From Hell, Hull and Halifax, may the Good Lord deliver us.

In 1849, Hull is a city forgotten and abandoned; in the grip of a cholera outbreak that sees its poorest citizens cut down by the cartload.

Into this world of flame and grief comes Meshach Stone, a former soldier, lost upon his way. He's been hired as bodyguard by a Canadian academic hunting for the bones of the apostle Simon the Zealot, rumoured to lie somewhere in Lincolnshire.

Stone can't see why ancient bones are of interest in a world full of them...but then a woman he briefly loved is killed. As he investigates he realises that she is just one of many... and that some deaths cry out for vengeance.

From the twisted imagination of David Mark, author of the McAvoy series, THE ZEALOT'S BONES is historical crime with a difference.

About the Author

D.M. Mark is the historical alter ego of David Mark, who was a crime journalist before becoming a novelist. He has written six novels in the McAvoy series: Dark Winter, Original Skin, Sorrow Bound, Taking Pity, Dead Pretty and Cruel Mercy, as well as two McAvoy novellas, A Bad Death and Fire of Lies, which are available in ebook. Dark Winter was selected for the Harrogate New Blood panel and was a Richard & Judy pick and a Sunday Times bestseller. The Zealot's Bones is his first historical crime novel. He chose to delve into the past after deciding that some stories served up by his twisted imagination are just too disturbing to feature in the present.

He lives in East Yorkshire and you can find him on Twitter @davidmarkwriter.

Reviews
Mark brings some wonderful characterisation, particularly in the minor roles...His writing is quite brilliant * Crime Review *
This novel is not for the faint-hearted, with more than a slice of Gothic horror about it, blended skilfully with all essential elements of a traditional crime thriller...Blood, gore, guts, bones, rats, asylums, seances - they're all here in this viscerally, but superbly descriptive book. * Historia *
The Zealot's Bones is a brilliant and darkly compelling novel. D.M Mark is a refreshingly original voice in historical crime fiction. -- S D Sykes, author of Plague Land
[An] inventive, spiky book...a wonderful read * The Times *
A luridly inventive and enjoyable Gothic thriller * The Sunday Times historical fiction books of the year *



Book Information
ISBN 9781444798197
Author D.M. Mark
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Mulholland Books
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 466g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 160mm * 25mm