Who better to write about a plague ravishing the world than someone with a master’s in the history of medicine and works as a science editor covering infectious disease outbreaks. These stats should tell you how well researched and true to life this book is.

The year is 1665 and the Bubonic Plague is starting to gain traction and spread throughout London. As the bodies mount up it is up to Rector Symon Patrick to bless them before their bodies are buried. When his recently missing maid turns up with the plague bodies the Rector notices that she has had her arms and legs bound and that the plague wasn’t the cause of her death.

As more bodies with similar markings show up the Rector realises that a murderer is walking amongst them who is trying to pass his victims off as plague victims. With the help of a young but well-educated girl Penelope who is found on the streets, can the pair work out who the killer is whilst staying free from the plague?

I wasn’t sure when I first saw this book whether reading about a plague whilst we are in the middle of a global pandemic caused by a deadly virus would be a good idea, but there was something about someone murdering people and trying to pass their bodies off as plague victims that had me intrigued and so I jumped in. I’m so happy I did.

The Plague Letters is utterly engrossing. The beginning started slowly but when the maid’s body is discovered my intrigue picked up as now we were on the hunt for a killer and I love a good historical thriller/mystery.

The writing is quite descriptive and at times this made the plot feel a little wordy, but without these descriptive scenes would you feel as immersed in the time period? I’m not so sure.

The characters are not the nicest of people, whether it was the era, the plague, living in fear, perhaps all of these made the characters quite rude and come across as obnoxious I’m not sure but I can’t say there was really a nice character amongst them. Yes, they had their nice moments, but it wouldn’t be long before they were back to being surly. They also had a dark, dry sense of humour, again most likely to do with what they were living through.

This is a novel that had me gripped to the pages. I read it within just a couple of days as I didn’t want to put it down. The plot felt plausible, the characters realistic, and as a whole very atmospheric.

In the midst of plague, confusion arises; we can attest to that personally after the last year. What we can also attest to is the utter brilliance of our NHS, and how modern health care has made a tremendous difference, from basic paracetamol to ICU, and one of the things that particularly struck me reading this book when I did was just how different things would have been for us without it. Although that may not have been the main point of the book, the publishing time is poignant, and I feel it needs mentioning.

Author V.L. Valentine has taken a cast of seemingly mismatched characters and thrust them together into the Society for the Prevention and Cure of Plague. The characters are not always likeable, and often contradictory, especially Symon, who claims to be a pious man but doesn’t have the most savoury of thoughts. Penelope is a curious character who contributes a lot both in terms of the story progressing and in terms of the book itself. In a world run by men – even during plague – it was good to see a strong woman, even if she is somewhat curious. I have a soft spot for Penelope.

I did feel that the murder mystery side of things was overshadowed by other parts of the story, such as the darkly humous moments and the strong push on the historical and religious aspects, which were of course important factors, but ultimately I would have liked to see more on the mystery itself. That said, I do think this book is going to be a popular one!

Reading the Plague Letters, one can’t help but wonder if this is the author’s political satire upon the current pandemic. It isn’t, but there are parallels you can draw if you want to venture down that rabbit hole. The Rev Symon Patrick is a hapless buffoon, engaged in helping to find the cause of the deadly Great Plague that is laying waste to London in 1665, but he has not a clue and he and his doctor and apothecary acquaintances are foundering in the dark, trying all manner of bizarre remedies even as the better off move their families out of London. This plague is enduring and all told will kill a third of Londoners. There is fame and fortune to be had should one be the medical genius who discovers how to bring the Great Plague to an end.

As the plague ravages and spreads across London, we learn that it is not just disease that is killing off Londoners. For there is a serial killer in their midst. A killer, hiding in plain sight, in streets where the stench of death prevails above all the other smells of urine, rank decay and unwashed bodies.

