Five for Silver: A John the Eunuch Mystery - Softcover

Reed, Mary; Mayer, Eric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1590581121 ISBN 13: 9781590581124

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Pr, 2004

Synopsis

In the year 542, John the Lord Chamberlain investigates the death of his elderly servant's old army friend in Constantinople, where he is faced with a wealth of suspects, including a court poet and a holy fool, and finds nothing is what it seems in this city rife with plague, terror, and discord.

About this title

About the Authors

The husband and wife team of Mary Reed and Eric Mayer published several short stories about John, Lord Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, in mystery anthologies and in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine prior to 1999’s highly acclaimed first full length novel, One for Sorrow. Entries in the series have been honored by a Best Mystery Glyph Award, an honorable mention in the Glyph Best Book category, and was a finalist for the IPPY Best Mystery Award (Two For Joy), nominations for the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award (Four For A Boy and Five For Silver), and a Glyph Award for Best Book Series (Five For Silver). The American Library Association’s Booklist Magazine named the Lord Chamberlain novels one of its four Best Little Known Series. Mary Reed & Eric Mayer also write under Eric Reed.

The husband and wife team of Mary Reed and Eric Mayer published several short stories about John, Lord Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, in mystery anthologies and in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine prior to 1999’s highly acclaimed first full length novel, One for Sorrow. Entries in the series have been honored by a Best Mystery Glyph Award, an honorable mention in the Glyph Best Book category, and was a finalist for the IPPY Best Mystery Award (Two For Joy), nominations for the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award (Four For A Boy and Five For Silver), and a Glyph Award for Best Book Series (Five For Silver). The American Library Association’s Booklist Magazine named the Lord Chamberlain novels one of its four Best Little Known Series. Mary Reed & Eric Mayer also write under Eric Reed.

Reviews

Reed and Mayer surpass last year's fine Four for a Boy with this superb fifth entry in their series to feature smart, determined and credibly human sleuth John the Eunuch, Lord Chamberlain to the Emperor Justinian. In the year 542, in the plague-stricken city of Constantinople, John's aged servant, Peter, has an angelic vision telling him that Gregory, a close friend from his army days, has been murdered. Distraught, Peter asks John to find the killer. Verifying that Gregory has indeed been stabbed to death, John proceeds to interview everyone who may be connected to the crime from lawyers to doctors, from prostitutes to a holy fool who dances with the dead in the streets, perhaps the most striking of several memorable supporting characters. Peter's falling ill and the return home of John's daughter complicate a riveting plot that never dips into melodrama. Not just a chilling backdrop, the plague that runs rampant through the city, afflicting rich and poor alike, is linked to the murder. The conflict between Christians and pagans adds further weight to this sterling historical page-turner.
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Readers familiar with this entertaining historical-mystery series will recognize that this is the fifth installment. (Each volume in the series has a number in its title.) The year: 542 AD. The place: Constantinople. John the Eunuch, the emperor Justinian's Lord Chamberlain, learns that his servant and friend, Peter, had a vision in which a man was murdered. It turns out that there really was a murder and that the victim, an old friend of Peter's, was a powerful figure in the customs office. Who killed him and why? In a John the Eunuch novel, the mystery is only half the fun. The other half comes from the delightful supporting characters (in this case, a shady antiques dealer, a bookseller, and a poet, among others) and the crafty way in which the authors discreetly sneak in little nuggets of historical information. The historical-mystery series that stand the test of time are those that put story first and research second. This is one of those series. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Pr
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1590581121
• ISBN 13: 9781590581124
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 259