The Angel in the Glass

Set in James I’s England, Clare’s impressive sequel to 2017’s A Rustle of Silk reveals the darkness beneath the seemingly bright and buoyant West Country village of Tavy St. Luke’s. Gabriel Taverner, a former ship’s doctor who lives with his young widowed sister in Tavy St. Luke’s, is called by his friend Theophilus Davey, the vigilant coroner, to examine the corpse of an unidentified man found in a desolate hut. The man looks emaciated and impoverished, but as Taverner seeks the cause of death, he hears reports of a number of seemingly unconnected strange events taking place around the village: an intruder at a manor, a parish priest stricken with grief mid-sermon, the discovery of treasure by children in a hostile farmer’s glen. The story keeps readers guessing and increasingly invested in the core group of finely nuanced characters, until it builds to a gruesome murder that uncovers the terrible secrets certain people have been desperate to hide. The mystery satisfies with a tragic, far-reaching conclusion. Clare reinforces her place among the top rank of historical writers. Agent: Laura Longrigg, MBA (U.K.).(Oct.)