Vikki Valentine’s book is not just a gruesome walk through pestilence and death; it has a sharp comedic edge to it that will have you laughing even as you shake your head at the ineptitude of our would-be hero. Interspersed with short extracts from Pepy’s diary and with Plague maps showing the spread of the plague at the top of each chapter, Valentine brings the weekly death toll into a horrible perspective.

Symon Patrick is the Rector of St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden and is most hapless sleuth you will ever come across. This holy man is spending his time writing somewhat plaintive and slightly obfuscated romantic letters to Lady Elizabeth Gauden, a flirtacious married woman whose husband is often in town on business.

When the Rev Patrick should be caring for the sick and ensuring decent burials for the dead, his mind is taking him to a country estate where the object of his affections has most recently given birth to a son.

Symon’s maid goes missing, and though he fails at first to do enough to find her, despite the beseeching of his staff, he feels bereft when her body turns up, her blonde hair all cut off, her body burnt in places and marked with a grid and her wrists and ankles showing she has been bound. She has died of plague but has clearly been tortured.

Into this household Penelope arrives. She is a young woman who is clearly seriously unwell. She is filthy and clothed in rags. They think she is probably dying and take her in. But Penelope has stamina and determination and as she pulls through, she starts to have an impact on Patrick’s household.

She realises as a result of her own horrible experiences, what is important in life, and she knows that for Patrick, his calling is not being fulfilled by his mooning around after a woman he can never have.

With all the energy of a piece of wet lettuce, he allows Penelope to point out that there is a real and present danger in their midst and that there are more bodies turning up that bear the same marks as Patrick’s maid. It appears that someone is experimenting on live bodies that are plague infected.

Penelope has been through a great deal in her young life and she has learnt to live on her wits. This makes her very observant. She also, perhaps as a result of everything she has experienced, sees ghosts. She can’t talk to them, but they are ever present around her and she feels acutely that she has a duty to stop what is happening. In order to do that she has to harness the attention of Syimon Patrick; a task that does not prove easy.

Once she has alerted him to what is going on, he begins to see that the killer might well be one of the Plague Society. A doctor, surgeon or apothecary looking for a cure and prepared to anything to find one. He stumbles his way around suspecting his best friend, his colleagues, everyone he meets without applying sense or judgement.

It is left to the ever brave and resilient Penelope to lead Symon Patrick, often by the nose, on a journey that will lead him to the answers, though not without disasters and danger at every turn.

Vikki Valentine’s book has a great cast of memorable characters, some with wonderful names, and she beautifully evokes a London that is putrefying and carrying the stench of death through its streets.

I love the character of Penelope, whose lack of airs and graces contrasts so beautifully with the selfishness and greed of the men she meets, including most of the medical profession. She is a woman of action, when the men just stand around arguing about where to get the bodies from to experiment on in search of a cure.

Verdict: There are levels of satire and laugh out loud humour from cracking one liners here that lift this book above the mere historical whodunit. V.L. Valentine has a great sense of place and atmosphere and her plague infested London is dark and putrefying. Funny and fierce, this is a fab read.

V. L Valentine’s The Plague Letters opens with the Reverend Symon Patrick, newly returned to London by order of his patron and regretting both his enforced return and his separation from the vivacious Elizabeth. Symon returns to a city filled with fear and a household in uproar – during his absence, bubonic plague has arrived and Londoners are fleeing to the country if they can. And in the midst of the chaos, one of Symon’s maids has gone missing.

When the missing maid turns up dead, no one – least of all Symon – is surprised. The body shows unusual signs – a shaved head, strange inked markings, signs of restraint – but London is full of superstition, quacks, and dubious medicines. But when another young woman arrives in the same condition, Penelope – a new and quick-witted addition to Symons household – forces the reluctant reverend to take notice of the possibility of a killer in their midst. Someone, it seems, is attempting a series of misguided experiments in an attempt to rid London of the plague – and they’re more than happy to trial their ‘medicine’ on human subjects.

