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Company of Liars
 
 
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Company of Liars (Hardcover)

by Karen Maitland (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Michael Joseph (31 Jan 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0718153227
  • ISBN-13: 978-0718153229
  • Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.8 x 4.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 25,794 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Daily Express
'A richly evocative page-turner which brings to life a lost and terrible period of British history, with a disturbing final twist worthy of a master of the spine-tingler, such as Henry James'

Mirror
'Compelling and highly atmospheric'

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Company of Liars
88% buy the item featured on this page:
Company of Liars 4.2 out of 5 stars (37)
The Seance
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The Gargoyle
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Customer Reviews

37 Reviews
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Truth Will Out, 25 Feb 2008
If the plague ever hits your home town and you have to make a dash for safety, be very careful who you choose as companions. This riveting medieval who (or what) dunnit leads you along the not so safe path away from the ravages of the Black Death into the clutches of a mysterious killer. Keeping you company are a motley crew including conjurers, musicians and a secretive dealer in Holy Relics, not to mention a very scary rune reader that almost put me off children forever. As they flee for their lives, they also flee from the lies on which those lives have been built to face the brutal and often fatal consequences of truth. The detail is superb, the research spot on and the atmosphere suitably grim. There is little in the way of mercy, respite or humour, so be ready for a colourful journey into the one of the darker periods of English history.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite entertainment, 16 May 2009
By Didier (Ghent, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Company of Liars (Paperback)
Historical novels are the love of my life (apart from my wife and kids that is), and this is very probably one of the very best I've ever read.

The year is 1348, when the plague laid most of Europe waste. Camelot is a seller of fake relics, and when the plague reaches England he decides to try and outrun it, heading north. Along the way, he picks up other misfits until they make up a company of nine: the Venetian musician Rodrigo and his pupil Jofre, the one-armed storyteller Cygnus, the painter Osmond and his wife Adela who is with child, the conjuror Zophiel, and the midwife Pleasance who has a remarkable, white-haired child with her: Narigorm. Together they set out trying to outrun the plague.

What happens next is an incredibly engrossing story, told with gusto. This is one of those novels that keep you up at night, unable to stop reading, eager to know what'll happen next. England during the plague is described in such telling and colourful details that the place comes alive, and you cannot help but feel 'this is surely how it must have felt like in reality'. England in the grip of the plague swiftly descends into chaos, and lawlessness becomes the rule. And through this bleak landscape, rain constantly pouring down, the nine companions trudge on and slowly get to know each other better.

Before long it becomes clear that each of them has a secret to hide, and none of them is what they make out to be. All have have been beaten down and trodden upon by life's mishaps, and - sometimes for the best of reasons or quite simply because they had no other choice - are now living a lie, haunted by their past.

550 pages of superb entertainment for the price of barely two packs of cigarettes, what are you waiting for?
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully satisfying read...., 5 Feb 2008
This book is just the ticket for anyone who's interested in matters medieval. The author clearly knows her stuff and imbues her story of characters all fleeing from the plague and wanting to find something at the end of their journey with a sense of menace and chill. Someone is killing off the characters and it isn't the pestilence. The travellers are a mixed bunch and all is not what it seems at any point in the narrative. There are clues and hints but the full force of the revelations is only grasped towards the end. There are elements of the supernatural and of fairy tales which go to thicken this well-written and fascinating story. Terrific stuff.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A thoroughly unpleasant book
I was deceived by the blurb advertising this book. It turned out to have little relevance to the plague and could have been written about any period of time where a random... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Book Worm

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
This is a good read, but I'm surprised so many people have given it 5 stars. The sense of movement and characterisation are good. Read more
Published 19 days ago by D. J. Williams

3.0 out of 5 stars COmpany of Liars an enjoyable read
This was an enjoyable read. I was attracted to the book by its unusual historical setting ( a great plague) but I was dissapointed that this was very sidelined in the story... Read more
Published 21 days ago by Dr. Francoise Lyons

2.0 out of 5 stars It was an effort to read!
Didn't really get into this. Found it hard work all the way through. Very dark story with characters that were difficult to like. Not one I'd ever recommend.
Published 29 days ago by S. Marsden

5.0 out of 5 stars Just couldn't put this down.
I loved every minute of this book. It is like a fairy tale for grown-ups! The journey of Camelot cross country to avoid the plague, accompanied by various other travellers for... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
This is an excellent book, well written, with fascinating characters and fiendishly clever plot, which keeps you guessing right up to the end, before a wicked sting in the tale... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. P. Dixon

5.0 out of 5 stars life-long bibliophile
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It's England, 1348, and the shadow of the plague has become a terrible reality. Read more
Published 1 month ago by B. K. M. Ac

5.0 out of 5 stars History and great fiction collide
A synopsis of this book was given away free by the Times and I read it and was very impressed; so I bought the book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bill Mcaneny

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I have read in AGES!
I found this book on a shelf in my house, unread, forgotten and bought by another member of my family ages ago. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Feather Dancer

3.0 out of 5 stars Travellers beware!
The concept of the story was great, set in a turbulent, violent and frightening times a group of travellers are drawn together for company as they seek to escape the plague - but... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. J. Parsons

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