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The Beloved Dead: Book summary and reviews of The Beloved Dead by Tony Hays

The Beloved Dead

An Arthurian Mystery

by Tony Hays

The Beloved Dead by Tony Hays X
The Beloved Dead by Tony Hays
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  • Published Mar 2011
    400 pages
    Genre: Historical Fiction

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Book Summary

Malgwyn ap Cuneglas was one of King Arthur's earliest companions and now is his most trusted counselor. Despite the malice of his enemies, and the machinations of the still powerful druids who mightily resist him, Malgwyn knows that Arthur will stop at nothing in his efforts to lead his people to Christ and help to bring civil law and justice to a people who have known little such.

To consolidate his power, Arthur decides that it is time to take a noble wife. But in this Malgwyn knows his lord's sorrow, for Arthur must set aside his love, Guinevere, because he believes that the scandal surrounding their affair has tainted her for the crown. Malgwyn is sent north to fetch the young woman who is to be Arthur's bride. The way is fraught with tension for there are forces who would not see the king wed. Malgwyn discovers a string of killings of young virginal women who are slaughtered in a horrific manner - not unlike a ritual sacrifice - and is left with a question that he must answer quickly. Are these murders portents of the gods taking vengeance on the intrusion of a new faith? Or are mortal men plotting to unseat the king?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Both Arthur fans and historical whodunit devotees will be more than satisfied." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. Hayes has captured the Arthurian legend and made it his own. Many complex plot threads and believable characters make this a series to be savored by historical mystery and Arthurian fiction fans." - Library Journal

"Forget those romantic portraits of Camelot. Hays's third Arthurian tale paints a bleak picture of post-Roman Britain that pleases as a mystery and intrigues as history." - Kirkus Reviews

This information about The Beloved Dead was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Tony Hays Author Biography

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Tony has literally worn all those hats during his life.

No stranger to government service, Tony served as a nuclear, biological, and chemical defense specialist with the Tennessee Army National Guard.  He has visited some 30 countries, living in six -- Japan, Kuwait, Poland, the Marshall Islands, Macedonia, and England.  Periodically Tony  has worked with American intelligence overseas in both active and supporting roles.  During his tenure in the Middle East, he cultivated sources among members of Hezbollah and actually attended a Spring 1997 fundraiser for the Taliban. He also served as the founding chairperson of the Overseas Security Advisory Council--Kuwait, a non-profit, State Department-...

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