The Poison Machine

The Poison Machine
Robert J Lloyd
RRP:
NZ$ 62.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 50.39
Hardback
h229 x 152mm - 416pg
25 Oct 2022 US
International import eta 10-19 days
9781612199757
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Harry Hunt must go to Paris in search of a spy and imposter who has knowledge of a plot to kill the Queen of England in this thrilling and addictive sequel to The Bloodless Boy. 1679. A year has passed since the sensational attempt to murder King Charles II. London is still inflamed by fears of Catholic plots. Harry Hunt-estranged from his mentor Robert Hooke and no longer employed by the Royal Society-meets Sir Jonas Moore, the King' s Surveyor-General of the Board of Ordnance, in the remote and windswept marshes of Norfolk. There, workers draining the fenland have uncovered a skeleton. Accompanied by his friend Colonel Fields, an old soldier for Parliament, and Hooke' s niece, Grace, Harry confirms Sir Jonas' s suspicion- the body is that of a dwarf, Captain Jeffrey Hudson, once famously given to Queen Henrietta Maria in a pie. During the Civil Wars, Hudson accompanied the Queen to France to sell the Royal Jewels to fund her husband' s army. He was sent home in disgrace after shooting a man in a duel. But nobody knew Hudson was dead. Another man, working as a spy, has lived as him since his murder. Now, this impostor has disappeared, taking vital information with him. Sir Jonas orders Harry to find him. With the help of clues left in a book, a flying man, and a crossdressing swordswoman, Harry' s search takes him to Paris, another city bedeviled by conspiracies and intrigues. He navigates its salons and libraries, and learns of a terrible plot against the current Queen of England, Catherine of Bragan a, and her gathering of Catholics in London. Assassins plan to poison them all. The Poison Machine is a nail-biting and brilliantly imagined historical thriller that will delight readers of its critically acclaimed predecessor The Bloodless Boy.
"Outstanding . . . Lloyd skillfully combines an endearingly flawed lead, jaw-dropping twists, and the fraught, conspiracy-laden politics of the Stuart Restoration. " - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Robert Lloyd, the son of parents who worked in the British Foreign Office, grew up in South London, Innsbruck, and Kinshasa. He studied for a Fine Art degree, starting as a landscape painter, but it was while studying for his MA degree in The History of Ideas that he first read Robert Hooke' s diary, detailing the life and experiments of this extraordinary man. After a 20-year career as a secondary school teacher, he has now returned to painting and writing. He is the author of The Bloodless Boy, which was selected by Publishers Weekly as a Mystery Book of the Year and The New York Times as a Best New Historical Novel of 2021.

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