Your audiobook is waiting…
The Black Friar
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Ashes of London
- By: Andrew Taylor
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 78
London, September 1666. The Great Fire rages through the city, consuming everything in its path. Even the impregnable cathedral of St. Paul's is engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Among the crowds watching its destruction is James Marwood, son of a disgraced printer and reluctant government informer. In the aftermath of the fire, a semi-mummified body is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul's, in a tomb that should have been empty. The man's body has been mutilated, and his thumbs have been tied behind his back.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining Historical Fiction
- By Simone on 05-01-17
-
Servant of Death
- Bradecote and Catchpoll
- By: Sarah Hawkswood
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
The much-feared and hated Eudo - the Lord Bishop of Winchester's clerk - is bludgeoned to death in Pershore Abbey and laid before the altar in the attitude of a penitent. Everyone who had contact with him had reason to dislike him, but who had reason to kill him? The Sheriff of Worcestershire's thief taker, wily Serjeant Catchpoll, and his new and unwanted superior, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, have to find the answer. And as the walls of the abbey close in on the suspects, the killer strikes again....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Medieval armchair mystery
- By Marie on 08-12-17
-
The King's Justice
- A Stanton and Barling Mystery, Book 1
- By: E. M. Powell
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 170
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 151
England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York. The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt - and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Medieval England and Barbaric Justice
- By Debbie on 10-08-18
-
Season of the Raven
- A Servant of the Crown Mystery, Book 1
- By: Denise Domning
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
It's 1194, and Sir Faucon de Ramis, the shire's newly appointed keeper of the pleas, must do his duty and make an official declaration of the cause of a miller's death. Saddled with a clerk who names Faucon his "penance", the shire's first crowner must thread the tangled relationships between the sheriff, the village of Priors Holston, and the priory that once ruled it. As a simple task takes a turn to the political, what seems obvious isn't, and what appears safe turns out to be more dangerous than he could imagine.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
If you like Brother Cadfael you will like this
- By AmiiraC on 03-20-19
-
Once Upon a River
- By: Diane Setterfield
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,585
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,408
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,391
A body always tells a story - but this child’s was a blank page. Rita reached for the lantern. She trained its light on the child’s face. "Who are you?" she murmured, but the face said as little as the rest of her. It was impossible to tell whether, in life, these blunt and unfinished features had borne the imprint of prettiness, timid watchfulness, or sly mischief. If there had once been curiosity or placidity or impatience here, life had not had time to etch it into permanence. Only a very short time ago, the body and soul of this little girl had still been securely attached.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book I have read in years!!
- By CV on 02-06-19
-
The Red Hill
- Thomas Berrington, Volume 1
- By: David Penny
- Narrated by: Ian Russell
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 80
In 1482 the Englishman Thomas Berrington is living in the last remnants of Moorish Spain. A physician, he is an unwilling friend to the most powerful man in the kingdom. When bodies start to turn up, each showing the marks of a savage attack, Thomas is asked to investigate.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not my cup of tea!