Desperate for answers, Symon is forced into an unlikely alliance. A group of medical ‘professionals’ – an eminent physician, a well-known surgeon, a charismatic ‘healer’, and a pioneering apothacary – have formed The Society for the Prevention and Cure of Plague. Despite their differences – and their personal eccentricities – these men seek to end London’s suffering. But is a killer hiding in their midst?

There were times, especially early on, when I wasn’t quite sure what sort of book I was reading with The Plague Letters. By turns gorily vivid in its descriptions of the deprivations bought about by the London plague, the next page might see a farcical comedy play out as the filthy surgeon Mincey starts a fistfight with drunken apothecary Boghurst, or court favourite Valentine Greatrakes flounces into the room with a knowing smile and a witty retort. Turn the page again and you’re in the midde of a romantic drama, as Symon continues his illicit correspondance with the flirtateous – and very much married – Elizabeth. It’s as if V. L. Valentine has reached into 1665 and pulled out a slice of London life, upending it onto the page in all of its chaotic, messy, and gruesome glory.

Get used to the sudden lurches in tone however, and The Plague Letters offers a rich and rewarding mystery enveloped alongside deeply evocative depiction of plague-ridden London. The characters, whilst not always especially likeable, leap off the page, pulling the reader into their messy lives – and into their hunt for an increasingly unhinged killer. V. L. Valentine has a real eye – and ear – for the strange and the absurd, brilliantly capturing both the dark humour and the grit of the bodily experiences evoked on the page.

Symon makes for an interesting – and occasionally infuriating – main narrator. Suffering from melancholy and increasingly embroiled in relationships he neither fully understands nor fully appreciates, he is a man whose inner demons constantly wrestle with his better angels. Once paired with clever, mysterious Penelope however, Symon soon begins to untangle his knotty mess of life choices and I enjoyed seeing the pair’s relationship develop from antagonistic tolerance to trust over the course of the novel. Although the ending leaves many of the personal mysteries within the characters lives opaque or unresolved, I still felt as if I had got to know – and even to like – these flawed and changeable people by the of the book.

The eccentricity of style – that alignment of the grim and the grimly funny – may put some people off The Plague Letters but settle into this novel and you’ll find a cleverly-plotted mystery, some fantastially realised characters, and a deeply evocative depiction of seventeenth-century London. It’s as if Imogen Hermes Gowar’s sublimely eccentric The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock had been combined with the tension of Andrew Taylor’s Ashes of London and the mystery of Antonia Hodgson’s A Devil in the Marshalsea. Fans of historical crime will find much to delight in – as will anyone who enjoys being dragged in to a book and taken along for a wild and unpredictable ride!

A murder mystery set in 1665, where the plague has hit London, and a murderer is using it to cover their criminal activities.
I nearly didn't finish this, as the story seemed to be mainly about the Rector Symon Patrick's obsession with an upper class lady. Anyway, I stayed with it and I'm glad I did.
It's a dark murder mystery with a few plot twists - I thought I'd figured out who the killer was - I was wrong, I fell for the subtle leads.
I really liked Penelope's character, and I did eventually warm to the Rector as the book went on.
Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC.

I thought I had downloaded this book but it transpires I did not which is a shame as I am on the blog tour! However all is not lost as I also have a hardback copy so my review will follow on the 9th of April on my date on the tour! Apologies to Viper - I have explained via e-mail and twitter and I'll update my review later this week when I have finished reading!

A murder mystery set in London during the midst of the plague, this is an original and inventive novel. I felt that it was all the more impactful and resonant due to the current pandemic! It is a gruesome tale with a cast of unpleasant characters. You can almost smell the unbearable odour of London during 1665 - the stench of the burial pits, the lime and the smoke. The descriptions of the city in the heat of the summer were unbearably claustrophobic at times. I didn't particularly warm to any of the male characters in the book, but I don't believe the author wants us to, they are meant to be abhorrent. My favourite character was the mysterious Penelope who was brave, courageous and resourceful. She drove this story on in my opinion and I enjoyed the parts with her in it much more than when she was absent. I had absolutely no idea who the murderer was at any time until it was finally revealed and often found it hard to follow what was going on. I struggled to really engage with the story until about half way through and then raced through the second half. I'd rate this 3.5/5 if I could give half stars.

