I am very lucky to be chosen to review this book for library thing.

If you are looking for a histroical thriller detective series this is the book for you. Paul has written a thriller detective story that not only has been set in 1665 around the time of the plague, he has added an interest of a women Liz of whom he would love to court.

But things go wrong when a man dies at the dinner table in her own house from the plague and Harry even though working for the king did not want to see Liz and her father locked up in their own house for months with red paint on their door letting everyone know they may be all infected. The plague had reached town. So Harry Lytle helped get rid of the body and hoped no one had seen what he had done and then left Liz to go on his way and complete his duties for the king with his partner dowling.

This book has twists and turns that i did not expect which is good as it was not predictable. Paul was able to detail the setting, the characters and time very well, obivously knowing the era. I was able to imagine the characters, the killings and the visual images of the symptoms of the plague.

Harry has been given a job to work out who murdered the Earl of St Albans but as his detective work unfolds and he gets more involved then he may have thought, risking his own life and the ones he cares for as he gets closer to discovering the truth.

I took a little while to get into the book which was my own fault, not pauls as it was the first historical book i had read for a very long time, and onced i got used to the way the characters spoke i flew through the book and wanted to know more as i couldnt put the book down. I loved the way paul descibed the characters Dowling, Jane and Harry and i felt an attachment to their lifes plus i wanted to know what happened to the Earl.

The book flowed really well and paul didnt miss a beat, every was linking very well. Even though i hadnt read the first book in the series, this book could be a stand alone book, it's that good. After reading a plague of sinners i do find myself wanting to know more about the sweet smell of decay and other adventures Harry and Dowling have.

While also hoping that paul writes book three of the series as i want to know what happens to him and a certain lady. Thanks paul. ( )

I thought this book was so good (the second by the author) that I immediately got the first book which I am now half way through!
I love Harry Lytle and his companion David Dowling the butcher,not sure I would like to buy anything from him though when he describes wiping his hands on his trousers even after dissecting a human corpse!
This is London 1665 and I am equally sure that I wouldn't have liked living there in those times,While the Great Plague is raging all around them they are investigating the murder of Thomas Wharton the Earl of St Albans,the book describes in great detail how people lived at that time and how they dealt with the plague.
The Earl is found naked and hanging from a rope and his head had been set on fire! Lord Arlington orders Harry and Davy to find the killer or killers as most of his other men have left London to escape the plague. Every time Harry comes in contact with someone he watches to see if they are sweating or scratching and wondering if they have the plague! His own servant Jane succombes to it and he takes care of her himself.
Harry and Davy do a fair amount of travelling around London in their investigations and are frequently attacked by various villains in their efforts to find the killer or killers. It was so interesting - to me anyway to read about how they spoke and what they ate and how they lived in those times and how they attempted to deal with the plague. I hope the author Paul Lawrence writes another book very soon as I really like Harry and Davy! ( )