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Shop nowPlague Land
Narrator
Shaun Grindell
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Length
11 hours 48 minutes
Language
English
In this chilling historical mystery, young girls go missing from a medieval English village, and Lord Oswald de Lacy must find the killer before tragedy strikes again.
Oswald de Lacy was never meant to be the Lord of Somershill Manor. Dispatched to a monastery at the age of seven, sent back at seventeen when his father and two older brothers are killed by the plague, Oswald has no experience of running an estate. He finds the years of pestilence and neglect have changed the old place dramatically, not to mention the attitude of the surviving peasants.
Yet some things never change. Oswald's mother remains the powerful matriarch of the family, and his sister Clemence simmers in the background, dangerous and unmarried.
Before he can do anything, Oswald is confronted by the shocking death of a young woman, Alison Starvecrow. The ambitious village priest claims that Alison was killed by a band of demonic dog-headed men. Oswald is certain this is nonsense, but proving it—by finding the real murderer—is quite a different matter. Every step he takes seems to lead Oswald deeper into a dark maze of political intrigue, family secrets, and violent strife.
And then the body of another girl is found.
Sarah Sykes brilliantly evokes the landscape and people of medieval Kent in this thrillingly suspenseful debut.
S. D. Sykes received an MA degree in writing from Sheffield Hallam University in South Yorkshire, England. She attended the novel-writing course at the Curtis Brown creative writing school, where she was inspired to write Plague Land. She lives in England.
Shaun Grindell, actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, was born and raised in Southampton, England. His training includes the Calland School of Speech and Drama and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in London. He has been seen on stage in London and Las Vegas.
Reviews
“It’s no fun reading a medieval mystery if it isn’t steeped in filth, squalor, and pestilence. S. D. Sykes gets right to the point in Plauge Land, which serves it all up in vivid detail.”
“There’s a nice, cliche-free sharpness to Sykes’ writing…that suggests a medieval Raymond Chandler at work.”
“Provides everything a reader would want in a historical mystery: a gripping plot, vivid language, living and breathing characters, and an immersive depiction of the past.”
“Thrilling plot twists and layered characters abound in this rich tale of murder and mystery in fourteenth-century Kent.”
“Immerses the reader in the filth and ignorance of medieval Kent, presents a puzzling mystery, and introduces a hero who grows in stature as his problems increase.”
“Plague Land is a fascinating historical crime novel about a world turned upside down, inhabited by a rich cast of characters. A terrific debut and a wonderful start to a brand-new series.”
“There are plot twists aplenty…Plague Land is a quest to rebuild identity in an apocalyptic world, a theme that makes this new medieval series one I will be sure to follow.”
“Plague Land is a gripping historical crime thriller, an engaging coming-of-age story, and a richly textured evocation of fourteenth century Kent. I was totally hooked.”
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