Better than the Last: Prophecy

It's always a good feeling when you get to the second book in a new series, and you're able to say at the end of it, "yep, I'm sticking with this one." That's the case for me and Giordano Bruno, the heretic-cum-detective of S.J. Parris's historical mysteries. In Prophecy, there's a smooth continuation of the underlying tensions of religious conflict in Elizabethan England while also giving us a fresh setting away from Oxford (where the first book is set) that puts us right in the middle of the royal court and Queen Elizabeth's fascination with the historical figure of John Dee and all manner of occult knowledge. The promise of occultism with historical mystery is a heady concoction that I will never cease to pick up, and Parris treats it beautifully here.

What really deserves high marks in this book is how Parris treats historical interest in occultism. It's not all black-and-white, with some people seeing this as the future, others seeking delusions of grandeur and the secrets of the universe and divinity, and others who are so staunchly Christian that the mere thought of pre-Christian knowledge sets them to thoughts of burning witches. That kind of complex landscape is as true and accurate as it can get, and it showcases that Parris knows his stuff and can work with it to create a truly intriguing mystery.

The cast of characters in this book, as in the last one, are really well-developed and fleshed out, with no chance that you'll mistake one character for the other. They and their motivations are all complex, with no stock characters among them who are easy to peg as guilty, innocent, or any number of things inbetween. And Bruno weaves through them with a sly wit and social grace that is eminently endearing - he's exactly the kind of historical detective that you root for and can easily identify with as someone who is supremely smart but spends most of his time in the dark among people he doesn't trust, and can outmaneuver even the most cunning villains. He is unpredictably indestructible, and that gets a cheer out of me every time.

With all the books that leave me wanting more lately, it's satisfying to know that I can come to Bruno's adventures with a sense of hope and optimism that good storytelling is not yet dead. And also, the narrator for the audio books is just perfect.

K. Rating: 4/5