The Guilt of Innocents

Apr 20, 2025 8:43 PM

Author:Candace Robb

Many lies. But only one truth...

Winter 1372, York: A man has drowned in the River Ouse. It soon becomes clear that his death was not an accident. But why would anyone want to kill a humble river pilot?

As the crowds around the murdered man thicken, one-eyed spy Owen Archer is quickly brought to the scene by his adoptive son, Jasper. Renowned for solving many crimes, Owen is immediately drawn into the case. But right from the start he realises that it isn't a simple question of one victim, one suspect.And when a valuable cross goes missing and a woman is badly burnt in mysterious circumstances, the web of deceit widens. Then another body is found in the river. And as Owen and Jasper get closer to the truth, they find their own lives in danger...

Reviews

Subtle, funny and furious

—— Observer

An astoundingly accomplished piece of work

—— Guardian

Nothing short of stunning

—— London Review of Books

A very buoyant book, part truth, part fiction, combining sophistication with an equally beguiling vulgarity...it does leave one relishing it and wanting to read more

—— Spectator

The lazy, languid setting is an eerily effective backdrop for the fresh and beguiling murder intrigue...With first-rate characters and a gradual buildup of suspense, Booth constructs a focused, tightly written novel

—— Publishers Weekly

Booth's prose exhibits such a nicely pointed clarity that it would be all too easy to devour this beguiling story and to take for granted its artful construction, its sparkle, its vivid conjuring of character and landscape

—— Sunday Times

A specialist in serial killer tales ... a wonderfully evocative writer

—— Publishers Weekly

Razor-sharp plotting with a powerful narrative ... thrills to its very satisfying end

—— Chicago Tribune

Savvy and sharp ... as well-written a thriller as The Silence of the Lambs ... A winner

—— Nelson DeMille

With this novel, Montanari's reputation is set in stone - or written in blood - alongside the likes of Connelly, Slaughter and Ellroy

—— Crime Time Magazine

One of the genre's most enduring heroes. Tough, solitary, righteous and incorruptible, [Reacher] harks back to another great fictional detective, Philip Marlowe.

—— Glasgow Herald

A new Jack Reacher novel arrives as the year's first red-hot beach book...the success of these books rests partly on the big, hulking shoulders of their charismatic hero...one of the most enduring action heroes on the American landscape.

—— New York Times

This haunting, stand-alone novel is a subtler work than Child's previous output and offers a sensitively handled romantic sub-plot to boot.

—— Daily Telegraph

Child presses all the buttons... Another awesome performance

—— Mark Sanderson , The Scotsman

Brings a shock of moral horror that is unprecedented in Reacher novels

—— Toronto Star

Utterly compelling... one of Child's best. He keeps up the lightning pace, great writing and punchy one-liners throughout

—— Daily Express

A contender for top thriller of 2010

—— Sun (Best books of 2010)

A turbo-charged page-flipper: you're on page 300 before you take a breath...Child is a master of distances, spaces and the physics of opposing forces

—— The Scotsman

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