- By Dany on 11-20-17
-
The Ashes of London
- By: Andrew Taylor
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 78
London, September 1666. The Great Fire rages through the city, consuming everything in its path. Even the impregnable cathedral of St. Paul's is engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Among the crowds watching its destruction is James Marwood, son of a disgraced printer and reluctant government informer. In the aftermath of the fire, a semi-mummified body is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul's, in a tomb that should have been empty. The man's body has been mutilated, and his thumbs have been tied behind his back.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining Historical Fiction
- By Simone on 05-01-17
-
Servant of Death
- Bradecote and Catchpoll
- By: Sarah Hawkswood
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
The much-feared and hated Eudo - the Lord Bishop of Winchester's clerk - is bludgeoned to death in Pershore Abbey and laid before the altar in the attitude of a penitent. Everyone who had contact with him had reason to dislike him, but who had reason to kill him? The Sheriff of Worcestershire's thief taker, wily Serjeant Catchpoll, and his new and unwanted superior, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, have to find the answer. And as the walls of the abbey close in on the suspects, the killer strikes again....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Medieval armchair mystery
- By Marie on 08-12-17
-
The King's Justice
- A Stanton and Barling Mystery, Book 1
- By: E. M. Powell
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 170
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 151
England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York. The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt - and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Medieval England and Barbaric Justice
- By Debbie on 10-08-18
-
Season of the Raven
- A Servant of the Crown Mystery, Book 1
- By: Denise Domning
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
It's 1194, and Sir Faucon de Ramis, the shire's newly appointed keeper of the pleas, must do his duty and make an official declaration of the cause of a miller's death. Saddled with a clerk who names Faucon his "penance", the shire's first crowner must thread the tangled relationships between the sheriff, the village of Priors Holston, and the priory that once ruled it. As a simple task takes a turn to the political, what seems obvious isn't, and what appears safe turns out to be more dangerous than he could imagine.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
If you like Brother Cadfael you will like this
- By AmiiraC on 03-20-19
-
Once Upon a River
- By: Diane Setterfield
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,585
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,408
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,391
A body always tells a story - but this child’s was a blank page. Rita reached for the lantern. She trained its light on the child’s face. "Who are you?" she murmured, but the face said as little as the rest of her. It was impossible to tell whether, in life, these blunt and unfinished features had borne the imprint of prettiness, timid watchfulness, or sly mischief. If there had once been curiosity or placidity or impatience here, life had not had time to etch it into permanence. Only a very short time ago, the body and soul of this little girl had still been securely attached.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book I have read in years!!
- By CV on 02-06-19
-
The Red Hill
- Thomas Berrington, Volume 1
- By: David Penny
- Narrated by: Ian Russell
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 80
In 1482 the Englishman Thomas Berrington is living in the last remnants of Moorish Spain. A physician, he is an unwilling friend to the most powerful man in the kingdom. When bodies start to turn up, each showing the marks of a savage attack, Thomas is asked to investigate.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not my cup of tea!
- By Dany on 11-20-17
-
The Night Raven
- Crow Investigations, Book 1
- By: Sarah Painter
- Narrated by: Kate Rawson
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 17
Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London. When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.
-
The Colonial Post-Captain
- Carlisle and Holbrooke Naval Adventures Series, Book 1
- By: Chris Durbin
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
Captain Carlisle hails from Virginia, a loyal colony of the British Crown. As the clouds of war gather, Carlisle's small frigate is ordered to Toulon on a reconnaissance mission. If battling the winter weather in the Gulf of Lions is not a sufficient challenge, Carlisle must also juggle the delicate diplomatic issues in this period of pre-war tension while contending with an increasingly belligerent French frigate. But Carlisle has additional problems unique to his colonial origins.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Tar, powder and diplomacy
- By Gvido on 07-24-18
-
Bloodstone
- By: Paul Doherty
- Narrated by: Terry Wale
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 40
December, 1380. When the corpse of Sir Robert Kilverby is discovered in a locked room, Brother Athelstan accompanies the King’s coronor to investigate. For the late Sir Robert had in his possession a sacred bloodstone which he was planning to donate to the Abbey of St Fulcher-on-Thames.
-
A Little Hatred
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 20 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,386
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,319
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,313
On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal's son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments. Savine dan Glokta - socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union - plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Still got it... and then some!
- By Daniel Leveson on 09-18-19
-
The Air Raid Killer
- By: Frank Goldammer, Steve Anderson
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 97
In the final days of the Third Reich, with the historic city of Dresden on the brink of destruction, terrifying rumors spread about the Fright Man, a demonic killer who exploited the cover of a nighttime air raid siren to mutilate and kill a young nurse. Just as seasoned detective Max Heller begins investigating, the Fright Man kills again...
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting thriller!
- By Mrs Rex on 07-26-18
-
Roman Mask
- By: Thomas M. D. Brooke
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 19 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Augustus Caesar rules Imperial Rome at the height of its power, as the Roman Empire stretches across the known world. Cassius, son of one of her most powerful families, is the personification of Rome's imperial strength: wealthy, popular, a war hero with a decorated military career, he hides a secret. After his nerve is broken in Germany, the thought of genuine armed combat is enough to send him into a cold sweat of fear and shame.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome read
- By Sherry T. on 01-01-18
Publisher's Summary
Rebellion in the city and a Royalist spy in his own ranks - Damian Seeker, Captain of Oliver Cromwell's guard, must eradicate both in this action-packed historical thriller for fans of CJ Sansom, Rory Clements and The Three Musketeers.