The Plague Letters is a debut historical mystery from V.L. Valentine set in 1665 as the Bubonic Plague sweeps through London.

I came perilously close to DNF-ing The Plague Letters at about the 10% mark, though I can’t really articulate why, however since I make a point of reading at least 100 pages before giving up on a book, I persevered. It’s wasn’t a decision I regretted exactly but in the end I thought the story as a whole was lacking.

The premise of the mystery is strong. Among the victims bought to Reverend Symon Patrick’s churchyard for mass burial as the Plague spreads through his parish, is a young girl whose body is marked by more than the weeping buboes characteristic of the Black Death. Fresh bruises, cuts, inked lines, and strange circular burns mar her skin, while twine is wound tightly around her wrists and ankles. The Reverend notes the horror, but it’s not until more similarly violated body’s are discovered, that something is considered seriously amiss.

Suspicion falls on the members of the Society for the Prevention and Cure of Plague with which the Reverend is associated - physician Dr Alexander Burnett, surgeon Lodowick Mincy, apothecary William Boghurst, and Valentine Greatrakes, a mystic healer. Any of the men seems capable of the crime, every one a buffoon, occasionally a source for horrifying hilarity, they are uniformly arrogant, ambitious, and essentially amoral, all of whom display the casual indifference to human life common to medical men of the 17th century, (except where it may reflect on their status within society). This, however, is where the issue lies with the plot for me, though there are at least five suspects proved capable of committing these crimes, I believe there is an absence of specific clues that suggests a single guilty party. It’s certainly possible I overlooked something, but I experienced no feeling of vindication or surprise when the guilty party was revealed, one or the other of which I personally find necessary for a mystery novel.

Sadly few of the characters did little to engage me either. Symon seems to have very little agency in the novel. He is a weak man, who spends most of his time trying to be invisible, largely ignoring the plague and his parishioners, distracted by daydreams about the attentions of a married woman. Having little inner strength or courage, Symon is easily led, which is just as well for Penelope, who has rather more than you’d expect from a 17th century, young, orphaned, homeless girl.

Penelope is really the catalyst and driving force for the development of the plot. Though she’s rather an improbable character for the times, her remarkable intelligence, determination, and bravery ensures that the dead girls aren’t ignored. She wedges herself into Symon’s life, refusing to allow him to shirk his responsibility, and relentlessly pushes for someone to be held account. With her brazen attitude and surprise gifts, I found Penelope to be the strongest and most appealing character.

Where I think the author excels in The Plague Letters is in their vivid descriptions of London under siege from the plague. The imagery is at times disturbing, though accurate, of victims tormented by the deadly progression of the disease, and the desperate acts of the medical men to stop it, of bodies piled in ‘dead carts’ chased by hungry dogs down the street, of pits dug in churchyards, tended to by young boys, filling with layers of the dead sprinkled with caustic lime as the overburdened ground begins to rise. Between each chapter a map shows the spread of the disease through the city and the mounting death toll. All of this also invites comparisons to the current pandemic, which may be uncomfortable for some.

In the end, I’m not sure the strengths and weaknesses of The Plague Letters quite balance each other out, as historical fiction I might recommend it, as a mystery I’d not, so overall sadly, somewhat disappointing.

I was watching an old episode of Restoration Home when what should appear but St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, being used as an example of similar architecture to a chapel being converted in Wales. This reminded me that I had to review this book, having finished it last week.

I struggled initially to get into this, despite relishing the idea of a murder mystery wrapped up in a plague. It's a very clever idea that took a long time to get established. I debated stopping, twice, but ultimately am glad I finished it.

