Untrue Till Death is an interesting and immersing read. I anticipate returning to this book in the future and I am grateful foe the chance to review it!

Master Mercurius continues with the narration of his memoirs. This time we go back to the time where he gained fame. The head of the country has summoned him. What begins as a local economic issue ends up with a more sensitive matter. With this backdrop, we are given a mildly humorous look at all the ongoing political skirmishes of the time and delicate balance of those who run things.
There are more than a single plot that this story unravels. Each story takes its own time to get to the point, there are many asides that form the highlight in the entertainment as Mercurius grapples with his life and the directions his mind takes him. Even with his previous victory in sleuthing, he does not see the obvious a couple of times this time around. He does get better with time and effort, but the thought process in this is laboured because he continues to fear for his life either at the hands of the villain or the men above him to whom he is supposed to respond. The ending tied up a few ends, but the journey to it was entertaining. This was a quick and satisfying read.
I do not mention any of the plots because I was in the dark as Mercurius was until people spelt out the issues. He was a simple man till he got entangled in the politics of the country. I quickly moved on to the next book.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my reading of the series

*Many thanks to Graham Brack, Sapere Books, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
The second installment in the series gives us insight into the way the university was run in the 1600s in the Netherlands with some murder mysteries to be solved for Master Mercurius. A quite enjoyable read during which Master meets some historic figures but I admit I found Book 1 much more to my liking. Mercurius is an interesting character, with a sense of humour and distance to himself, however, the plot did not keep me that interested.

I'll the many existing reviews provide detailed reviews. I'll just say this is a great mix of mystery and humor. Recommended.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

This is the second in the Master Mercurius series set in the 1600s in The Netherlands. Master Mercurious works at the University of Leiden and has developed a reputation for being a good sleuth having solved the case of missing girls in Book #1. We meet him again here during a time of strife and uncertainty. William of Orange seeks Master Mercurious’ help to keep tabs on officials he doesn’t trust. But two murders occur and Mercurius sets out to figure out what’s going on. I love the historical setting and the oft deprecating humor at his own expense that Mercurius deploys. He’s an interesting character - an ordained Protestant minister but actually a Catholic priest trying his best not to give away his faith and having a hard time dodging eating meat on Fridays! I enjoyed this one - a solid historical mystery - but I definitely preferred Book 1, which kept me a lot more engaged than this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Master Mercurius is a reluctant investigator for William of Orange in 1674. After solving a case of missing girls in Delft he is the number one choice when one of William’s spy’s is murdered at the University in Leiden. Sent to Utrecht by William murder has a habit of following him. Told by Mercurius as his memoirs he has a unique and humorous way of leading you through his early life. He really just wants a quiet life. This story makes you feel you are in this time and place walking through those very streets looking through Mercurius eyes. I will certainly look out for more Mercurius adventures. I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After solving the case of the missing girls in Delft in 1671, Master Mercurius has enjoyed returning to his quiet life as a lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leiden, but it was not to be. In 1674, William of Orange is two years into his role of Stadhouder (ruler) of the Dutch Republic and is concerned about plots against him by the faction he ousted. After hearing of Mercurius' success as a discrete investigator he summons him to the Hague and asks him to travel to Utrecht to spy on his agent there and report back on any hints of unrest. However, the death of one of Mercurius' colleagues soon leads him into the hunt for a murderer on top of looking into a possible plot against William.

As with the first novel in this series, this novel has a marvelous feel of both the place and the time. The descriptions of the journeys between towns, the towns themselves and surrounding countryside all make it come alive. Despite it being a complex period politically, this is all explained quite clearly and makes it possible to get a feel for the everyday life of the townsfolk and the people at the University.

Mercurius is a wonderfully warm character, with a ready wit (much of it unspoken) and an intuitive understanding of people as well as how justice can be achieved. He also has an eye for the ladies (one in particular) and rues that he cannot marry, as although he is a protestant priest employed at a reformist University, he has also secretly been ordained as a catholic priest, something he could never divulge and keep his job.

The mystery is well done complete with coded clues and false turns that keep Mercurius busy travelleing between towns trying to solve first one murder, then a second as well as looking out for those who would conspire against William. Mercurius also meets one of William's inquisitors and learns how prisoners are persuaded to give up their secrets. Definitely not a cosy mystery but one I'm guessing will lead to Mercurius being required as an investigator in the future now that William has observed his discretion and skill.

