The Alchemist in the Shadows
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Welcome to Paris, in 1633, where dragons menace the realm.
Cardinal Richelieu, the most powerful and most feared man in France, is on his guard. He knows France is under threat, and that a secret society known as the Black Claw is conspiring against him from the heart of the greatest courts in Europe. They will strike from the shadows, and when they do the blow will be both terrible and deadly.
To counter the threat, Richelieu has put his most trusted men into play: the Cardinal's Blades, led by Captain la Fargue. Six men and a woman, all of exceptional abilities and all ready to risk their lives on his command. They have saved France before, and the Cardinal is relying on them to do it again.
So when la Fargue hears from a beautiful, infamous, deadly Italian spy claiming to have valuable information, he has to listen ... and when La Donna demands Cardinal Richelieu's protection before she will talk, la Fargue is even prepared to consider it. Because La Donna can name their enemy. It's a man as elusive as he is manipulative, as subtle as Richelieu himself, an exceptionally dangerous adversary: the Alchemist in the shadows ...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This deeply satisfying sequel to 2010's The Cardinal's Blades sends Capt. La Fargue, half-dragon Saint-Lucq, and the rest of the elite team serving Cardinal Richelieu into a complex dance of court intrigue, plots, counterplots, draconic magic, and old enmities renewed. A beautiful Italian spy known only as La Donna offers information about a plot against the French throne, in exchange for the cardinal's protection from both the law and the drac mercenaries of the Spanish secret society the Black Claw. Pevel lets each of his fascinating characters shine in turn while weaving them together in a rich plot with just the right mix of inevitability and surprise. The storytelling is wonderful, but some of the overall feel of this magical alternate Paris has unfortunately gotten lost, and while fans of the first book will enjoy this installment, new readers will struggle to catch up.