The protagonist, Reverend Symon, isn't especially dynamic and left to his own devices it's doubtful he would have been able to figure it out on his own, particularly as he is so distracted by mooning over the Lady Elizabeth and spends an inordinate amount of time writing to and receiving letters from her in Essex, where she has gone to escape the plague that is overwhelming London. He joins the Plague Prevention Society, a group of men variously doctors, surgeons and pharmacists, who get together to discuss and find a potential cure for the pestilence that is killing so many, to see if they can perhaps help him shed any light on who is committing these murders.

While I'm still somewhat unclear as to how Penelope actually became part of Symon's household, I think she is by far the most dynamic character of the bunch and would have made a much more engaging protagonist, despite the restrictions on her of the time. She is bright, clever and practical.

There was a lot of information to get through before the story became more engaging at the 60-75% mark, and my suspicions about the culprit were challenged several times although ultimately proved correct. And, I'm not sure how I feel about the paranormal aspect of the story. I love paranormal mysteries, but it felt far too progressive for the time period for Symon to simply be okay with it all. It's either paranormal or it isn't.

Also, The maps at the beginning of each chapter didn't, unfortunately, work on the Kindle app so that was disappointing. They would have been an excellent companion to show how quickly the plague spread. The weekly growth in numbers was staggering, however.

Despite my thoughts on the above, it's a rich read with a lot of detail about the plague, its effects on London and her population, how it affected the rich and poor so differently, and those who stayed to help. An interesting, reflective read that dovetails with our current pandemic.

A big thank you to Viper Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

The Plague Letters - the setting, London 1665 during the Great Plague.

This seemed like such a fitting read for the here and now. I couldn't help but draw comparisons to what we are facing now with Covid 19. Meaning that although the story would be classed as historical fiction, this is a novel that ends up feeling rather relevant.

Will we never learn?

Back to the novel, not solely about the plague (although this of course plays a big part), we follow Rector Symon and his chosen assistant Penelope as they embark on a mission to find a killer.

It all seems like a race against time.

As doctors try to quickly create a cure for this horrid disease that seems to be taking lives at a rapid rate, there is another problem lurking in the dark. A murderer, quietly roaming the streets of London, seemingly running experiments of their own on the poor sick and dying, innocent people.

A well written and expertly researched book. It was fascinating to see the spread of infection. The use of maps alongside the body count.

As the numbers continued to rise, the sense of urgency rose.

I found myself completely immersed in it all, partly due to the concept of the story itself, also because of the way it was written. The language used, I found myself using accents in my head as I read.

What also set this book apart from others was the fact that most of the characters are actually quite awful, and when I say that I mean that they aren't likeable. Quite crude and unpleasant. I'll admit there were some who I thought perhaps deserved to know what catching the plague would feel like.

I'm looking forward to holding a physical copy in my hands.

A brilliant well written story set in London 1665, as the Plague is ravaging London, quite apt at a time that we have Covid.

The wealthy are able to flea to the countryside where they have more chance of surviving. Symon Patrick is the rector of St Paul in Covent Garden ,with high morals, he has just returned to the parish after being away at a spa, after having had some sort of breakdown. He is a weak man, pining over Elizabeth which at times becomes quite annoying. But as a rector he is seen to be a good catch with his income, as well as being handsome. The redeeming thing about him is that he does stay in the parish instead of fleeing to the countryside which he could do. His duty now he is back at St Paul’s is to take care of the dead, giving them a Christian burial. He receives an invite to become a member of a society who wants to cure and prevention of the plague. But the group of people are a little odd, they seem to spend more time quarrelling instead of achieving anything.

Symon recognises one of the dead as Mary a maid who had worked in his household but had disappeared in May, her body has strange marks and scars, as well as some odd burns all over her legs and ankles, it looks like she has been tortured her hands and feet are bound by twine. That same day another woman turns up at the churchyard, she is close to deaths door, but instead of taking her to the penthouse Symon puts her in the vestry in a cot. By some miracle, Penelope survives and begins work in Symons household. It is her who finds another victim, shorn hair, wounds which are encased in inked squares. Why would someone want to murder people who are dying? It seems as they look closer at the wounds odd objects have been sewn in a the foot of a frog and a hare, a virgins fingernail. But why? Is it some sort of witchcraft or sorcery, someone experimenting in the girls for what? A cure?

