[review] The Saracen’s Mark by S.W. Perry [blog tour]

The Saracen’s Mark is the third instalment of The Jackdaw Mysteries. A tale of conspiracy, murder and espionage in Elizabethan London and dazzling Marrakech.

Title: The Saracen’s Mark
Author: SW Perry
Series: The Jackdaw Mysteries #3
First Published: April 2, 2020
Publisher: Corvus
Categories: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Acquired: Random Things Tours

*** Thank you to book tour organiser, Random Things Tours, and the author, SW Perry, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***

Betrayal has many guises…

London, 1593: Five years on from the Armada and England is taking its first faltering steps towards a future as a global power. Nicholas Shelby – reluctant spy and maverick physician – and his companion Bianca Merton are settling into a life on Bankside. But in London there is always a plot afoot…

Robert Cecil, the Queen’s spymaster, once again recruits Nicholas to embark on a dangerous undercover mission that will take him to the back alleys of Marrakech in search of a missing informer. However, while Nicholas hunts for the truth across the seas, plague returns once more to London – ravaging the streets and threatening those dearest to him.

Can Bianca and Nicholas’ budding relationship weather the threats of pestilence and conspiracy? And will Nicholas survive the dangers of his mission in a hostile city to return safely home?

I’m a pretty big fan of historical fiction – it’s one of the genres that I read the most. I should clarify though – I’m a huge fan of historical fiction set in Tudor or Elizabethan England specifically. I’d estimate that 80% of the historical fiction I choose to read is set in this time period. So it was an easy decision for me to join this blog tour even though I hadn’t read the first two books in the series.

Now I’m wondering why it took me so long to discover S.W. Perry and his Jackdaw mysteries.

The two main characters, Nicholas Shelby (physician) and Bianca Merton (apothecary) are very well characterized and it was easy to root for them. Neither Nicholas or Bianca have an easy life, but they choose to do what’s right over what’s easy. I especially like that Nicholas shuns the normal medical practices of the day for more realistic methods – “I swore I would only practise medicine that I could prove works.”

Luckily for Nicholas, Robert Cecil, Elizabeth’s spymaster, also believes in Nicholas’ experience and beliefs and entrusts him with a valuable, but dangerous mission.

Speaking of that dangerous mission – the mystery in this book is intriguing and suspenseful – the tension is kept high and the pace of the book moves along quite well. I found it extremely hard to put the book down and always needed to read “just one more chapter!”

A journey to Marrakech

One of the things I wasn’t expecting, but found absolutely fascinating, was the journey into Marrakech, Morocco. While I had expected to spend most of the story in London and England, it was the exotic descriptions of Marrakech that captured my imagination.

The story switches back and forth between the two places (Nicholas in Marrakech and Bianca in London) and the contrast (and clash) between the two cultures is evident as our two protagonists attempt to make their own investigations. The English in that period are notoriously suspicious of foreigners so it was interesting to see how Nicholas would interact with his new surroundings.

I love it when an author makes a location as much of a character as the people in the story, and Perry does a fantastic job of making these cities come alive. The sights, the smells, the heat – it’s all there and the attention to detail added a lot to my enjoyment of this book.

Although this was my introduction to the series, I didn’t find it hard to follow along. The book reads well as a standalone (but I’m definitely going to go back and read the first two).

I found that this book reminded me of other historical fiction series that I love – particularly those of CJ Sansom and Rory Clement. I always eagerly await new books from those authors and I will now be adding SW Perry to that list.

Meet the author of The Saracen’s Mark, S.W. Perry

S.W. Perry was a journalist and broadcaster before retraining as an airline pilot. His debut novel, The Angel’s Mark, was listed for the CWA Historical Dagger and was a Walter Scott Prize Academy Recommended Read 2019. He lives in Worcestershire with his wife.

Read The Saracen’s Mark for yourself