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Plague Land  By  cover art

Plague Land

By: S. D. Sykes
Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
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Publisher's summary

In this chilling historical mystery, young girls go missing from a medieval English village, and Lord Oswald de Lacy must find the killer before tragedy strikes again.

Oswald de Lacy was never meant to be the lord of Somershill Manor. Dispatched to a monastery at the age of seven, sent back at 17 when his father and two older brothers were killed by the plague, Oswald has no experience of running an estate. He finds years of pestilence and neglect have changed the old place dramatically, not to mention the attitude of the surviving peasants.

Yet some things never change. Oswald's mother remains the powerful matriarch of the family, and his sister, Clemence, simmers in the background, dangerous and unmarried.

Before he can do anything, Oswald is confronted by the shocking death of a young woman, Alison Starvecrow. The ambitious village priest claims that Alison was killed by a band of demonic, dog-headed men. Oswald is certain this is nonsense, but proving it--by finding the real murderer--is quite a different matter. Every step he takes seems to lead Oswald deeper into a dark maze of political intrigue, family secrets, and violent strife.

And then the body of another girl is found.

Sarah Sykes brilliantly evokes the landscape and people of medieval Kent in this thrillingly suspenseful debut.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Plague Land

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Lack of basic historical accuracy

The plot is ok but unnecessarily to complicated . What shocked me the most was complete disregard for historical accuracy. The main character living in 13th century is making comments about Don Quixote and Sancho Penza written 300 years later!!! What a show of ignorance on the side of the author and editor.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best book since Mistress of the Art of Death!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This masterpiece is full of plot twists and surprises. You can not outguess it. You don't want to turn it off. One of those novels that is so good that, as a reader/listener, you experience a grieving period when it 's all over. It is the best novel I've experienced since Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death. The narrator's presentation is great, with dialects and voices as varied as the story requires.

What other book might you compare Plague Land to and why?

Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death, as far as complexity, plot twists, unforgettable characters.

Have you listened to any of Shaun Grindell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First time.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Good from beginning to end.

Any additional comments?

I hope to see more by this author!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

More Coming of Age & Less Mystery

I thought Skye's writing was clear and concise. The story seemed more of a coming of age story than a murder mystery or thriller. At times the plot was flat, but character development was adequate. The narrator provided distinct voices for different characters without shrillness or overt volume (big personal bonus). Overall, the book was built on a strong foundation, but it would have benefited from a little more excitement.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Weird for historical fiction

I finished it, but it was a bit of a struggle. You can't just incorporate a few historical facts and call it historical fiction. I wanted to finish and did, but I probably won't look for anything else by this author

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not for historians

I have spent too much time studying 14th-century England to be able to really enjoy this story. The clever twists were, unfortunately, overshadowed by the historical inaccuracies.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I hate to give up but...

This is the sloooowest book ever! I understand that it's the first in a possible series of books & characters must be developed, scenery & mood established, etc but, I was out of patience by the beginning of Chapter 9.
The narration is fine in the alterations of voices for the various characters but, he,also, is very slow. Increasing narration speed was not a help, in this case.
I love reading about this time period & I adore mysteries so, I may give this another try at some point, just not now or on a road trip where I'm driving😴

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It was OK

There was just no fun to the story, which turned out to be rather predictable. There was so much description of the contents of chamber pots, abscesses, pits of dead bodies, etc. So, we get it was a rather grim time period, but it was hard to like anyone.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really well plotted, great historical setting

Sykes has given us a terrific story with plenty of realistic detail. I'm very glad not to live in the 14th century!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Please get the rest of the series on Audible!!

Loved it! Im so disappointed the rest isn’t on Audible! The narrator was amazing and the story was so unique and told well! Great characters!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • R.
  • 11-26-23

Whatever happened to agency?

Our lead character bumbles his way through the story, thwarted by cartoonish villains and an array of befuddling medieval stereotypes. They make an interesting foil for the main character, who seems uncharacteristically modern in his thinking, which kept pulling me out of the story. He was like the straight man in a month python skit. Wish he did more to figure the mystery out, and wish we saw him grow a little more as a character. Not a bad story, but not that compelling either. Narration is kind of bland.

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