There are interspersed real historical notations of real historical people such as Samuel Pepys who writes of the progression of the plague, another real friend is Pepys is Dr Burnett. Among several other real life historical characters.

There are quite a few unsavoury characters who a part of the Plague society, very unsympathetic, with secrets and vices that make you wonder if they are the murderer, but gradually they are cleared of suspicion, leaving the reader trying to guess who could be doing this.

Overall this is a well thought out story, at times some dark humour, creepy settings, and some one liners that will make you laugh, despite this being a rather creepy read.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #serpentstail/profilebooks #viper for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest fair and unbiased review.

2.5

I was so disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more. It's set during a plague outbreak and I've always been fascinated by it, the morbid person that I am. A murder mystery with a supernatural twist during this time should have been an instant hit with me but unfortunately this really didn't hit the mark.

The main problem I had were the characters, the members of the plague society most of all. The first couple of times I found them funny however as the book goes along I found them more and more annoying. Nearly every scene with them (especially together) was a chore to get through and nearly always pointless until about 60% in. Symon and Penelope were better but even then Symon annoyed me from time to time, also what was the point of all the time taken up by his "love affair" with Elizabeth? It had no real connection to the plot, it added nothing particularly interesting.

Penelope was definitely the best character, she was determined and didn't care about what the others thought of her, she just wanted justice for the dead women and girls. Her backstory also made you feel for her.

No real detective work actually happens in this story until maybe 55-60% in, it mostly consists of Penelope snooping (and apparently all the people she is spying on knows she is spying on them?) and telling Symon information, he does pretty much nothing other than going along with what she tells him to do.

I did enjoy the last 35-40% since that's when everything starts happening and the characters get a bit more focused.

I enjoyed the supernatural elements but again nothing much happens with that until near the end, I would have liked it more if the spirits had a bigger part to play and were a bit more useful.

I will say that the historical accuracy is great and the atmosphere of a plague ravaged London was captured really well, you feel everyone's desperation and growing despair.

I also enjoyed the small povs we get of the murderer, very creepy.

Overall I feel like it could have had the story trimmed here and there to make it more gripping to read and the side characters seem less silly.

Warning: there is no known cure for what you will experience with The Plague Letters. However, do not fear, for once the first symptoms appear, you will not want the illness to leave you.

Sweet is the book hangover offered to us by V. L. Valentine. Bittersweet is the taste in my mouth as I lay the book to rest. Is it greedy of me to wish for more?

The author’s choice of ingredients for her Plague spell was rather interesting.

London. My favorite city.

A mortal disease. I have a certain (probably unhealthy) fascination for such ordeals.

1666… No, this one was the joker. Usually, historical fiction intimidates me. Will I have the knowledge to understand and appreciate the story? Will the author find the invisible string to connect me to characters who breathed and danced during an era so far from mine? I took the bet.

Disguised murders. Here, my curiosity was sparked and the goosebumps on my arms give away my excitement.

Holy Joly Molly! Better than the Tardis, The Plague Letters drops you in the wilderness of London and its stingy alleys, phantom-like streets, in the middle of a plague pandemic! Boom! As a layperson when it comes to historical fiction, it was a hit or miss. I decided to trust the publisher and push my way through a sick crowd. Did I get ill? Yes. A delicious illness readers can never get enough of. Quickly stricken by the thirst to know more, understand everything, and see with my own eyes, I happily dived into the 17th century Thames. If I feared for a minute that the plague would have me reflect on our present situation, I soon stopped thinking about the here and now. I was fully immersed in the past thanks to an astonishingly perfect prose that reeled me in and kept me firmly standing with Symon, Penelope, and the others. This in itself is a true miracle. Was I thinking about what I knew of old time London? No, I didn’t have to because V. L. Valentine made it easy to create the walls, the gardens, and hear the sounds so everything became familiar very fast. First time ever! No jetlag time during which I have to focus to imagine the surroundings.

