Synopses & Reviews
and#147;Rich with telling detail and a deep feeling for time and place,and#8221;* Judith Rockand#185;s historical mysteries are "a great mix of mystery, excitement and intrigue...a truly excellent series.and#8221;**
Paris, 1687.
The last thing Jesuit Charles du Luc and his elderly confessor expect to find in an ancient crypt is a newly murdered body. Even more troubling, the shock of discovering the victimand#151;a young man about to enter their orderand#151;proves too much for Charlesand#8217;s companion. Vowing justice, Charles wants nothing more than to discover the killer, but is unexpectedly restrained from investigation.
At the same moment, a fellow soldier has also entered the Jesuit Novice House, bringing Charlesand#8217;s worst battlefield secret back to haunt him. And when another Jesuit disappears from the college of Louis le Grand and Charles himself is attacked, he begins to wonder whether there might be something more sinister afoot. All signs point to someone targeting Jesuitsand#151;and not even an ex-soldier like Charles may be able to escape...
READERS GUIDE INSIDE
*Margaret Frazer, national bestselling author of The Apostateand#8217;s Tale
**The Big Thrill
Review
Praise for the Charles du Luc novels
“Energetic and engrossing.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A necessary read for all who enjoy historical mysteries.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“A truly excellent series.”—Derek Gunn, The Big Thrill
“In du Luc, Rock has created a highly likeable scholar-detective. I hope that his adventures will play out for many books to come.”—Historical Novels Review
“Rich with telling detail and a deep feeling for time and place.”—Margaret Frazer, national bestselling author of The Apostates Tale
“[A] fascinating historical mystery . . . Sure to satisfy those eager for a great new historical mystery.”—Booklist (starred review)
"Fascinating, terrifying and surprising all at the same time.”—Contra Costa Times
Synopsis
"Rich with telling detail and a deep feeling for time and place,"* Judith Rock s historical mysteries are "a great mix of mystery, excitement and intrigue...a truly excellent series."** Paris, 1687.
The last thing Jesuit Charles du Luc and his elderly confessor expect to find in an ancient crypt is a newly murdered body. Even more troubling, the shock of discovering the victim--a young man about to enter their order--proves too much for Charles's companion. Vowing justice, Charles wants nothing more than to discover the killer, but is unexpectedly restrained from investigation.
At the same moment, a fellow soldier has also entered the Jesuit Novice House, bringing Charles's worst battlefield secret back to haunt him. And when another Jesuit disappears from the college of Louis le Grand and Charles himself is attacked, he begins to wonder whether there might be something more sinister afoot. All signs point to someone targeting Jesuits--and not even an ex-soldier like Charles may be able to escape...
READERS GUIDE INSIDE
*Margaret Frazer, national bestselling author of The Apostate's Tale
**The Big Thrill
Synopsis
"An exciting new discovery" (Library Journal) returns to seventeenth-century Paris with a new historical novel of intrigue.
Christmas in Paris, 1686. The spirit of the season is shattered when Martine Mynette is murdered while trying to prove that she is the adopted daughter of the last surviving Mynette heir and thus claim her inheritance-money that the family otherwise intended to go to the Jesuit school, Louis le Grand.
Now, with Jesuits being implicated in Martine's death, rhetoric teacher Charles du Luc will not rest until he finds her murderer...
Synopsis
An "amazing"* debut historical novel (*Ariana Franklin, national betselling author of Grave Goods) Paris, 1686: When The Bishop of Marseilles discovers that his young cousin Charles du Luc, former soldier and half-fledged Jesuit, has been helping heretics escape the king's dragoons, the bishop sends him far away-to Paris, where Charles is assigned to assist in teaching rhetoric and directing dance at the prestigious college of Louis le Grand.
Charles quickly embraces his new life and responsibilities. But on his first day, the school's star dancer disappears from rehearsal, and the next day another student is run down in the street. When the dancer's body is found under the worst possible circumstances, Charles is determined to find the killer in spite of being ordered to leave the investigation.
Synopsis
Rich with telling detail and a deep feeling for time and place,”* Judith Rock¹s historical mysteries are "a great mix of mystery, excitement and intrigue...a truly excellent series.”**
Paris, 1687.
The last thing Jesuit Charles du Luc and his elderly confessor expect to find in an ancient crypt is a newly murdered body. Even more troubling, the shock of discovering the victima young man about to enter their orderproves too much for Charless companion. Vowing justice, Charles wants nothing more than to discover the killer, but is unexpectedly restrained from investigation.
At the same moment, a fellow soldier has also entered the Jesuit Novice House, bringing Charless worst battlefield secret back to haunt him. And when another Jesuit disappears from the college of Louis le Grand and Charles himself is attacked, he begins to wonder whether there might be something more sinister afoot. All signs point to someone targeting Jesuitsand not even an ex-soldier like Charles may be able to escape...
READERS GUIDE INSIDE
*Margaret Frazer, national bestselling author of The Apostates Tale
**The Big Thrill
About the Author
For many years a modern dancer and choreographer,
Judith Rock founded Body and Soul Dance Company in Berkeley, California, toured extensively as a solo concert dancer, and studied baroque dance. Research for her Ph.D. in art and theology took her to Paris, where she lived at the nearby Jesuit Cultural Center and researched the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century ballets produced at the Paris Jesuit College of Louis le Grand.
In a startling leap, Rock then spent several years as a police officer before taking that experience back to the stage as a playwright and actress. She was an auxiliary officer in the NYPD and later a part-time police officer in Minnesota, working midnight shifts.
Rock has written on dance, art, and theology for many journals, and has been artist-in-residence and taught and lectured at colleges, seminaries, and conferences across the United States and abroad. After years in New York, she and her husband now live in Sarasota, Florida. The Rhetoric of Death, her first novel, was a 2011 Barry Award nominee.