I love this historical mystery!! I read the first book in the series and absolutely loved it!! This is a MUST read for any historical mystery reader!!

Wonderful historical setting, intriguing character, twisty plot, great writing, humor
The year is 1674, and Master Mercurius, professor of philosophy at the University of Leiden, is suffering the consequences of a job well done. The Stadhouder, the national leader of Holland, has heard of his success with a difficult and sensitive case in Delft, and wants him to go to Utrecht to evaluate and find a successor for his primary confidential informant there. To add to the sensitivity and challenge of his task, two murders occur that appear to be related to his assignment, and Mercurius wonders if he might be the next victim.
The book is presented as Mercurius’ memoir, and Mercurius is almost as interesting and contradictory as the age in which he lived. He is an ordained minister of the Reformed church in order to stay in the good graces of university officials, but he has secretly converted to Roman Catholicism and is also ordained as a Catholic priest. This produces some interesting musing on religion on his part, perhaps a touch of cynicism, and certainly significant experience with role-playing and deception.
There is plenty of role-playing and deception in the book, as Mercurius tries to solve two murders and uncover who are the traitors trying to unseat the Stadhouder, most of which he must accomplish under cover. The plot hums along nicely. And Mercurius promises, “It all happened exactly as I set down. I am, after all, a man of the cloth. I don’t lie. I just get things wrong now and again, that’s all.”
The character, plot, and humor were all good, but perhaps my favorite aspect of the book was the setting. Like most Americans, I knew little about Holland in the seventeenth century, and for someone whose image of the Dutch is of a broadminded, progressive society, the picture drawn here was quite enlightening. It is especially fun to meet historical figures like William of Orange, who is the Stadhouder that was the target of the plotting.
If you have not read the first book, Death in Delft, you can still fully enjoy this book, and there are no spoilers to lessen your enjoyment when (not if!) you read the first.
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‘I just get things wrong now and again, that’s all.’

Leiden, The Netherlands, 1674. As a result of his success in solving the case of the missing girls in Delft, Master Mercurius has made a name for himself. He is summoned by William of Orange, who, suspicious that there is a plot to overthrow him, wants Master Mercurius to investigate. But before Master Mercurius can start, one of his colleagues at the University of Leiden is murdered.

This novel is presented to us as part of Master Mercurius’s memoir:

‘Now that I am advanced in years, the time has come to set down my memoirs before senility sets in and I can no longer remember what happened.’

Because the story is presented in this way, Master Mercurius has some mischievous fun with the reader in the beginning as he moves backwards and forwards between events. He may not have liked his murdered colleague very much, but who murdered him and why? And then another man is murdered. Is William of Orange in danger? Will Master Mercurius work out who is killing whom before William of Orange runs out of apples?

Poor Master Mercurius. He is both an ordained Protestant Minister and a Catholic Priest. Politics, religion, and an eye for women. At least in his dreams. Life is complicated.

‘That’s the trouble with bishops; they take religion too seriously.’

I really enjoyed this second book in the Master Mercurius series. Mercurius himself is both observant and witty, and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments as he investigates:

‘No doubt you are wondering why I sent Van Looy for you.’
‘I was, of course. A secondary question was why a man of sense would send Van Looy for anything.’

I really enjoyed this novel. Master Mercurius is growing on me (there is a third book I’ve yet to read). If you have not yet made his acquaintance, and you enjoy historical whodunnits with humour, then I can recommend this series. I can also recommend Mr Bracks’s Josef Slonský series as well.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Mercurius is such a great character with personality and quite an irreverent sense of humour. In those terms this is as good as in the first book. The mystery wasn’t quite as good in this one though it doesn’t stop me looking forward to the next one! Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

1674 and the French have been driven out of the Netherlands, William of Orange is now Stadhouder but there are still some who would like to see him replaced. When Master Mercurius is sent to Utrecht to sort out the University wages it is as a cover for the Stadhouder who wants him to check on his spies. However when a man wearing Mercuriius' cloak is attacked Mercurius comes into contact with a poor lute player who happens to be more of an assassin and toruturer. After the death of a man at the University of Leiden who was also in the pay of the Stadhouder the race is on to find the traitors.
This is the second book focusing on Master Mercurius and the series is shaping up well. Here the plot is rather political but the side-stories make it more worthwhile. Mercurius is a cleric in the Protestant faith but also a Catholic priest who worships in private. This seems a complex backstory and it is not fully explained but it does act as a device both for comedic purposes (not eating meat on Fridays) and also for moral reasons (a slight diversion in terms of romance). I really like the setting in 17th Century Netherlands as it allows insights into a lesser known history. All in all a solid piece of historical detective writing.

