The second enthralling book in this prize-winning series of historical mysteries.
‘Gripping and twisty, has everything a historical thriller ought to have, and more,’ Awais Khan, author of No Honour
‘Lynes knows his history and writes with verve,’ Historical Novel Society
Seville, 1498. As the Inquisition’s grip on Andalucia tightens, Isaac and Isabel are forced to choose between family and faith. Can their family survive the consequences?
Isaac seeks revenge on Torquemada for the murder of his wife and best friend. But he’s not the only one who wants The Grand Inquisitor dead. The King commands Isaac to investigate. If Isaac stops the assassination, he saves the man he hates. Fail and he loses the King’s protection: the only thing keeping a heretic like Isaac alive. After a perilous journey to Granada, he confronts both Torquemada and the truth about himself.
Conflicted by her father’s heresy and distressed by his quest for vengeance, Isabel sets out to discover the truth. Feeling abandoned by her father, the trail takes her to the darkest places in Seville. She is unnerved by a shocking revelation and a surprising discovery about her real feelings. Can Isabel use what she has unearthed to save her father and their family?
The first book in the Isaac Alvarez Mysteries, Blood Libel, won a prize at the 2020 Emirates Literature Festival.
New York Times bestseller Sophie Hannah: ‘Immensely gripping, thoughtful, and very satisfying.’
Michael Lynes
Michael writes historical fiction and won a prize for his debut novel, Blood Libel, at the 2020 Emirates Literature Festival. Sophie Hannah called it, ‘immensely gripping,’ and the Historical Novel Society said, ‘Lynes knows his history and tells the story with verve.’ He is an alumnus of the Faber Academy’s Writing a Novel course.
The Isaac Alvarez Mysteries are set in turn of the 16th century Andalusia. A febrile time: the Catholic monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, had just ended the Moors’ 700-year domination of the region. Religious tensions between Catholics, Jews and Muslims are running high and the Inquisition is determined to drive out heresy. Isaac struggles with his religious identity whilst trying to protect his family and keep King Ferdinand happy.
Isaac’s first investigation was published in January 2021 . The second, The Heretic’s Daughter, was published in May 2022. He is hard at work on the third book in the series and planning the fourth. Michael is originally from London but currently lives in Dubai with his family.
Michael Lynes – Ten things about me
- I was born in London, but now live in Dubai. It might surprise you that the Emirates Literature Foundation runs an annual festival in Dubai which attracts a lot of high profile authors such as David Baldacci, Iain Rankin and Avni Doshi. My first book, Blood Libel, won a prize at the festival in 2020 and I launched it at the 2021 event.
- My favourite food is probably laksa.
- My next book might be called, The Last Apothecary of Granada. It’s a continuation of the story that began in The Heretic’s Daughter – the second of the Isaac Alvarez Mysteries.
- I’m hooked on reading the Jackson Lamb series by Mick Herron. He has a very distinctive style and the recent TV adaptation of the first book, Slow Horses, is excellent.
- I eat way too much chocolate.
- I’m an alumnus of the Faber Writing Academy which I highly recommend for any aspiring authors. I’ve found their courses to be the most useful and relevant.
- I support Liverpool Football Club. At the time of writing, they’re on course to be the first English team to win four trophies in a season. I hope I don’t jinx it and that’s still true when this is published.
- I’ve been very fortunate to have travelled a lot. My favourite countries are probably Nepal, Italy, Spain and Malaysia. If I had to pick only one city to visit it would be Penang.
- I’ve been a runner – well jogger really – all my life. And although I’ll never do another marathon (I completed London in 2013) I still trundle out for a couple of 5Ks a week.
- Two books I’m really looking forward to reading are: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Sanders is a master class on short-story writing – a form I’m experimenting with – and Powers and Thrones by Dan Jones which is an accessible history of the Middle Ages.
Michael Lynes writes The Isaac Alvarez Mysteries under the pen name M Lynes. The first book in the series, Blood Libel, won a prize at the 2020 Emirates Literature Festival and was published in 2021. The second book, The Heretic’s Daughter, has just been published. He’s working on the third instalment which will be available in 2023.
You can read Blood Libel here: https://books2read.com/u/3yKAvB and The Heretic’s Daughter here: https://books2read.com/u/mKpnDE.
You can find out more at, www.michaellynes.com , where you can sign up for his newsletter and receive a free short story. You can also write to him at, michael@michaellynes.com or tweet him @MLynesAuthor.
Crazy Canadian Writing 