Indigo Ghosts! 1604 Historical mystery!
The Indigo Ghosts (A Gabriel Tavener Mystery #3)
by Alys Clare
An astonishing tale that relates to a dead body found in an unexpected place aboard a ship Gabriel Tavener had once sailed on' currently moored a Plymouth.
Taverner receives a request from an old friend, Captain Zeke in charge of the Falco, a ship he'd been the doctor on. The crew is on edge. A small body has been discovered in a minuscule space in the lowest deck. When Tavener enters the wretched space he bangs his head, feels overwhelmed by evil, and has a strange vision.
This is just the beginning for this man of science.
We learn more about Jonathan Carew, the local vicar. Taverner realises during this time that Jonathan "is proving to be a good village priest."
But more than that, these are "deep matters of great antiquity" requiring "a lifetime’s study." And in this investigation Gabriel saw in Jonathan, "a hunger for knowledge, for knowing, a fierce desire to pore over abstruse writings and ancient texts, devouring them, taking them inside his own soul, using the sparkling intelligence and the keen insight that his Maker had bestowed upon him."
With these insights my appreciation of both Gabriel and Jonathan quadrupled.
All the other central characters make an appearance:
Celia, Gabriel's sister
Judith Penwarden, the midwife and healer
Black Carlotta, the local wise woman (and more)
What they are dealing with comes straight from the island of Hispaniola, near Dominica in the West Indies, a secret that involves superstitions, benign and not so well disposed spirits, evil, and men who'd survived unspeakable lives.
Then there's the 'triangular' trade!
This is a most satisfying if not downright compelling Jacobean mystery! After reading, I really appreciated the title' particularly as it added to my knowledge.
A Severn House ARC via NetGalley
*****
by Alys Clare
Taverner receives a request from an old friend, Captain Zeke in charge of the Falco, a ship he'd been the doctor on. The crew is on edge. A small body has been discovered in a minuscule space in the lowest deck. When Tavener enters the wretched space he bangs his head, feels overwhelmed by evil, and has a strange vision.
This is just the beginning for this man of science.
We learn more about Jonathan Carew, the local vicar. Taverner realises during this time that Jonathan "is proving to be a good village priest."
But more than that, these are "deep matters of great antiquity" requiring "a lifetime’s study." And in this investigation Gabriel saw in Jonathan, "a hunger for knowledge, for knowing, a fierce desire to pore over abstruse writings and ancient texts, devouring them, taking them inside his own soul, using the sparkling intelligence and the keen insight that his Maker had bestowed upon him."
With these insights my appreciation of both Gabriel and Jonathan quadrupled.
All the other central characters make an appearance:
Celia, Gabriel's sister
Judith Penwarden, the midwife and healer
Black Carlotta, the local wise woman (and more)
What they are dealing with comes straight from the island of Hispaniola, near Dominica in the West Indies, a secret that involves superstitions, benign and not so well disposed spirits, evil, and men who'd survived unspeakable lives.
Then there's the 'triangular' trade!
This is a most satisfying if not downright compelling Jacobean mystery! After reading, I really appreciated the title' particularly as it added to my knowledge.
A Severn House ARC via NetGalley
*****
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