I was so pleased to see that the second book in this series was available on Netgalley, and even more when I received my review copy. I was not disappointed. This second book with Master Mercurius as the leading character describes how he, in his own unique way, prevents a murder that could have well lead to a big change in history.
You may recall I read the first book in this series with great pleasure partly because the setting is my home town. Untrue till Death is set in several well-known Dutch cities and at two well-know universities. What added to the fun this time was Mercurius' observations regarding the inner workings of a young university. Some of those observations are still very true these days.
The plot was clever and not at all unlikely.
It is not necessary to have read the first book in the series but if you like this one, please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. And furthermore, to my delight, the third book in the series, Dishonour and Obey, is available for pre-order - which I did, of course. It will be published in October and I'm already looking forward to it.
Mercurius is a unique character and even if you don't like history, by reading his observations you will gain insight in this turbulent time in the history of a part of Europe.

Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.

The second in the series of Master Mercurius, a lecturer and man of God(in a couple of ways!) in Leiden University in the Netherlands, it’s set in the late 17th century and it is a blast.

Mercurius is summoned by William Of Orange to spy on officials in another town to see if there is a plot to overthrow him. After his investigative exploits in the past, Mercurius name precedes him. William is sure he is the man to trust and find any plots, but even before Mercurius can leave there is a murder.

I really enjoyed the first in the series and if anything this one is even better. Mercurius is a fantastic character. He had the dry wit in the first book but here he’s in overdrive and I genuinely laughed out loud numerous times at his quips.
The world Brack brings you into is incredibly vivid, interesting, repulsive, funny and charming. You will get lost in it straight away.
The book is a mixture of history, humour and whodunnit. It sounds mad but it all works perfectly. Throw in some real life characters along with some actual historical events and you have one hugely interesting, charming and imminently readable book. At under 300 pages, like it’s predecessor, it’s the prefect length. Nice and lean but with enough space to let the characters breath.

If you can’t guess I absolutely loved this book. I can’t wait for the final instalment.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Sapere books and Graham Brack for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The second book in the Master Mecurisus series

You can read this book as a standalone without any problems. In this book there is a complot of treason, a murder or two and even a bit of a love interest. The book held my attention from the first to the last page.

Since I am Dutch a lot of history that is told is familiar to me and I love how the author takes the reader on a journey through the beautiful Dutch town and way of life.

I recommend this book.

4.5 stars, rounded up
If you need a little humor with your mystery, this is it!
Mercurius makes for a wonderful “investigator”. A lecturer at the University of Leiden in the late 17th Century, he has a dry wit that he frequently shares with the reader. In this second book in the series, he is charged by no less than William of Orange to spy on state officials. But before he can even begin, there’s a murder.
Brack knows just the right amount of historical facts to add in to give us a true sense of time and place. I appreciated that his author’s note saved me the trouble of researching whether one major weather event was real. He also works in some fairly deep religious and philosophical points, but does it with humor. There’s a wonderful blurb on predestination, murder and the role of the killer. Kudos to Brack for writing a truly intellectually stimulating mystery.
I’m thrilled that there will be a third in the series. I will definitely be reading it.
My thanks to netgalley and Sapere Books for an advance copy of this book.

I love this series and this is an excellent addition.
It's an engrossing and entertaining read, the mystery is solid and kept me guessing, the historical background is vivid.
I look forward to reading the next instalment, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I love Graham Brack's Master Mercurius novels. They offer solid historical fiction, interesting mysteries—and a central character and narrator full of brilliant, tongue-in-cheek humor. This is one of those books that it's dangerous to read when around other people: you'll keep saying "Let me just read you these two sentences" and repeatedly interrupting whatever they're trying to focus on.

A sampling:

"Molenaar was made of caution. I suspect the first word he uttered as a child was "perhaps."

