Author Spotlight--Kieran Shields

I am always on the hunt for new authors. Sometimes I find them and sometimes I don't. This time, I found one.

Kieran Shields turns in a solid 4 Star Review on both his debut novel and the sequel. If you enjoy a good mystery with great characters, look no further. 

Blurb

Two hundred years after the Salem witch trials, in the summer of 1892, a grisly new witch hunt is beginning....

When newly appointed Deputy Marshal Archie Lean is called in to investigate a prostitute's murder in Portland, Maine, he's surprised to find the body laid out like a pentagram and pinned to the earth with a pitchfork.  He's even more surprised to learn that this death by "sticking" is a traditional method of killing a witch. 
     
Baffled by the ritualized murder scene, Lean secretly enlists the help of historian Helen Prescott and brilliant criminalist Perceval Grey.  Distrusted by officials because of his mixed Abenaki Indian ancestry, Grey is even more notorious for combining modern investigative techniques with an almost eerie perceptiveness.  Although skeptical of each other's methods, together the detectives pursue the killer's trail through postmortems and opium dens, into the spiritualist societies and lunatic asylums of gothic New England.
     
Before the killer closes in on his final victim, Lean and Grey must decipher the secret pattern to these murders--a pattern hidden within the dark history of the Salem witch trials.

Biography

Kieran Shields grew up in Portland, Maine. He graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Maine School of Law. He continues to reside along the coast of Maine with his wife and two children. His first novel,THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS was published by Crown in 2012. Perceval Grey and Archie Lean are back to work in the sequel, A STUDY IN REVENGE in January 2013.

He can be reached on his facebook page: Kieran Shields, Author or via email at [email protected].

A Solid 4 Star Review 

THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS takes place in 1892, two hundred years after the Salem witch trials. Deputy Marshall Archie Lean is in charge of a new investigation. A young woman has been murdered. The floorboards have been removed from a machine shop and laying on the dirt, a pitchfork through her neck, one hand missing and her tongue cut out, is an unknown female.

Enter Perceval Grey, a criminalist who is distrusted by officials because of his mixed Native American heritage. He is summoned by Dr. Steig who was called to the machine shop to identify and determine the cause of death.

Shortly thereafter, more bodies are found and evidence suggests they are tied to the Salem witch trials and to the Black Book, a devils' treatise written by a sorcerer. Someone, man or woman, is attempting to bring back the dead, a one George Burrough, who was hanged in Salem for being a witch.

There are various characters that adorn the pages of THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS and if you don't read carefully you can lose track. There's the mayor, the niece, the lacky and the priest, all woven into the story's threads all leading back to the Salem witch trials and eventually to the murderer.

I enjoyed reading THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS, but did have some difficulty getting involved with the characters. After the first few chapters, my concerns disappeared.

Well written and researched I learned more about the Salem witch trials that I'd thought possible. I commend the author for he is documentation and her ability to weave a story sprinkled with both fact and fiction.

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In many ways, Kieran Shields and A STUDY IN REVENGE reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes series. I hope Shields continues on with his memorable characters.

Blurb

In 1893, a trail of ashen footprints leads Deputy Archie Lean  to the body of a murdered thief. The man’s exposed flesh has been horribly burned and occult symbols mark the nearby walls. Most troubling of all is what Lean witnessed two days earlier: this same man being lowered into his grave without a burn mark on him. 

Once again, the Portland, Maine, police deputy must  turn to the brilliant criminalist Perceval Grey for help. 

Grey, a half-Abenaki Indian detective,  faces problems of  his own after agreeing to an elderly tycoon’s death-bed plea to find his long-lost granddaughter. The dying man’s family is less interested in the missing heiress than with the recent theft of an obscure heirloom carved with curious symbols. As the family’s shadowy history is revealed, the three mysteries intersect to draw Lean and Grey  into a maze of murder, deceit, and revenge. Each deadly new clue points toward  an even greater puzzle—one that will pit Grey against a devious murderer in a  race to unlock an ancient and mysterious power.

Another Solid 4 Star Amazon Review

After reading Shields' novel, THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS, last year, I was stoked to discover the second in the series was now available. Shields' writing is smooth, easy to read, yet complex enough to keep you thinking, so I was excited to delve back into the lives of Perceval Gray and Archie Lean.

I was not disappointed. I inhaled the book, digested the incredibly complex theme, and reveled in the tight wrap-up of the story. I enjoyed the author's depiction of the criminal underclass, their fears and prejudices. I loved the characters, finding them believable and quirky. But most of all, I reveled in the atmosphere that surrounds the characters and plot. Steamy, almost punky, and thoroughly enjoyable.

I cannot wait for the third book in the series.

Enjoy!

(((hugs)))

Louann

 

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