The Hidden Man (Cragg & Fidelis Mysteries) - Hardcover

Blake, Robin

3.86

186 ratings by Goodreads

9781250054944: The Hidden Man (Cragg & Fidelis Mysteries)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 125005494X ISBN 13: 9781250054944

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2015

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The year is 1742, and the people of Preston are looking forward to their ancient once-every-twenty-years festival of merriment and excess, the Preston Guild. But the prospect darkens as the town plunges into a financial crisis caused by the death of pawnbroker and would-be banker Philip Pimbo, shot behind the locked door of his office. Is it suicide? Coroner Titus Cragg suspects so, but Dr Luke Fidelis disagrees. To untangle the truth Cragg must dig out the secrets of Pimbo's personal life, learn the grim facts of the African slave trade, search for a missing Civil War treasure and deal with the machinations of his old enemy Ephraim Grimshaw, now the town's mayor. Cragg relies once again on the help and advice of his analytical friend Fidelis, his astute wife Elizabeth and the contents of a well-stocked library.

As in his previous Cragg and Fidelis stories, Robin Blake brings a vivid cast of characters to the page in this third historical mystery about the dramas that breeds below the surface of life in a provincial Georgian town.

"For financial buccaneering it's the 18th Century you want....The sleuths in this series are too precious for words, but what's valuable here is the author's portrait of the emergence of investment banking." -Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

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About the Author:

ROBIN BLAKE is the author of A Dark Anatomy and Dark Waters, the first two books in the Cragg & Fidelis series, in addition to acclaimed works on the artists Van Dyck and Stubbs. He has written, produced and presented extensively for radio, is widely published as a critic, and is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Brunel University. He lives in London.

Review:

“For financial buccaneering it's the 18th Century you want....The sleuths in this series are too precious for words, but what's valuable here is the author's portrait of the emergence of investment banking.” ―Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“The Hidden Man is a cut above . . . smart, absorbing, funny, and beautifully researched.” ―USA Today

“Blake brings Georgian England to vivid life in his mysteries. . . . Cragg's robust and direct voice is one of the series highlights. . . . This is both an engaging mystery and a revealing window into Georgian England.” ―Booklist

“Blake's superior third whodunit featuring Dr. Luke Fidelis and coroner Titus Cragg (after 2013's Dark Waters) centers on an impossible crime. . . . The sleuths are an entertaining duo, and Blake again couples skillful plotting with authentic period details.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Particularly clever . . . Even experienced mystery readers will be surprised and gratified.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Dark Waters

“Fascinating . . . Cragg and Fidelis make a terrific detecting duo . . . Blake's knowledge of an eighteenth-century backwater just shaking off medieval superstitions is deep and engaging. A solid winner.” ―Booklist (starred) on A Dark Anatomy

“Blake uses this setting to show the times, the people and events in a book you won't be able to put down. Flawless . . . a fascinating mystery with psychological underpinnings. The next book will be eagerly anticipated.” ―RT Book Reviews

“Blake starts his story with a bang and keeps the reader engaged to the end.” ―MysteryTribune.com

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