Rector Symon Patrick is busy. His heart is full, and so is his parish’s churchyard. The plague is decimating the capital and there is little time for laziness. Weirdly, Symon was one of the last characters I warmed up to. I enjoyed following him around, getting the hang of his job and finding my feet in this century through his eyes. I found his household to be quite unusual, with servants talking back to him! How cheeky! In truth, most characters are colorful and very, very interesting. Is it because they are so far from my usual protagonists? No, I believe it’s due to the knack of the author for creating wonderfully captivating creatures of God! So, who did I root for? Who had me on their side almost right from the beginning?

Meet Penelope. Mysterious character you can’t put in a box. A clever mind, dirty clothes, a past you get snippets of. Original is what I would call her. Yes, I was, and I am #TeamPenelope for without her, this novel inhabited by many men who would not find their hand in the dark, would never have gotten to the bottom of the case…

What case? I hear you ask. The plague is the work of God/Mother Nature/Insert your theory here. Isn’t such terrible threat enough? No, not for everyone… Soon, corpses appear, not only plagued by the disease’s scars but also by a man’s hands… Scary, isn’t it?

I don’t what’s scarier, someone playing with ill people or a bunch of physicians of sorts trying to find a cure for the plague? The mix of those two elements gave the book many layers and gave me a terrible and chilling insight in what was medicine at the time. Thank goodness for our current medical technologies and knowledge!!! There is no room for sentimentality as the houses get abandoned and numbers rise every day. Although I felt the desperation, I was never burdened by as I was too busy cringing at the surgeons, apothecaries, physicians and other imposters’ theories and talks. How dare they talk about unearthing the dead to experiment on them and find a cure… Wait, we do that! I loved how The Plague Letters challenged me to see things through different lenses! When did autopsies become common? Well, not then! As they all fight about whether or not it is a sin to get bodies to examine, someone decides there is no time for such petty discussions and takes matter in their own hands. Penelope is the one who sees it first. Someone is hiding used bodies in the overflowing dead carts of the plague. Like a cat, she smells foul play and embarks Symon in a chase to find the culprit before the illness finds them. I believe I owe my inability to tear myself away from the book to the realism breathed into the pages by the outstanding research and professionalism behind the fiction.

V. L. Valentine knows how to blend mystery, blood, and strong characters. There is never a dull moment in this novel! Grisly murders, dry remarks, the sound of shoes running all over the city, The Plague Letter is a cracking (and murderous) piece of historical fiction. Never before had I been under such a spell!

🌟B O O K R E V I E W🌟

The Plague Letters - V.L. Valentine

‘𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬.’

The plague has struck London, hordes are fighting to leave, but Reverend Symon Patrick has been called to return by his patron to administer to his flock. He hides in the sweltering heat not wanting to leave his rooms and writes letters to the woman he left behind.
His brothers maid is discovered missing, she is delivered dead on the wagon and recognised by Symon, but she has little thin lines crisscrossing her face made by human hand.
Penelope, a mysterious girl has survived the plague, thanks to being looked after by Symon and she spots another body with the same wounds and grid markings on it. The bodies start to mount up - Someone is experimenting on young women to try to find a plague cure and abducting them from the streets.
Simon and Penelope have to try to find the killer before more murders are committed.

This took me quite a while to get into, but it is a slow burner gradually building suspense. It has clearly been meticulously researched and the end notes give further information and insight into the people mentioned in the story. I was drawn to to the mysterious Penelope, she is is feisty and much more capable that the men of the plague society. My feelings about the characters changed throughout the novel. I felt Symon was irritating and a bit drippy to start with but began to like him as time progressed.
The members of the Society for The Prevention and Cure of Plague are a bunch of bickering unlikeable men and they take it upon themselves to try to solve the murders. They gave some quite funny moments for me.
The story meanders a bit but ramps up towards the end with more tension until the penny drops and Symon finally unmasks the killer. Penelope was my favourite, strong and bolshy she really was born in the wrong century, streetwise and clever she guides Symon but gets herself into trouble in the process.
A good solid piece of historical fiction and very enjoyable!