"His name, though spelled Brough, was pronounced Bruff, he explained. I find English names very difficult to say sometimes. Why they can't have honest Dutch names like Terhoeven, Van Leeuwenhoek or Gijsbert Voet I have no idea. Anyone can pronounce those names."

"I have heard many worse lute players, but also many more melodious tomcats."

I trust you can see what I mean.

The novels are set in 17th Century Leiden. Mercurius, a secret Catholic priest in this Protestant stronghold, is on the faculty of the university there. He's been charged with finding an incomprehensible way of calculating salaries so that faculty are unable to compare their earnings with one another, but his focus quickly changes following the murder of a despised coworker.

I have only one complaint about this series, which is that it consists of only three novels. I've read two of them and am eagerly anticipating reading the third while simultaneously dreading that moment when there will be no more left to read.

I received a free electronic ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

“This was getting murkier by the moment, and all my instincts were telling me that this was the moment to ask for a passport so I could go to Sweden to study some important theological papers, if I could think of any that were convincing enough. Or, if not Sweden, then maybe Poland. Scotland, if there were absolutely no alternatives.”

Untrue Till Death is the second book in the Master Mercurius Mysteries series by British author, Graham Brack. Now an aged cleric, Master Mercurius dictates to his clerk a second episode that occurred during his days as a young lecturer in moral philosophy and ethics at the University of Leiden. It’s a very candid account: Mercurius freely admits to his weaknesses and deficits, his poor judgement of character.

His tranquil existence is disturbed when the Rector assigns him a seemingly mundane task, which he is then told to present to the Stadhouder, William III of Orange, in The Hague. While reluctant, Mercurius can hardly refuse: the Rector is his superior, and clearly a very clever man who just might be aware of the potentially damaging secret Mercurius holds.

When he meets the Stadhouder, Mercurius understands this was merely a pretext, and that his unwanted reputation for solving problems, attributed to a success three years earlier in Delft, has drawn William’s unsolicited attention.

William is acutely aware of the murmurs of conspiracy and sends an unenthusiastic Mercurius to check on a loyal supporter at the University of Utrecht. Always endeavouring to remain apolitical at a time when “avoiding alignment with either side seemed prudent”, Mercurius is dismayed to have to act for William on a “diplomatic mission to which I was supremely ill-suited.”

The events that follow see Mercurius, as well as investigating two murders, so smitten with a beautiful young woman he considers breaking vows, buying a weapon he concedes he is very unlikely to use, travelling in the unwelcome company of a lutenist, developing an aversion for apples, narrowly avoiding being stabbed, unravelling convoluted connections and loyalties, conversing with a master torturer, and taking a lot of barge journeys.

Brack’s protagonist is a very likeable fellow: the polar opposite of a stuffy clergyman, a good man, self-deprecating and with a dry sense of humour, who tries hard to resist temptation and whose priorities regarding food and refreshment, Brack fans will agree, align with those of Josef Slonský, despite his lesser means and opportunity.
Brack gives Mercurius a cheeky comment on the pronunciation of languages: “I find English names very difficult to say sometimes. Why they can’t have honest Dutch names like Terhoeven, Van Leeuwenhoek or Gijsbert Voet I have no idea. Anyone can pronounce those”

The astute reader who deduces, early on, the result of his lightbulb moment will, nonetheless, be eager follow Mercurius as he discovers the how and why of the guilty parties. The plot has enough twists and red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and the era is evoked with ease. Brack seamlessly incorporates a wealth of interesting historical facts into the narrative, as well as a generous helping of (sometimes dark) humour. This is brilliantly entertaining historical crime fiction and fans will be pleased to know that the third instalment, Dishonour and Obey, follows soon.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Sapere Books (but I also purchased a copy!)

This was an interesting historic mystery. I was unaware that it was the second in a series, but not having read the first one did not slow down my understanding of this one. I loved how vividly the settings were written, how down to earth the writing style was, and how unique each of the characters was. It also seems like a significant amount of research in to both the language and the history of the Netherlands was done. The only thing that I did not love was that it took a bit too long for the action to truly start. I felt like we were 40% of the way through the book before I understood what the plot was. The voice of the narrator was strong and well rounded, and the book was overall an enjoyable read.