming it as our own

Mosse’s narrative lyricism, beautifully drawn female characters and deft journey from the past to the present day are a cut above

A powerful storyteller with an abundant imagination

Rich with historical detail, as you’d expect from Mosse, but it’s Minou, the fiery heroine, who makes this a must-read

An irresistible read

Impressively bold and ambitious, it features betrayals, broken friendship, family secrets and the horrors of fanaticism. Fans will love it

A tour de force

For a thumpingly immersive historical listen, Kate Mosse’s The City of Tears (Mantle Audio) — the second of her Burning Chambers trilogy, though you don’t have to have read or listened to the first to enjoy this — more than fits the bill. If, like me, your knowledge of 16th-century royal and political life and religious wars is somewhat limited, narration really helps; there’s something clear and precise about having the details of the conflict between the Huguenots and Catholics go straight into my listening brain. But aside from this, Mosse is practised at creating vivid scenes — in this case, a court wedding that is overtaken by the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, with profound consequences for her protagonists. Actor Hattie Morahan, who has read novels by Tracy Chevalier and Stacey Halls, does a superb job, ably capturing the shifts between large-scale action and its impact on individual lives.