Death on the Romney Marsh [Import] [Hardcover]

Deryn Lake (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 277 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton; First Edition edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340674288
• ISBN-13: 978-0340674284
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scarecrow, spies and poison, April 9, 2009

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Death on the Romney Marsh (Hardcover)

First Sentence: As soon as the Magistrate had taken his seat, those who crowded the public benches did likewise.

John Rawlings is an apothecary and occasionally assists magistrate Sir John Fielding in the investigation of crimes. John is summoned by the seaside town of Winchelsea by a woman with whom he had become acquainted on a previous investigation. Mrs. Elizabeth Rose, formerly Harcross, believes someone is trying to poison her and asks for John's help.

With the onset of the Seven Years War in Europe, John is warned by Fielding to keep an eye out for spies. On the coach ride to Winchelsea, John sees an oddly-shaped church and a well-dressed scarecrow standing in the midst of Romney Marsh. Upon investigation, he discovers the scarecrow is a murdered man; revealed to be a French spy.

Reading Deryn Lake always sends me searching on Google. Her historical information is always so well incorporated into the story. Before this, I was unfamiliar with the churches of St. Thomas à Becket at Fairfield and St. Augustine at Brookland. I also did not know the artist William Hogarth was an early advocate against cruelty towards animals. None of that, however, overshadows what is simply a very good read.

I love the character of Rowling. He's young, a touch naïve, has a wonderful relationship with his father and Fielding and is always on the side of good and justice. By his being an apothecary allows Lake to also include information on period medicine.

Lake's sense of time and place is wonderful. Her descriptions of travel, clothing and settings bring the story to live. Her dialogue has a flavour of the period without being overblown.

The story was very well plotted. There were several threads, which kept it interesting but not confusing. I did not quite anticipate the resolution of any of the three threads.

I am delighted to know there are many more books in the series and a new one coming out soon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fourth in the Series, January 9, 2008

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death on the Romney Marsh (Hardcover)

Deryn Lake is a pseudonym of a well know historical novelist. Among the books she has written are the popular John Rawlings Mysteries, Death in the Peerless Pool, Death at the Apothecaries' hall, Death at the Devil's Tavern and others. As all of the titles are preceded by the word death, (unusual to say the least), this is a pretty good indication regarding the contents of the books and very good historical murder mysteries they are. `Deryn Lake' live near Hastings, in East Sussex

The character of John Rawlings is starting to feel like an old and trusted friend and the author's clear and concise writing style makes the pages fly by. The books are good, well researched historical murder mysteries. They are what they are and do not profess to be anything else. Good escapism for the reader, away from the bumps and grinds of everyday life.

The character of John Rawlings is now spending more and more time away from his apothecary business than ever. His reputation as a solver of crimes is growing rapidly and his acquaintance with John Fielding, London's famous, or some would say infamous blind magistrate means that his active mind has been called up on more than one occasion.

In this story, during an investigation Rawlings find a mysterious "scarecrow" out on the Romney Marsh. But what was thought to be a scarecrow turns out to be a French spymaster, sent to England to make contact with two spies. Rawlings task is to find out who the spies are and bring them to justice.