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The Plague Letters is an entertaining historical murder mystery, featuring plucky heroine Penelope and flawed (but handsome) hero vicar Symon Patrick in the midst of the 1665 Great Plague of London. Some of the plague victim bodies arriving for burial have marks indicating they might have been tortured before death. Penelope and Symon have to work together to solve the mystery and stop the torturer/murderer.

Lots of atmosphere and fun to read. Recommended.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

The book took me back to my school days learning about the black death and historical London, I really enjoyed it. The plot is engaging and written well for its setting in time.
Victims of the plague are being brought to reverend Symon Patrick's parish, while seeing the dead he notices some are not victim to the plague they have been murdered
Well researched and .atmospheric, if you like historical fiction with real elements you will enjoy this.

The plague Letters
By vl valentine
1 April 2021

This book was brilliant made me cry I loved learning about the plague and the disease of London that wipe every one out. How it started and how people lived through the plague some parts of the book are quite disturbing read I enjoyed the book overall.

It's 1665 and the Great Plague is wreaking havoc among the living in Restoration London. As the pandemic starts spreading its deadly effluvia around the city, a deranged crackpot is running amok among the sick and dying hastening their demise through gruesome and barbaric experiments. The plague stories is a dark and chilling tale not for the faint hearted! A rich historical tapestry of a 17th century city devastated by an invisible enemy, a superbly plotted and extremely intriguing read. It is also a uproariously funny portrait of the medical quackery prevalent at the time. This novel would have greatly amused the French playwright Molière!
Full of disgusting smells (your anti-Covid mask might come handy) and teeming with very colorful characters (and ghosts) this Baroque romp through the last major epidemic that devastated London is a very entertaining murder mystery set in a very apocalyptic urban environment sprinkled with lots of English humor and highly disturbing (and also disgusting) images of the grim reaper! To be enjoyed without moderation but on an empty stomach....

Many thanks to Netgalley and Serpents'tail for the opportunity to read this unforgettable novel prior to its release date

It's 1665 and London is under siege from the Great Plague and it is closing in on the Reverend Symon Patrick's parish, bodies are brought to the church to be buried, however Symon notices something strange, women's bodies are appearing and they have mutilated before death, it appears there maybe a killer on the loose.

Although this is full of historical detail I found the characters slightly unbelievable especially Penelope, I can't imagine a female servant speaking to the master as she does and behaving the way she does. It took me a while to get into the novel and I must admit it felt convoluted at times and slightly confusing, I think it needed a bit more direction.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advanced proof copy.

London, 1665. The Great Plague is spreading across London and will ultimately kill one in five of the population. As the death toll rises, it becomes clear that an unknown assailant is performing unsanctioned experiments upon his unwilling plague-ridden subjects...

This book is impeccably researched, painting the picture of Restoration London in authentic and visceral detail. The effects of the plague, both upon it’s victims and society as a whole, are convincingly portrayed – unsurprisingly so, given that the author is a science editor and journalist, covering a number of global disease outbreaks.

Despite its many strengths, however, I found the book something of a struggle to read. I felt that then plot lacked enough threat and forward momentum – beyond the wider context of the plague's unrelenting advance from west to east through London. This isn't a murder mystery as such; there aren't the twists and turns one would expect from the genre. I also found the characters very difficult to admire or engage with. Likeable characters are of course not a mandatory requirement in a novel, but I would have preferred at least one of them to capture my imagination.

Despite my personal misgivings, there is much to admire about this book. Fans of authentic and maturely written historical fiction need look no further.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Viper Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.