Scan barcode
reikista's review
3.0
After the Plague and the Fire of London, Lucy Campion, former chambermaid, is engaged to the son of her former master, an apprentice to a printer, and a sleuth. Her friend Sarah has become a Quaker, and is embroiled in a group that has impostors. When Lucy finds Sarah’s life is endangered, she is on a quest to discover what is up and how to save her. A series worth looking into further!
Learn about the times, the trades and guilds, the flexible social mores, about the searchers for cadavers and the treatment of Quakers in Britain, as well as about actors
Learn about the times, the trades and guilds, the flexible social mores, about the searchers for cadavers and the treatment of Quakers in Britain, as well as about actors
mg_in_md_'s review
4.0
Nominated for the 2015 Historical Fiction Agatha, this is the third book in this series. While I have not read the first two, I was intrigued by the plot when I heard the author describe it at a mystery conference I attended last year. The series is set in 1660s London, around the time of the Great Fire and plague. This was a time of great turmoil and great opportunity. In this installment, Lucy Campion, a printer's apprentice and former ladies' maid, is drawn into a mystery involving the tight-knit, secretive Quaker community. She accompanies her friend and the magistrate's daughter, Sarah, who has become a Quaker contrary to her father's wishes, to the home of a severely injured Quaker man. She captures his dying words, which include a shocking revelation that the accident that resulted in his death was no accident at all. Fearful for her friend's safety, Lucy partners with the magistrate's son and the local constable to unravel the mystery before the murderer can strike again. I always enjoy reading fiction in which I learn something new, which was definitely the case with this book, and felt that the author did an excellent job of weaving in historical facts to tell the story. I felt that each element that was included helped propel the story in a believable way. I liked learning more about this time period, the writing, and the main characters, and would be interested in reading the earlier books in the series based on this offering.
katreader's review
4.0
The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins
The Third Lucy Campion Mystery
Once again we are transported back in time to 17th century London. I was thoroughly intrigued when I first met Lucy Campion in A Murder at Rosamund's Gate. A uniquley educated ladies' maid whose intelligence was encouraged by her master, Lucy is now an unofficial apprentice to a printer in this, the third book in this historical mystery series.
While London recovers from the Great Fire, Lucy is working as a sort of apprentice to a printer. With Adam as a sort of suitor, she is also friendly with a local constable, a fact that sits none too well with the Magistrate's son. Meanwhile Adam's sister, once a flighty girl, has become a Quaker. Quakers were generally hated and often jailed for seditious behavior at this time, so Sarah's homecoming after traveling to the New World is not a happy one. When word arrives that an old friend, now also a Quaker, is on his deathbed after an accident, Lucy accompanies Sarah to pen his final words (a common practice). Briefly left alone with the man, he tells Lucy that it was no accident-he was murdered, his wife is in danger, and it just may be a fellow Quaker who did the deed!
Susanna Calkins makes the dark and gritty London just recovering from the plague and the Great Fire come to life. Her words make me not only see Lucy's world, but I can almost feel the bitter cold as I read, thankful I'm unable to smell the scents from the time. In The Masque of a Murderer we find not only a compelling mystery, but a historically accurate tale of life in 17th century London. I'm so glad that Lucy's back and I look forward to reading even more about her life and times.
The Third Lucy Campion Mystery
Once again we are transported back in time to 17th century London. I was thoroughly intrigued when I first met Lucy Campion in A Murder at Rosamund's Gate. A uniquley educated ladies' maid whose intelligence was encouraged by her master, Lucy is now an unofficial apprentice to a printer in this, the third book in this historical mystery series.
While London recovers from the Great Fire, Lucy is working as a sort of apprentice to a printer. With Adam as a sort of suitor, she is also friendly with a local constable, a fact that sits none too well with the Magistrate's son. Meanwhile Adam's sister, once a flighty girl, has become a Quaker. Quakers were generally hated and often jailed for seditious behavior at this time, so Sarah's homecoming after traveling to the New World is not a happy one. When word arrives that an old friend, now also a Quaker, is on his deathbed after an accident, Lucy accompanies Sarah to pen his final words (a common practice). Briefly left alone with the man, he tells Lucy that it was no accident-he was murdered, his wife is in danger, and it just may be a fellow Quaker who did the deed!
Susanna Calkins makes the dark and gritty London just recovering from the plague and the Great Fire come to life. Her words make me not only see Lucy's world, but I can almost feel the bitter cold as I read, thankful I'm unable to smell the scents from the time. In The Masque of a Murderer we find not only a compelling mystery, but a historically accurate tale of life in 17th century London. I'm so glad that Lucy's back and I look forward to reading even more about her life and times.
klndonnelly's review
3.0
I received this from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I just couldn't with this book, y'all. Calkins is a talented storyteller who knows how to weave a story, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.
The story centers around Lucy Campion, a ladies maid promoted to printer's apprentice who gets caught up in a mystery surrounding her former employer's daughter. What turned me off was that Lucy is a Quaker and Calkin's commitment to accuracy means that she writes Lucy's dialogue and the dialogue of other Quakers in the distinct cadence they employed. I appreciate the accuracy - but I didn't enjoy reading it.
If were teaching Quaker lifestyles - which may be the case at some point - I would recommend this book to my students. It paints a wonderful picture of how that group interacted with the greater society in 17th century England and would definitely help students to understand why the Quaker's emigrated on mass to the New World.
I would recommend this book for people who aren't bothered by the dialect and who like a good historical mystery. Like I said, not a bad book, just not for me.
I just couldn't with this book, y'all. Calkins is a talented storyteller who knows how to weave a story, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.
The story centers around Lucy Campion, a ladies maid promoted to printer's apprentice who gets caught up in a mystery surrounding her former employer's daughter. What turned me off was that Lucy is a Quaker and Calkin's commitment to accuracy means that she writes Lucy's dialogue and the dialogue of other Quakers in the distinct cadence they employed. I appreciate the accuracy - but I didn't enjoy reading it.
If were teaching Quaker lifestyles - which may be the case at some point - I would recommend this book to my students. It paints a wonderful picture of how that group interacted with the greater society in 17th century England and would definitely help students to understand why the Quaker's emigrated on mass to the New World.
I would recommend this book for people who aren't bothered by the dialect and who like a good historical mystery. Like I said, not a bad book, just not for me.
biblioventurer's review
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this mystery. Admittedly, this was the first book I've read in this series, so I may have missed a lot of character development that occurred in the first couple of books. While I've read a fair number of cozy mysteries, this was the first one I've read in a historical setting. I really enjoyed that aspect of it, but I quickly grew annoyed with the stilted style of speech used by the Quaker characters (who play major roles in this book). I didn't solve the murder before the murderer was revealed, but at the same time I didn't have that sense of suspense and action at the end. So while it was a good read, it wasn't a great one.
irishcontessa's review
DNF - Hit a love triangle which these days is where I bail. It might be a perfectly good mystery but not if it's cluttered up with that crap.
More...