2018 School Spending Survey Report
The Invention of Fire
Morrow. Apr. 2015. 432p.ISBN 9780062356451. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062356475. F
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Holsinger's second historical thriller (after A Burnable Book) once again features John Gower, friend of Geoffrey Chaucer and fellow poet, who earns his bread by trading in dark secrets. In 1386 London few believe in the king, Richard II, whose kingdom is careening its way toward disaster: it's difficult to know whom to trust. Gower is called on to investigate the murders of 16 men, whose corpses have been found dumped in the stream below the Long Dropper, a public privy. Their bodies bear harsh wounds, as though pierced by cannonballs but of a much smaller bore than those then in use. Gower suspects the men were killed by a new kind of weapon, the handgonne, but who made them and why are unanswered questions. The search takes John on a dangerous quest, with a surprise at the end.
VERDICT This excellent period mystery is narrated in a gloriously earthy language that is, long before Shakespeare and the King James Bible, still in the process of taking shape. Fans of the previous book as well as aficionados of the historical genre won't be able to put this novel down. [See Prepub Alert, 10/13/14.]
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