London, 1655, and Cromwell's regime is under threat from all sides. Damian Seeker, Captain of Cromwell's Guard, is all too aware of the danger facing Cromwell. Parliament resents his control of the army while the army resents his absolute power. In the East End of London, a group of religious fanatics plots rebellion. In the midst of all this, a stonemason uncovers a perfectly preserved body dressed in the robes of a Dominican friar, bricked up in a wall in the crumbling Black Friars.
Ill-informed rumours and speculation abound, but Seeker instantly recognises the dead man. What he must discover is why he met such a hideous end and what his connection was to the children who have started to disappear from around the city. Unravelling these mysteries is challenging enough and made still harder by the activities of dissenters at home, Royalist plotters abroad and individuals who are not what they seem....
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars2
-
4 Stars1
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Performance
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars2
-
4 Stars0
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Story
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars1
-
4 Stars0
-
3 Stars1
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Avril Campbell
- 03-06-18
Brilliant listen
A really well written, atmospheric murder mystery. Cromwell’s London brought to life with glimpses of well known characters such as the young Pepys and Andrew Marvell.
Beautifully read, I was thoroughly engrossed.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bernadette
- 12-22-17
Gripping
I have listened to both in this series . The stories unfold slowly and draw the reader into a world of intrigue.
I preferred the second story only because I had already been drawn into this turbulent world . On par with Sansom for wonderful story telling. Gripping
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephanie Hodgson
- 12-17-17
I love this Author and Narrator
Beautifully written and narrated and the next book will definitely be on my Christmas list!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Clare
- 09-03-17
So good I was sorry when it ended
A gripping, multi-stranded plot, a gifted author and vividly depicted characters, all set in a fascinating historical context. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Genny F
- 08-15-17
Can't wait for the next one
I really enjoyed this, good story, lots of twists and turns, interesting characters.
The narrator was very good too.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michelle
- 08-02-17
A complex time & a complex man
The setting is so fascinating. I was initially put off by it being Cromwell's Protectorate but it wasn't what I expected. The characters are well drawn and complex. The plot is more straight forward than the first book, but still interesting. The narrator is pleasant and the pace good. Highly recommended.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sally
- 08-05-17
Series hits its stride
The first Seeker novel had promise but the characters took time to warm to, not helped by a poor narrator. With a change of narrator this second Seeker novel is wonderful. An interesting collection of characters is beginning to develop and the central character of Damien Seeker is becoming intriguing in his complexity. The historical setting is well researched and believable and a fascinating period to get drawn into. I enjoyed every minute and will be waiting impatiently for the next instalment.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- derbyfile58
- 02-16-18
Definitely a Seeker fan
Having read the first book about Damien Seeker was pleased that this book was equally if not better than the first. Enjoyed the story very much and would highly recommend to those who enjoy historical fiction
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Louisa
- 01-17-18
A brilliant sequel to Seeker
As some may know, the first volume of SG MacLean's new series was poorly read and for myself I returned the audio and read the print book. However, with a change to the excellent Jonathan Keeble we have a real treat. All MacLean's books are fascinating. She focuses very cleverly on the religious and moral dilemmas of the 17th century and this book is particularly interesting on the role of the 5th Monarchists during Cromwell's Protectorship and the problems that Cromwell faced controlling the country in the mid 1650s. My only criticism is that however hard she tries to make the Royalists seem like the bad guys, we know they end up the winners and so the author faces a conundrum - how to make the (finally) good guys look bad. Wisely most of our attention if focused on the truly bad! Her description of the attempts by Cromwell's government to control the media and information are interesting particularly in the context of modern attempts to control both of these slippery aspects of our own everyday lives.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Margaret McQuillan
- 01-06-18
Enjoyed very much
enjoyed this book very much. The story was very compelling with lots of twists and turns.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful