Cardinal Black

by Robert McCammon

Overview

December 1703 finds Berry Grigsby fallen victim to Professor Fell's involuntary drug experiments. Her mind is quickly deteriorating under the drug's influence, and the only way to save her is a potion book that was stolen in an attack on the village orchestrated by a mysterious madman going by the name Cardinal Black.

Matthew Corbett has volunteered to travel with Julian Devane, a self-proclaimed "fool and bad man" in the employ of Professor Fell, to hunt down the potion book. They follow the trail to London, where the book will be sold at a secret auction. Matthew and Julian manage to secure a seat at the auction by masquerading as respected and feared underground operatives, but to prevail in their high-stakes mission, they will require help from a very unlikely source. Even if they are successful, their race to save Berry Grigsby will leave a trail of destruction in its wake.

Cardinal Black is another extraordinary achievement from one of America's most skilled authors, and it features some of the most memorable, compelling, and chilling characters in the Matthew Corbett series to date, each with their own competing agendas. This masterful historical adventure is perfectly balanced for long-time fans of the series and new readers alike who are now joining the adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941971147
Publisher:	Lividian Publications
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Series:	Matthew Corbett Novels
Pages:	354
Sales rank:	152,912
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.79(d)

Editorial Reviews

02/25/2019

Set in 1703, McCammon’s relentlessly paced seventh novel featuring “problem-solver” Matthew Corbett picks up the plot threads left untied at the end of 2016’s Freedom of the Mask with Matthew’s sweetheart, Berry Grigsby, under the influence of a drug that threatens to destroy her mind if an antidote isn’t administered. Matthew teams with Julian Devane, an assassin associate of his nemesis, Professor Fell, and the two race to retrieve the book of chemical and botanical potions stolen from the professor that can save Berry. In no time the two are embroiled in intrigues in the London underworld involving a rogue admiral of the Royal Navy, a pair of Prussian operatives, a gothic femme fatale outfitted with talons, and the titular infernal villain, who’s auctioning the book to a cabal of international villains. As usual, McCammon dazzles the reader with gritty historical detail, vivid local color, and a cast of memorable grotesques, among them the Owl, who can literally watch his own back by disjointing his neck. Series fans will find this entry a thoroughly enjoyable extension of McCammon’s evolving period epic. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly