It’s Holland, 1671. Master Mercurious is a professor at the University of Leiden. As a professor, he’s also an ordained Protestant minister. Unknown to anyone but himself, he’s also a consecrated Catholic priest. It’s an unusual combination, but this is 17th century Europe and 17th century Holland, and the wars of religion are still fresh in people’s minds. Holland is officially Protestant, which is why Mercurious keeps his Catholic position a secret.
His university rector gives him an assignment – to travel to Delft to assist the mayor in solving a terrible crime. Three young girls have disappeared, and the body of one has turned up. The girls have barley even a passing acquaintance with each other. One comes from the upper class, one from the middle class, and one from the lower class. The girl found dead is the poor one.
Master Mercurious feels a bit out of his depth. He’s never investigated a crime before, and he knowns no one in Delft. He soon makes two friends who help him in his investigation – the ascientist and creator of the single-lens microscope Antonie von Leeuwenhoek and the painter Johannes Vermeer. The three follow all kinds of leads and end up in a number of blind alleys, until they stumble upon what the three girls had in common.
 |
Graham Brack |
Death in Delft by Graham Brack is the first of four novels in the Master Mercurious series, and it’s full of twists and turns. It’s chock full of historical detail about Delft and the period; the author has done some impressive research.
Brack originally trained and practiced as a pharmacist. In addition to the Master Mercurious series, he’s also written seven novels in the Investigator Josef Slonsky series, set in Prague. Brack blogs regularly at his author page; you can read his posts here.
Death in Delft is a fast-paced story, with a number of possible suspects and a number of possible motives. Brack does an excellent job of hooking the reader and keeping him guessing as to what’s behind the girls’ disappearances.
No comments:
Post a Comment