Synopses & Reviews
Why are sheep in a remote Egyptian village cutting their own throats?...That's the mystery Emperor Justinian in-explicably sends his Lord Chamberlain John the Eunuch to solve, at the very time John desperately needs to clear himself of accusations he murdered a senator in the Hippodrome.
Mehenopolis, a pilgrim destination thanks to its ancient shrine to a snake deity as well as the home of the late sheep, is nearly as byzantine in its ways and undercurrents as Constantinople.
Among suspicious characters John encounters are a pretentious local landowner battling a self-styled magician for control of the lucrative shrine, an exiled heretical cleric, an itinerant bee-keeper, and a disgraced charioteer. Meanwhile, in Constantinople, John's good friend Anatolius does his best to trace the senator's murderer.
At stake are not only John's honor and his head, but also the family with whom he recently reunited, now in danger of being broken apart or worse.
Review
Praise for Five for Silver
"Reed and Mayer surpass last year's fine Four for a Boy with this superb fifth entry in their series to feature smart, determined and credibly human sleuth John the Eunuch, Lord Chamberlain to the Emperor Justinian.... The conflict between Christians and pagans adds further weight to this sterling historical page-turner."
--Publishers Weekly starred review"
Review
John the Eunuch, Lord Chamberlain to the Emperor Justinian, is facing his oddest case yet: in a secluded Egyptian village, sheep are apparently
committing suicide. Charged with solving this oddball mystery, John is distracted by his own problems: he has been accused of murdering a senator, and if he doesn't clear his name, very bad things will happen to him. This is the sixth John the Eunuch novel, and the series shows no signs of slowing down. As usual the authors write precisely and gracefully, maintaining a perfect balance between historical atmosphere and old-fashioned mystery. The setting, sixth-century Byzantium, is still fresh, still full of wonders and weirdness. And, like Lindsey Davis' Falco series, there's an agreeable mixture of drama and comedy. Fans of the series will be overjoyed. --David Pitt, Booklist (10/01/05)
Review
Mary Reed and Eric Mayer are the most reliable hit-producing machine since The Everly Brothers. Their latest John caper, Six For Gold, is as
aureate as its title. In this outing, our hero is sent to the always mysteriously dangerous land of Egypt, ostensibly to probe at imperial orders reported cases of suicidal sheep - an inspired touch, this. While John, with wife and servant, encounter sundry bizarre local personalities and customs, back
in Constantinople his friends and enemies are kept busy with intrigues and murders, creating an effective double narrative. Though their scenes
are few, we feel the sinister presence of Justinian and Theodora looming over every move. The dungeon encounter between John and the malevolent empress is one of the most genuinely blood-curdling chapters I have read in years. As always, there are many rib-ticking jokes (I may have to sue the authors for permanent damage to said body parts), and the mastery of Byzantine 'Realia' is as impressive as ever. I iterate my standard complaint about this series: why cannot Reed-Mayer bring out one a month? Still, while Sue Grafton must presumably pension off Kinsey after
26, unless she switches to the Greek alphabet, the One-For, Two-For sequence is happily infinite.
-- Barry Baldwin, Emeritus Professor of Classics, University of Calgary.
Review
Set in plague-ridden sixth-century Constantinople, Reed and Mayer's captivating sixth John the Eunuch novel (after 2004's Five for Silver) opens dramatically as John, lord chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, flees "excubitors" (i.e., palace guards) in the Hippodrome. Justinian's not-so-nice wife, Theodora, wants John prosecuted for a senator's murder, but the emperor has other ideas and spirits him away to the oasis town of Mehenopolis, Egypt, to look into a strange case of suicidal sheep. John soon suspects a link with another investigation for the emperor involving a valuable religious artifact. Filled with quirky characters, including a bee seller and a magician, this fresh entry with its intriguing details of Egyptian culture reveals further depths to the most clever John and his family members. A helpful glossary rounds out the book. --Publishers Weekly (9/16/05)
Synopsis
Why are sheep in the remote Egyptian village of Mehenopolis cutting their own throats? That's the mystery Emperor Justinian inexplicably sends John, his Lord Chamberlain, to Egypt to solve. Mehenopolis is a pilgrim destination, thanks to its ancient shrine to a snake deity.
Among the characters John encounters are a pretentious local landowner battling a self-styled magician for control of the lucrative shrine, an exiled heretical cleric, an itinerant beekeeper, and a disgraced charioteer. Will John uncover what is really happening to these sheep? Are these slayings somehow linked to the murder charge of which John has frantically tried to clear himself?
Synopsis
At the very time John desperately needs to clear himself of accusations he murdered a senator in the Hippodrome, the Emperor Justinian sends him to discover why sheep in a remote Egyptian village are cutting their own throats.
About the Author
The husband and wife team of Mary Reed and Eric Mayer had published several short John the Eunuch detections in mystery anthologies and in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine prior to 1999's highly acclaimed first full length novel, One for Sorrow. Their protagonist's adventures continued in Two For Joy (2000), a Glyph Award winner in the Best Mystery category. Two For Joy also gained an Honorable Mention in the Glyph Best Book Award list and in addition was a finalist for the IPPY Best Mystery Award. Three For A Letter (2001) and Four For A Boy (2003) followed. In June 2003 the American Library Association's Booklist Magazine named the John the Eunuch novels as one of its four Best Little Known Series.
The next John the Eunuch story will appear in Mike Ashley's The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits (Carroll and Graf edition, it's already out in the UK from Constable Robinson). It's called The Finger of Aphrodite and is set in besieged Rome, being another locked room story.The husband and wife team of Mary Reed and Eric Mayer had published several short John the Eunuch detections in mystery anthologies and in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine prior to 1999's highly acclaimed first full length novel, One for Sorrow.