Just could not get into this book, so I did not post a review. I don't like to DNF books, but there are so many great ones. Thanks for the opportunity.

Smart historical novel, but too long, and too slow in getting the real plot going.
I found it a bit slow to really start. The whole book could really have been shorter than 540 pages!
Though as usual, the author did a great job at setting up the context and the characters.
This time we are at sea. Well, almost!
It was actually a bit frustrating that it was in the context of the Armada, and power over the water, but the ships have to wait for the murder to be solved before ever leaving.
But I did enjoy all the details pointing to the historical importance of that conflict between England and Spain, and how the knowledge of the maritime landscape was key for the powers of the time. The whole plot was thus totally on target for the period featured.
And there were plenty of major red herrings.
Plus, Parris’s descriptions can be gems.
Now, the plot is actually connected to a mysterious Gnostic Gospel. Giordano Bruno has thus plenty of chances to use his scholarly knowledge, for instance with the Coptic language, and also his skills at deduction.
I’m not sure if Giordano Bruno and Francis Drake ever met, but Giordano’s friend Sir Philip Sidney had some connections with Drake, so even if they never met, it was a smart idea of plot. Yes, most characters in this book did exist.

There were several, what I like to call, Clue-like moments throughout the book, when you think the big reveal of who done it comes to light, (That Aha! Moment, the likes of uttering – with pure confidence – that ‘Colonel Mustard killed Professor Plum in the Library with a candlestick!’), however, upon looking at the page count left in the book you would be mistaken, several times over. A few extra twists added to drive the mystery forward, revealing that not everyone is as innocent as they appear. Justice does not always prevail regardless of one’s criminal acts, or does it??? You will have to read the book and find out. This historical murder mystery, TREACHERY, is set in Elizabethan England in the year 1585 and was a pleasure to read and review.

TREACHERY – Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and First Pegasus Books, for providing me with an advance eBook of TREACHERY to borrow in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading more books by S.J. Parris.

Elizabethan conundrums!

Caught up with intrigue, the Spanish question, the French and English monarchs, and his own troubles Italian "defrocked monk, excommunicated for heresy," and now spy, Giordano Bruno accompanies his friend Sir Philip Sidney, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth's to Plymouth where Sir Francis Drake's fleet is readying to set sail for the Spanish Main. It's 1585 and Drake is on the eve of departure. Ostensibly Sir Philip is to escort Dom Antonio, the pretender to the Portuguese throne, back to Elizabeth's court. In reality Sir Philip has decided to go against the Queen's wishes and join Drake on his great adventure.
That great voyage though has been brought to a halt. A man, "Master Robert Dunne, a gentleman of Devon," has apparently suicided on Drake's galleon. On closer inspection it appears that the suicide is actually a murder. A lose-lose situation for Drake. Sailors being a superstitious group will see the voyage as cursed before its begun, murder though will have men on a long voyage even more skittish, either decamping now or turning on each other on the endless voyage. Drake cannot afford to have his quandary bruited abroad. He cannot sail until the truth is known. And this is where Sir Philip decides to volunteer Bruno's expertise. Until recently Bruno's's been acting as a spy for Walsingham and the Privy Council whilst part of the French Ambassador Châteauneuf's cohort in London. At the moment his future is in doubt. Volunteered by Sir Philip, Bruno finds himself mired in plots and counterplots, including murder and stolen artifacts, not the least of which pertains to a forbidden religious book supposedly written by Judas Iscariot and stolen from the Vatican. Vatican agents will stop at nothing to retrieve this heretical work. Bruno becomes at once exhilarated and dismayed as he pursues his investigations.
The relationship between Philip and Bruno is interesting. Part comradeship, part benefactor, part older brother. I swerve between admiring their relationship and wondering why Bruno doesn't depart Sir Sidney's side.
Parris admirably captures the complexities and fears abroad during these times, painting a colorful picture of Elizabethan life.

A Pegasus Books ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are comple

Really enjoyed this fun historical mystery. Filled with fresh voices from perspectives rarely seen in this genre, Treachery is a rollicking good time.

Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this story featuring Sir Francis Drake - explorer, pirate, slave trader, sea captain, and favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. Here, Drake engages Giordano Bruno and Sir Philip Sidney to investigate the possible murder of a shipmate, but also to decipher a mysterious text that may be the only account of the Gospel of Judas.

Bruno delivers an adept performance as detective, ferreting out clues and following suspicious men, including his old nemesis, the Man With No Ears. Nothing earth-shattering here - just a good mystery to pass the time on a cold, rainy afternoon.

All five of these stars are based on sheer entertainment value. This is the first book in this series that I have read, and I found that it was completely entertaining. There may have been points where the red herrings got a bit over-the-top, but for e that only added to the enjoyment.

I love Bruno. He's sly and interesting, and sometimes frustratingly silent as he allows the reader to contemplate the evidence for themselves, somewhat Sherlockian, I thought. In any case, I enjoy tales of the high-seas and gravitate toward anything having to do with Elizabethan England, so this was a perfect combo for me. This book contains plenty of historical characters fleshed out and given life by the author.

After doing weeks of research for a project I've been working on, I wanted to read something to take my mind off of that and relax and this worked out beautifully (at the expense of actual sleep.) I am now interested in reading the rest of this series and am happy to recommend it to others who want to transport themselves to another time and place.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Giodano Bruno series of historical mysteries by S. J. Parris, just gets better and better. I read a lot of historical mysteries, and the genre's greatest weakness is that most authors can either develop characters effectively or design mysteries complex enough to remain mysteries until the novel's end. Parris is one of those rare writers who can offer both simultaneously, which makes her Giordano Bruno series a particular pleasure.

In Treachery, Bruno is headed to Plymouth with Sir Philip Sidney, who has been charged with escorting the deposed Portuguese ruler to London for a meeting with Elizabeth I. Sidney has dreams of joining Sir Frances Drake's fleet, which is moored in Plymouth preparing an attack on Spanish ports where English ships are being held.

Sidney's scheming offers a bit of comic relief to accompany the mystery at the novel's heart. One of Drake's crew members has apparently committed suicide, though Drake suspects murder. Sidney offers Bruno's detecting skills to Drake in hopes of currying favor.

That's the set-up. What is wonderful is that this mystery really is a mystery. Time and again, the mystery seems to have been solved, only to have deeper layers of the puzzle revealed. A reader may make one or two correct guesses while reading, but it's a rare reader who will be able to puzzle out the entire mystery before Bruno does.

Bonus: there's also a Gnostic gospel, purportedly the testament of Judas Iscariot, playing its own role in the complications. What more can a reader of historical mysteries ask for?