A Plague of Lies
Authors: Judith Rock
Tags: #Fiction, #Mystery & Detective, #General, #Historical, #Literary
P
RAISE FOR
The Eloquence of Blood
“Rock’s second novel featuring Charles du Luc is every bit the equal of her impressive historical thriller debut,
The Rhetoric of Death
… Readers will hope this energetic and engrossing sequel will be the first of many.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Rock’s historical accuracy resonates here, transporting you to 1686 Paris. Her intriguing plot and protagonists with whom readers are becoming good friends make this a necessary read for all who enjoy historical mysteries, especially those by Ariana Franklin.”
—
Library Journal
(starred review)
“Thrilling… engaging.”
—
Sarasota Magazine
“Rock provides meticulous details of everyday life across various social classes with an engaging style… touches of humor and insight… In du Luc, Rock has created a highly likeable scholar-detective. I hope that his adventures will play out for many books to come.”
—
Historical Novels Review
“Rock nails everything about characters, dialogue, setting, historical research, pacing and story development… fascinating… all of this detail is woven so seamlessly into the story that the reader never falters… Rock has the start to an excellent historical detective series.”
—
Bookgasm
“Not only satisfies the taste of historical mystery lovers but anyone who likes complex plots, twists, and elaborate mysteries… Judith Rock’s research is as impeccable as her writing style… a great read.”
—
Mystery Tribune
P
RAISE FOR
The Rhetoric of Death
2011 BARRY AWARD NOMINEE FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
ONE OF
DEADLY PLEASURES
MAGAZINE’S BEST BOOKS OF 2010
“Amazing… Ms. Rock takes you back to fascinating and dangerous seventeenth-century Paris so well that I suspect her of being a time-traveler who’s been there.”
—Ariana Franklin, national bestselling author of
A Murderous Procession
“Rich with telling detail and a deep feeling for time and place.”
—Margaret Frazer, national bestselling author of
The Apostate’s Tale
“Rock skillfully builds her suspense plot, all the while incorporating splendid detail of seventeenth-century Parisian monastic and street life and the relationship between church and Crown… She proves herself a promising new talent by creating this powerful, absorbing, complex, and thoroughly satisfying novel.”
—
Historical Novels Review
(editor’s choice)
“[A] superb historical debut… With an experienced writer’s ease, Rock incorporates details of the political issues of the day into a suspenseful story line.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Rock brings firsthand knowledge of dance, choreography, acting, police investigation, and teaching to what is hopefully the beginning of a mystery series… [A] fascinating historical mystery… Plenty of derring-do and boyish mischief sprinkled into the plot make this a fun read, and Charles’s thought-provoking struggles as he questions his vocation lend added depth… sure to satisfy those eager for a great new historical mystery.”
—
Booklist
(starred review)
“Rich with historical detail… meticulously researched. [Rock] captures a city and time that is lively, dangerous and politically charged, and makes it sing… [Her] fine eye for historic detail and well-drawn characters will continue to engage readers.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)
“Rock is an exciting new discovery. Her plotting holds your interest, her characters are real, and her attention to details of the time period is extraordinary. Highly recommended for fans of historical thrillers and readers who enjoy Ellis Peters, Edward Marston, and Ariana Franklin.”
—
Library Journal
(starred review)
“Rock balances perfectly the differing claims of detection, romance, suspense, and historical detail. As a mystery, as a kind of coming-of-age novel, or as a docudrama on early Jesuit pedagogy,
The Rhetoric of Death
works remarkably well… Very entertaining.”
—
Commonweal magazine
Berkley titles by Judith Rock
THE RHETORIC OF DEATH
THE ELOQUENCE OF BLOOD
A PLAGUE OF LIES
eSpecials
PERNELLE’S ESCAPE: A RHETORIC OF DEATH NOVELLA
J
UDITH
R
OCK
BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2012 by Judith Rock.
“Readers Guide” copyright © 2012 by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Cover art: Pink Dress copyright © by Mohamed Itani / Arcangel Images, Chapel Royal, Versailles copyright © Art Resource. Grand Appartement De La Reine, Versailles, France, copyright © JNS/Gamma-Rapho / Getty Images, Torremocha del Jarama, Madrid, Spain. Landscape with clouds at sunset copyright © Carlos Muina / Getty Images.
Cover design by Danielle Abbiate.
Interior text design by Tiffany Estreicher.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / October 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rock, Judith.
A plague of lies / Judith Rock.—Berkley trade paperback ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-101-61173-9
1. Maintenon, Madame de, 1635–1719—Fiction.
2. France—History—Louis XIV, 1643–1715—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3618.O3543P57 2012
813’.6—dc23
2012011227
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
For Damaris Rowland, agent extraordinaire,
whose patient and brilliant teaching and encouragement
resulted in these books.
Once again, heartfelt thanks are due to my incomparable team of expert advisors: John Padberg, S.J.; Patricia Ranum; and Catherine Turocy. All three take me beyond my own research, telling me things I didn’t know—and correcting what I mistakenly thought I did know! Thanks, as always, to the enthusiastic and sharp-eyed early reading team, and to all the people at Berkley who turn what I give them into a book—especially my editor, Shannon Jamieson-Vazquez, and the artists who create such beautiful covers.
In this story, I have given Louis XIV an imaginary daughter: Louise Marguerite de Bourbon, titled Mademoiselle de Rouen, nicknamed “Lulu,” daughter of the king and his mistress Madame de Montespan. From 1670 to 1674, Madame de Montespan had a child every year—except in 1671. So my fictional Lulu’s birthday is May 30, 1671.
All other characters related to the king in this story are real people.
Chapter 1
T
HE
F
EAST OF
S
T
. C
LOTHILDE
, T
UESDAY
, J
UNE
3, 1687
T
he storm-riding demons of the air were gathered over Paris, hurling fire and thunder at the city’s cowering mortals. Every bell ringer in the city was hauling on his ropes, and his bells—baptized like good Christians for just this purpose—were wide-mouthed roaring angels fighting off the storm with their own deafening noise. The spring thunderstorm had begun north of the river, but now it raged directly over the rue St. Jacques, sending thunder echoing off walls and stabbing roofs and cobbles with spears of rain. In the Jesuit college of Louis le Grand, teachers and students were praying to aid the clanging bells. But the prayers of the senior rhetoric class dissolved into gasps and cries when lightning struck nearly into the main courtyard. The near miss made assistant rhetoric master Maître Charles du Luc’s skin tingle. And startled him into wondering if the demons of the air, in whom he mostly didn’t believe when the sun was shining, were bent on making this day his last on earth.