An Instance of the Fingerpost: Summary and book reviews of An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears, plus links to an excerpt from An Instance of the Fingerpost and a biography of Iain Pears.

We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in suspicious circumstances. A young woman is accused of his murder. We hear the story of the death from four witnesses: an Italian physician intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; the son of an alleged Royalist traitor; a master cryptographer who has worked for both Cromwell and the king; and a renowned Oxford antiquarian. Each tells his own version of what happened. Only one reveals the extraordinary truth. With rights sold for record-breaking sums around the world, An Instance of the Fingerpost is destined to become a major international publishing event. Deserving of comparison to the works of John Fowles and Umberto Eco, Iain Pears's novel is an ingenious tour de force: an utterly compelling historical mystery with a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing until the very last page.

Media Reviews

The Sunday Times London This is a novel that combines the simple pleasures of Agatha Christie with the intellectual subtlety of Umberto Eco. It is a landmark in the genre... Don't let it pass by unread.   Publishers Weekly An absorbing, macabre tale of murder, politics, faith and betrayal.   Kirkus Reviews Triumphant...Knocks every speck of dust from the historical mystery. P.D. James A fictional tour de force which combines erudition with mystery.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Linda.s
Overkill!
Plod, slog, trudge your way through this if you can. I forced myself to continue through 2 sections before giving up. Don't waste your time. (I'm anxious to see how many of my book club will have read more than I.)

Rated of 5 by Joe Rousmaniere
The endless endless story
What starts off well with a murder and plenty of period color slowly descends into a tedious mess of unsympathetic characters who are impossible to keep track of and subplots which induce headaches. Described to me as the greatest historical novel...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Paul Collins
A brilliant book! I was entranced by this superbly written detective book... I simply couldn't put it down.

Rated of 5 by Anonymous
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Do not cudgel your mind trying to solve it; it's not that kind of mystery novel. Just read it for the pleasure of it. The author evokes early Restoration England well while using modern language. He creates vivid...   Read More

Rated of 5 by alice wonderland
Still reading, avidly!

Rated of 5 by Paul Penfold
This book is stunning. I will not attemt to describe what goes except to say that if you want a thriller that twists and turns and has your head in a spin look no further. Pears has unlocked a passion for reading that I was not aware of and an...   Read More

...1 More Reader Reviews

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Books with similar themes

• Mysteries
  
• Intellectual Mysteries/Thrillers
  
• UK (Britain) & Ireland 
  
• 17th Century or Earlier