The City of Tears by Kate Mosse.
The City of Tears - Book 2 - Paris, August 1572 Minou Joubert and her family are in Paris for a Royal Wedding, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and the Huguenot King of Navarre intended to bring peace to France after a decade of religious wars. So too is their oldest enemy, Vidal, still in pursuit of a relic that will change the course of history. But within days of the marriage, thousands will lie dead in the streets and Minou’s beloved family will be scattered to the four winds and one of her beloved children will have disappeared without trace . . . A breath-taking novel of revenge, persecution and loss, sweeping from Paris and Chartres to the City of Tears itself – the great refugee city of Amsterdam – this is a story of one family’s fight to stay together, to survive and to find each other, against the devastating tides of history . . .
In 1572 Minou Joubert and her family travel to Paris to
witness the marriage of Marguerite de Valois, and Henry III of Navarre. While
the family are in Paris, they realise their old enemy Vidal is also there.
During the festivities thousands of Huguenots are killed during the St
Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, two days after the attempted assignation of Admiral
Gaspard de Coligny, the military and political leader of the Huguenots. Just
before the massacre takes place, Marta – the young
daughter of Minou and Piet – decides to sneak out into the city alone. During
the hysteria and murder, she gets lost. Unable to find their daughter and with danger
getting closer and closer, the family are forced to flee to Amsterdam to ensure
the safety of their remaining child and each other. After the disappearance of
their daughter and the decisions they had to make, Minou and Piet’s
relationship is changed. Years later, when a young woman rumoured to be their
beloved daughter surfaces in Paris, Minou and Piet travel back to see if it is indeed
her. But with Vidal and danger threatening them around every turn, will they
survive, or will there be yet more tragedy for this family?
This was my first Kate Mosse book and wow, the praise for this
author is very well deserved. The City of Tears was such a page-turner, I
struggled to put it down! The author weaves a blend of fiction and real
historic events beautifully, it is extremely well researched. The story was so
vivid, I felt as though I was there. The Religious intolerance, bloodshed and
mass hysteria of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day sounded utterly
terrifying, no one was exempt from the horror of it, even children. Kate Mosse
throws everything at this family, just when you think they can’t take anymore,
they suffer yet more tragedy.
I have not yet read the previous book, The Burning Chambers,
but The City of Tears is very much a standalone book, with just enough clear
references to the past so that I knew what had come before. I am intrigued and
excited to read the next book in the series as The City of Tears ended on a bit
of a cliff-hanger. Kate Mosse has gained a new fan!
The City of Tears is out now, you can get your own copy here You can also buy book one in the series, The Burning Chambers here
* This book was gifted in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Random Things Tours.
Meet the author:
Kate Mosse is a number one international bestselling novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer. The author of eight novels and short story collections – including the multimillionselling Languedoc Trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel) and Gothic fiction The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist’s Daughter, which she is adapting for the stage – her books have been translated into thirty-eight languages and published in more than forty countries. She is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and a regular interviewer for theatre & fiction events. Kate divides her time between Chichester in West Sussex and Carcassonne in south-west France.
www.katemosse.co.uk | Twitter: @katemosse | Instagram: @katemossewriter | Facebook: KateMosseAuthor
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