Plague and Fire - The Complete Series — C.C. Humphreys

Read the full tale of the highwayman Captain Coke, the thief-taker Pitman and the actress Sarah Chalker as they fight the evil Fifth Monarchists – fanatics, killers, fundamentalists – through two of the greatest cataclysms in England's history: The Great Plague and Great Fire of London!It begins with PLAGUE…Winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel from the Canadian Crime Writers Association.1665. On a dark road outside London, a highwayman stumbles upon slaughter...As plague grips the city, can the uneasy alliance of a thief, a thief-taker and an actress catch a serial killer?'A rich and addictive read, ideal for fans of historical fiction.' Publisher's Weekly'With Kings and cripples, rats and rotters, highwaymen and loose women, you'd never think a lethal virus could be so much fun.' Sunday Sport UK'Fast, exciting historical adventure, to be read in huge gulps. A runaway carriage of a book.' Conn Iggulden, author of War of the Roses'It's a brilliant depiction of seventeenth century London in all its glory and grime against the grim backdrop of the eponymous plague. A great read all round, and for my money Chris is better than Sansom and more than deserves equal success.' Simon Scarrow, Author of Centurion.'PLAGUE is one of those books where you turn the last page and wish there were more. The very best of history, mystery, romance and sheer fun. (Well, and a few rats...) London itself is as vivid a character as the actors, adventurers and intriguers who people its all-too-few pages.' Diana GabaldonAnd continues through 1666 with FIRE… For the Devil has not yet had his due666 is the number of the Beast, this the year foretold when Christ will return. To slay the Devil. To bring the New Jerusalem. A gang of fanatics – the Saints -  choose to hasten that prophesied day. They will kidnap, rape, murder. Above all, they will kill a king. For in the renegade Captain Blood they have the perfect assassin.Two men - the highwayman William Coke and the thief-taker Pitman - are recruited to stop them. Both fall victim to the Saint's foul plots. All seems lost… Yet in the early hours of September 2nd, 1666, something starts that will overtake them all – fanatics, princes, soldiers and fops, actresses and holy murderers. For the year of the Beast is three quarters done and the Devil has not yet had his due.London is a tinder box. Politically, sexually, religiously. Literally. And it is about to burn.'…in amongst all the breathless adventure and dangerous acts. Humphreys offers up an absorbing and well-wrought blend of heroism and villainy in a story that is ultimately about the danger of unchecked fanaticism and the capacity of bravery to overcome. Plus — it's a lot of fun.'- Toronto Star'The brilliance of Fire is that while the villains and their motives are known, the rest of the plot is slowly revealed in an engrossing thriller that shifts from a riverside theatre to the cramped confines of a 17th-century warship and finally to the congested parishes of London.'- Macleans For the Jack Absolute novels:'C.C. Humphreys has created the finest series of historical novels since Patrick O'Brian.'- The Good Book Guide UK