From Publishers Weekly
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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From Booklist
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 PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *STARRED REVIEW*
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. (Apr. 1)
Book Description
The year is 542. While plague stalks Constantinople, an angel sets John the Eunuch on the trail of a human killer.
Peter, John's elderly servant, claims a heavenly visitor revealed a murder to him. It transpires Peter's old army friend has indeed been stabbed, but then John discovers that Gregory was not what he appeared to be.
Is the solution to the mystery to be found in a hidden identity, in the will made by a dying ship owner with a wayward son, or perhaps even amid the oracles in the merchant's garden?
John's quest leads him to churchmen and whores, lawyers and bear trainers. Suspects include a dealer in dubious antiquities, a resourceful bookseller, a court poet fixated on bereavement, and a holy fool who outrages the city by dancing with the dead and invading the empress' private bath.
Only a man of unbending principle could hope to find justice in a terrified city where the good and the bad are struck down indiscriminately, where disorder rules, and where witnesses may die before they can be questioned. A city, in short, where death is the murderer's accomplice.
About the Author
The husband and wife team of Mary Reed and Eric Mayer had published several short John the Eunuch detections in mystery anthologies and in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine prior to 1999's highly acclaimed first full length novel, One for Sorrow. Their protagonist's adventures continued in Two For Joy (2000), a Glyph Award winner in the Best Mystery category. Two For Joy also gained an Honorable Mention in the Glyph Best Book Award list and in addition was a finalist for the IPPY Best Mystery Award. Three For A Letter (2001) and Four For A Boy (2003) followed. In June 2003 the American Library Association's Booklist Magazine named the John the Eunuch novels as one of its four Best Little Known Series.
The next John the Eunuch story will appear in Mike Ashley's The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits (Carroll & Graf edition, it's already out in the UK from Constable Robinson). It's called The Finger of Aphrodite and is set in besieged Rome, being another locked room story.
The husband and wife team of Mary Reed and Eric Mayer had published several short John the Eunuch detections in mystery anthologies and in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine prior to 1999's highly acclaimed first full length novel, One for Sorrow.
