Blood Libel by M Lynes #BookReview #HistoricalFiction @MLynesAuthor @maryanneyarde

 

 

Blood Libel

By M Lynes

Seville, 1495

The mutilated body of a child is discovered behind a disused synagogue. The brutal Spanish Inquisition accuses the Jewish community of ritual child murder - the ‘blood libel’. The Inquisition will not rest until all heretics are punished.

Isaac Alvarez, a lawyer working for the royal estate, is a reluctant convert to Catholicism who continues to secretly practice Judaism. When his childhood friend is accused of the murder Isaac is torn between saving him and protecting his family. Isaac is convinced that solving the murder will disprove the blood libel, save his family, and protect his faith. 

As the Inquisition closes in how far will Isaac go to protect both his family and his faith?

I am not really the type of person who tends to read books that seem violent, and of all I know about the Spanish inquisition, it was very violent. However, whatever it was, I was compelled to read it and I was so very glad that I did.

Thankfully the violence was not depicted in the detail I was expecting. This is also the story of both sides of the Inquisition, from the side of a man trying to protect his family and the side of someone trying to get that same man arrested. There is mystery, danger, horror and intrigue and I found the pages turning far too late into the night. I am incredibly glad I read this book, for the story is one that I believe to be wholeheartedly worth reading.

You can pick up your copy over on Amazon UK if you are in the United Kingdom or Amazon US if you live in America.

Michael is an author of historical mysteries who writes under the pen name of M Lynes. He has a particular interest in early 16th century Andalucia. He is fascinated by the interplay between cultures, globalization and religious intolerance of that period in Spain’s history. The ‘Isaac Alvarez Mysteries’ are set against this rich background. He won a prize for his fiction at the 2020 Emirates Literature Festival and is an alumna of the Faber Academy’s Writing a Novel course. 

His debut novel ‘Blood Libel’, the first full-length Isaac Alvarez Mystery, was published in January 2021. Isaac, a lawyer working for the royal estate, must solve a brutal child murder to protect his family and his faith from the Spanish Inquisition.

Michael is hard at work on the second novel in the series and planning the third. He is originally from London but currently lives in Dubai with his family.

Website • Twitter • Facebook

Tour Schedule