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City of Masks

Oswald de Lacy Book 3

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City of Masks

By: S D Sykes
Narrated by: Ewan Goddard
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About this listen

 A brilliantly dark and compelling historical crime novel set in Venice from 'the medieval CJ Sansom' (Jeffery Deaver)

1358. Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, is in Venice, awaiting a pilgrim galley to the Holy Land. While the city is under siege from the Hungarians, Oswald lodges with an English merchant, and soon comes under the dangerous spell of the decadent and dazzling island state that sits on the hinge of Europe, where East meets West.

Oswald is trying to flee the chilling shadow of something in his past, but when he finds a dead man on the night of the carnival, he is dragged into a murder investigation that takes him deep into the intrigues of this mysterious, paranoid city.

Coming up against the feared Signori di Notte, the secret police, Oswald learns that he is not the only one with something to hide. Everybody is watching somebody else, and nobody in Venice is what he or she seems. The masks are not just for the carnival.

(P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2017 Portica Associates Ltd Historical Mystery Fiction Italy Murder

Critic reviews

Sykes is a master at combining historical setting with mystery
Sykes's gamble in putting Oswald in unfamiliar terrain pays off, as she again blends a detailed immersion in the time period with a clever mystery plot line
An excellent addition to a thoroughly enjoyable series... Sykes has created a medieval detective story with a troubled protagonist which manages to stay true to its period and hints at even richer things to come - I thoroughly recommend it.
A Venice whose ancient glories still survive today provides the background for an investigation whose solution is secondary to identifying the cause of Oswald's angst.
We are plunged into Sykes' rich soup of Venetian intrigue; period detail; and increasingly intricate plotting, all with the deeply realized character of Lord Somershill fighting his own demons while investigating. A brilliant addition to the Somershill Manor Novels.
This third series outing offers further insights into Lord Somershill and the past that bedevils him, along with sophisticated plotting, intrigue, and immersion in a fascinating historical setting.
Oswald's character, beautifully painted by Sykes, dominates this excellent historical thriller set against the waterways, palaces and dungeons of medieval Venice
Comparisons to the master of historical crime, CJ Sansom, are inevitable and, in this case, justified.
The whodunnit aspect is neatly done, the family secrets and waspish relationships are intriguing, and humour and originality are abundant.
Sykes offers an unusual perspective on this historical period ... She also deals realistically with the troubles of the era's women.
Trouble, and its attendant duties, confront the reluctant young lord on nearly every page of this eventful, engrossing, informative mystery set in mid-14th-century Kent, England.
There's a nice, cliché-free sharpness to Sykes' writing . . . that suggests a medieval Raymond Chandler at work, and there are no phony celebrations of the peasantry or earth-mothers thrusting herbal concoctions down grateful throats. Plenty of action and interesting characters, without intervention of the libertarian modern conscience that so often wrecks the medieval historical novel.
Sykes establishes herself firmly as a major talent.
All stars
Most relevant
This is the first book I have read in this series so cannot say how it compares to the others but on this reading I am undecided whether to read the previous volumes which is a pity as this has within the makings of a great read. The background information and narrative really give a flavour of the rottenness that lay underneath medieval Venice and the distinction between the outer beauty and the corrupt and venal underbelly is very well drawn and at times it was really like being there. The plot was interesting enough and the denouement satisfying but what made it harder for me to read (and I love this genre) than usual was Oswald Dr Lacey himself. I found his never-ending tetchiness and bad temper just irritating as there was nothing to counterbalance it to make him likeable and although in the story he had good reason to be depressed his lack of charm or wit makes it a little hard to care. I did like his mother though, a more eccentric character who probably would have made quite a fun sleuth.

Nearly there but not quite

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I have now listened to books 1,2 and 3 consecutively and I am just about to embark on book four. This series just gets better and better and I know all the regular characters really well. The interaction between Oswald de Lacy and his mother provide a lighter side of what could otherwise be fairly grim tales and the background stories of the main characters continue to grow book by book.

It seems to me that Oswald is an inept investigator who bumbles through each story until, almost too late, he discovers the real culprits. The plots are excellent and I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this particular book, which is set in Venice, but I loved it. The historical detail in the stories are finely drawn and well researched. I only have two more books left in the series and I am already dreading the end.

Thoroughly enjoyable series

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not as good as the first 2 books. felt very rushed and a bit too tidily wrapped up at the end

bit disappointing

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