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Title details for Seven for a Secret by Mary Reed - Available

Seven for a Secret

#7 in series

by Mary Reed
Eric Mayer
Audiobook
5 of 5 copies available
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5 of 5 copies available

As Lord Chamberlain, John spent his days counseling Emperor Justinian while passing the small hours of night in conversation with the solemn-eyed little girl depicted in a mosaic on his study wall. He never expected to meet her in a public square—or afterwards, to find her red-dyed corpse in a subterranean cistern. Had the mysterious woman truly been the model for the mosaic years before, as she claimed? Who was she? Who wanted her dead and why? The answers seem to lie among the denizens of the smoky streets of that quarter of Constantinople known as the Copper Market, where artisans, beggars, prostitutes, pillar saints, and exiled aristocrats struggle to survive within sight of the Great Palace and yet worlds distant. Before long, John suspects he is attempting to unravel not just a murder but also a plot against the empire.

  • Creators

  • Series

    John, the Lord Chamberlain Mystery

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 15, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781481582933
      • File size: 258469 KB
      • Duration: 08:58:28

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In the authors' John the Eunuch series, the main character is lord chamberlain to the emperor Justinian in sixth-century Byzantium. In this seventh installment John becomes obsessed with a woman who claims to have been the model for a girl in a mural that graces the courtier's walls. Later he finds the woman beaten to death. The resulting plot line is truly byzantine. Narrator James Adams sounds mildly bored as he delivers this convoluted story, but he does a fine job delineating characters, including women as diverse as an elderly nurse, an actress, and a royal pretender. The plotting is clever and the climax dramatic. Historical mystery lovers will welcome this investigator to the roster of able historic sleuths. D.L.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 7, 2008
      In Reed and Mayer’s engrossing seventh mystery set in sixth-century Constantinople (after 2005’s Six for Gold
      ), John, lord chamberlain to the emperor Justinian, has taken to sharing his thoughts with a young girl, whom he’s named Zoe, depicted in the mosaic on his study wall. One day John meets a woman on the street who identifies herself as Zoe and claims to be the model for the child in the mosaic. Who could have revealed his secret confessor? John wonders. When John finds this mysterious woman brutally beaten to death in a cistern, he begins a dangerous investigation that will take him into the lives of prostitutes, artisans, beggars and religious fanatics. Once again convincing historical detail and strong characterization help drive a riveting plot. Fans will be pleased to know that while the title is based on the last line of the verse on which the series is based, the authors plan to send John to Italy in an eighth volume.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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