The Quality of Mercy by Faye Kellerman
A year and a half to get to this one...ugh...it collected dust for far too long. I started it several months ago, but couldn't get involved with it so I set it aside. This time I had a much better experience.
Set in Elizabethan England, the story is about an extended family of conversos (Jews supposedly converted to Christianity, but still practicing their religion in secret) who secretly deal with King Phillip to have Jews smuggled out of Spain so that they aren't subject to the Inquisition. Another central character is William Shakespeare who is searching for the murderer of his mentor Harry Whitman. Secret catholics, torture, doomed love affairs, mystery and intrigue, this book has it all! The book is loosely based on real people (Rodriguez Lopez, once Elizabeth's physician, is a central character) but rather than dry history Kellerman has brought these characters to life.
I really enjoyed this book, not sure why it didn't grab me the first time, but I was enthralled this time around. The characters were rich and the plot kept had me on the edge of my seat more than once. It was slow reading because of the language, and somewhat draining as I got really involved with the characters, but it was hard to put down as needed to know what was going to happen.
Set in Elizabethan England, the story is about an extended family of conversos (Jews supposedly converted to Christianity, but still practicing their religion in secret) who secretly deal with King Phillip to have Jews smuggled out of Spain so that they aren't subject to the Inquisition. Another central character is William Shakespeare who is searching for the murderer of his mentor Harry Whitman. Secret catholics, torture, doomed love affairs, mystery and intrigue, this book has it all! The book is loosely based on real people (Rodriguez Lopez, once Elizabeth's physician, is a central character) but rather than dry history Kellerman has brought these characters to life.
I really enjoyed this book, not sure why it didn't grab me the first time, but I was enthralled this time around. The characters were rich and the plot kept had me on the edge of my seat more than once. It was slow reading because of the language, and somewhat draining as I got really involved with the characters, but it was hard to put down as needed to know what was going to happen.