Published by Ostara Publishing, 2013. ISBN 978-1-906288-97-6
In 1275 Oxford is a city with much to trouble it. The
quarrel between King Edward I and the Welsh leader Llewellyn and Edward's
determination to rule Wales
leads to a hotbed of political intrigue and violence against Welsh inhabitants
of Oxford. A
madman is stealing classical manuscripts in order to destroy them and is
willing to employ any violent means to achieve his ends. Worst of all, a knight
with plague has entered the city, unwittingly bringing danger of contagion to
all who live there. The City Constable, Peter Bullock, is at his wits end and
calls upon his friend, Regent Master William Falconer to help him.
Falconer responds to
Bullock's summons but, at this time, he has a personal preoccupation. He was an
orphan, brought up by Augustinian monks, but now his curiosity about his
parentage has been roused by questions from his mistress, Saphira, and he is
determined to trace his origins. Saphira is Jewish and has a deeply rooted
sense of heritage and for this reason she is attempting to learn all she can of
cures and poisons from Samson, the best doctor in the city, who is growing old.
Saphira is determined that Samson's knowledge will not die with him.
The leaders in Oxford place the city in
quarantine. The city is soon rife with dark prophesies, a fatal disease and
murder. Falconer solves the crime but only after a personal loss that helps to
lead him to a life-changing decision.
Falconer and the Rain of
Blood is
a dark book, full of chilling prophecy. The historical detail is fascinating,
as is the character of Falconer and his relationship with Saphira, and it makes
an interesting read.
I would recommend that
anybody who wishes to read this book buys it on Kindle, where it is possible to
adjust the size, as the paperback has very small print and tightly-packed line
spacing.
------
Reviewer by Carol Westron
Ian
Morson was born in 1947 in Derby. In 1965 he won a
scholarship to Oxford
where he studied the Russian language and literature. He started writing for real at the age of 42, after having
dabbled in (unperformed) radio plays and (unpublished) poetry. The first
in the series of Falconer novels was published in 1994. He promotes his own
novels with radio interviews, and bookshop talks along with the Medieval
Murderers group of writer. He lives in Hastings.
http://www.ianmorson.co.uk/
Carol Westron is a successful short story writer and a Creative
Writing teacher. She is the moderator
for the cosy/historical crime panel, The Deadly Dames. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary
and Victorian times. The Terminal
Velocity of Cats is the first in her Scene of Crimes novels, was published
July 2013
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