Six for Gold [Hardcover]

Another terrific installment in the John the Eunuch series. Accused of murdering a senator , John is saved from torture and execution by being banished by Emperor Justinian. Justinian sends him to Egypt to solve the mystery of why sheep in an Egyptian village are slitting their own throats. John finds the local landowner locked in battle with a magician who both want control of the land and the mysterious maze/shrine that is on it. And back in Constantinople John's friends and family desperately try to prove his innocence.

A fascinating look into the historical time of Emperor Justinian, a time of plague and the conflict between the Christians and pagans. Loaded with wonderful historic detail and a terrific mystery. John is a likeable hero and the supporting characters are quirky and wonderful. Historical mystery lovers will want to be sure to read all the books in this series as will everyone else. It's well written, with great characters, a lively mystery and lots of well researched historical detail.

In plague-infested Constantinople, Justinian's Lord Chamberlain, John the Eunuch, is suspected of murdering a Senator. Exiled to Egypt where, supposedly, sheep are committing suicide by cutting their own throats, John must somehow stay alive--a task made more difficult by the assassin Empress Theodora is certain to have sent after him, and by the insistance by his wife Cornelia, and his servant, Peter, that they accompany him.

John knows that Justinian always works more than one angle. Suicidal sheep, while interesting, would hardly be enough to motivate the great Roman Emperor to send his trusted servant to Egypt. Something else must have attracted his attention--something so dangerous he couldn't even trust John with what he feared. Yet the Egyptian oasis seems to contain nothing but a tax-evading landlord, a gameplaying priest, superstitious peasants, and a magician whose magic tricks are as old as the Pharaohs. Justinian could have been wrong--but if he was, John is the one who's likely to pay the price.

Back in Constantinople, John's friend Anatolius investigates the mystery of the murdered Senator. Clearly John didn't do it. Whether John's dodgy son-in-law might have been involved is less clear. But the murder seems to involve the religious schism between the orthodox, championed by Justinian, and the monophysites, championed by Theodora. That the monophysites were dominant in Egypt, and that John was exiled to that province didn't sound like coincidence. Still, what could it mean.

Authors Mary Reed and Eric Mayer continue their charming John the Eunuch series with a story that takes John far from Constantinople, returning him to Egypt--the land where he and Cornelia first met. Egypt has always been a land of magic and mystery and it certainly is in SIX FOR GOLD--starting with Peter's discovery of the cat-mummy industry and the monkey-headed giant snake. The religious disputes between orthodox and monophysites was a huge part of the history of this time and Reed and Meyer do a good job presenting it in the context of a historical mystery. John's own worship of Mithra, the Persian sun-god, adds richness to the story.

SIX FOR GOLD is filled with comic touches--I especially like the bumbling but effective Peter, as well as his part in solving the mystery of the suicidal sheep. The mysterious maze in the Egyptian oasis might not be historical, but it should be.

Fans of historical mystery will definitely want to grab this latest in the John the Eunuch series. I have no hesitation in recommending SIX FOR GOLD.

This sixth John the Eunuch mystery opens with a chase through 6th-century Constantinople's Hippodrome and dockside grain stores as John, lord chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, dodges the spears of palace guards only to be undone by a rat, literally.

Charged with the murder of a senator and brought before the Emperor (thwarting the Empress Theodora of a savored chance to torture her nemesis), John is sent to Egypt, ostensibly banished, but actually charged with investigating a local mystery of suicidal sheep and furthering the Emperor's search for a powerful religious relic.

His irreverent wife, Cornelia and devout Christian servant Peter join John, making their own unique contributions to figuring out why sheep would slash their own throats and what lies at the heart of the rivalry between the local headman and the interloper magician. The magician's powers range from blatantly fake to spectacular, and the headman, while less dazzling, is equally devious.

Wry and observant, John, who has seen much of the worst the world has to offer, stays a step ahead of the reader, while back in Constantinople his friend Anatolius, daughter Europa and brash, rash son-in-law Thomas work to unravel the senator's murder. From brothels, magical shrines and plague fears to palace intrigues and everyday details, the authors seamlessly work historical atmosphere into the cleverly plotted mystery and leaven it with just the right amount of humor. Fans will enjoy the latest chapter in John's tumultuous life and newcomers will be drawn to earlier adventures.

--Portsmouth Herald

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