What readers think of Heresy, plus links to write your own review.

Heresy is an absolutely fascinating book! It is about the historical figure, Giordano Bruno, and his friend, Sir Philip Sidney, a poet. Bruno, a philosopher and sometime monk, goes to Oxford in 1583 for a philosophical discourse, and soon is caught up in murder and intrigue. Many interesting facts about the late middle ages, as they turn into the Renaissance and the Reformation, are explored. the characters are very well developed, the story is exciting, and the mystery is a winner! Read this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. With Christmas things to do, I still made sure I found the time to read this, it moved along quickly and kept me interested with the twists. Hard to predict the outcome. I will read more from the author.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author did a very good job developing the characters and this kept the plot interesting and mysterious. I was not able to predict the ending. Anyone who enjoys mysteries will enjoy reading Heresy.

I am fond of historical mysteries. The book Heresy by S. J. Parris is reminiscent of the books of C. J. Sansom (Dissolution, etc.) and was well researched and interesting. It takes place during the reign of Elizabeth I and involves her spymaster Walsingham. There are a series of murders at Oxford University that must be solved by the main character, based on the real life person of Giordano Bruno. The story dragged in a few places where it became a little too scholarly, but it was mostly fast paced and entertaining.

This book reminds me of other historical fiction/mystery novels and is a good representative of the genre. Plot is surprisingly good, and the tale moves along well.

Soon after his arrival at Oxford in 1583, former monk Giordano Bruno begins wondering whom he can really trust. This sense of unease permeates the novel, keeping the reader guessing along with Bruno as he attempts to identify who is responsible for the sudden deaths of several Oxford fellows. The further you read, the faster you want to turn the pages. One of my favorite lines is "You played your part very well, Bruno, I never suspected you. But then you never suspected me, did you?"

Heresy is a new book in the realm of Medieval whodunits, with something for every mystery reader: spies, cryptic texts and codes, grisly murders and even a little romance.

While at times it moves rather slowly, with a lot of historical detail & debate thrown in, at the last part of the book the action picks up, the story unravels and all is made known. Throughout, the author's writing is very good, although I think she spent more time on plot rather than on her characters.

My understanding is that this is the first of a planned series, and hopefully the author will flesh out the ongoing characters a bit more. However, I liked this book, both for plot and writing. I'd recommend it to people who like CJ Sansom's Tudor era-based books, and to those who like historical mysteries in general, and people interested in the history of religion in England and Europe during the Tudor period.

S.J. Parris takes what little is known about Giordano Bruno and turns out a taut, excellent well written mystery novel. Bruno's search for the killer keeps a reader turning the pages. Parris not only know her characters well, but she understands the culture, morals and religious problems of 1583 Oxford and England.