Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2016
432 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Blake and Avery return in the stunning sequel to M. J. Carter's lauded fiction debut, The Strangler Vine
London, 1841. Returned from their adventures in India, Jeremiah Blake and William Avery have both had their difficulties adapting to life in Victorian England. Moreover, time and distance have weakened the close bond between them, forged in the jungles of India. Then a shocking series of murders in the world of London's gutter press forces them back together.
The police seem mysteriously unwilling to investigate, then connections emerge between the murdered men and the growing and unpredictable movement demanding the right to vote for all. In the back streets of Drury Lane, among criminals, whores, pornographers, and missionaries, Blake and Avery must race against time to find the culprit before he kills again.
But what if the murderer is being protected by some of the highest powers in the land?
"Starred Review. Carter excels at incorporating the volatile politics of the time into her cleverly constructed plot, which repeatedly confounds readers' expectations while presenting moving scenes of the plight of London's poor reminiscent of Dickens." - Publishers Weekly
"Lacking the freshness and exoticism of the earlier story, this new Avery and Blake episode offers solid yet wordier, more predictable entertainment." - Kirkus
"It is a testament to Carter's skill as both a storyteller and historian that she marshals [immensely] complex material and incorporates it into a murder mystery without allowing the pace to flag. ... a richly detailed and smartly plotted novel that firmly establishes Carter as an authentic voice in the world of historical crime." - The Guardian (UK)
"Carter gives us historical fiction which works on multiple levels, illuminating while entertaining ... pleasurable and impressive to read." - The Independent (UK)
"[A] witty and unfailingly readable novel." - The Spectator (UK)
"The second outing for [Blake and Avery] is even more fun, with the same blend of derring-do and elegant writing. ... Delicious stuff." - The Financial Times (UK)
"While the relationship between the dynamic duo evolves in a nuanced, tender way, the real star of the show in this complex, clever novel is London itself. Against a backdrop of [the] grimy, vibrant metropolis, Carter [offers] readers some valiable history lessons about the politics of the day." - London Evening Standard (UK)
"Blackmail and pornographers, ramshackle rookeries and Chartist radicalism, and, of course, ritualistic murder. These are the rich ingredients of The Infidel Stain." - The Times (UK)
This information about The Infidel Stain was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Roderick Field
Miranda Carter was educated at St. Paul's Girls' School and Exeter College, Oxford. She worked as a publisher and journalist before beginning research on her biography of Anthony Blunt in 1994. She lives in London with her husband and two sons. Anthony Blunt: His Lives (2001), her first book, won the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Orwell Prize, and was shortlisted for many other prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and the Whitbread Biography Award. In the US it was chosen by the New York Times Book Review as one of the seven best books of 2002. Her second book was George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I, which was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Biography) in 2010.
Miranda is married with two sons and lives ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to M.J. Carter's Website
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