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The Heretics

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About this listen

From Rory Clements, winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award, comes The Heretics, the fifth in his acclaimed John Shakespeare Elizabethan mystery series. 'Does for Elizabeth's reign what C. J. Sansom does for Henry VIII's' Sunday Times.

England may have survived the Armada threat of 1588, but when Spanish galleys land troops in Cornwall on a lightning raid seven years later, is it a dry-run for a new invasion? Or is there, perhaps, a more sinister motive? The Queen is speechless with rage. But as intelligencer John Shakespeare tries to get a grip on events, one by one his network of spies is horribly murdered.

What has all this to do with Thomasyn Jade, a girl driven to the edge of madness by the foul rituals of exorcism? And what is the link to a group of priests held prisoner in bleak Wisbech Castle?

From the pain-wracked torture rooms of the Inquisition in Seville to the marshy wastes of fenland, from the wild coasts of Cornwall to the sweat and sawdust of the Elizabethan playhouses, and from the condemned cell at Newgate to the devilish fantasies of a fanatic, The Heretics builds to a terrifying climax that threatens the life of the Queen herself.

2013, CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award, Short-listed

©2012 Rory Clements (P)2013 John Murray Press Contemporary Fiction Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Mystery Exciting

Critic reviews

"Rory Clements again brings to life the dark side of Elizabethan England" (Daily Mail)

"A cracking plot full of twists right up to the last minute. I look forward to the next" (Sunday Express)

"The best yet in Rory Clements' magnificent series about John Shakespeare . . . As always, the historical detail is fascinating and sometimes delightfully obscure . . . another sumptuous feast that will leave you sated - but craving for the next helping!" (Crimesquad)
All stars
Most relevant

Would you listen to The Heretics again? Why?

I would listen to the Heretics again, really enjoyed the plot and the narrator, interpretation

What other book might you compare The Heretics to, and why?

its like the Ken Follet books,

loved it

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Excellent story and very well read. I Look forward to listening to the next episode

Gripping

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Horrified at the exorcist rituals, pain people were willing to suffer in the name of religion and the fanatics of the time .

Strength and nobility of the main characters

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Good reader and excellent voicing. The plot hangs together well and I never lost the thread of who was who. Enjoyed the story line and the historical points made - made me feel "in the era".

First but not Last

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Where does The Heretics rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Not a bad read but not a brilliant one either. At times it feels like the author is spoon feeding you with super runny food thats not easy to swallow. Yet at other times he tends to go off on a tangent which leaves you dangling in midair until the relevancy becomes clear.

A real who did it story that on occasions left you wondering "well who are they talking about" as characters seemed to drift in and out.

Gareths performance was clear and pleasant to listen to.

Who did it

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