The Sign of the Gallows

by Susanna Calkins

Overview

A dead man at a crossroads. A secret message. A ring with a warning about death . . . Printer's apprentice Lucy Campion is caught up in a strange and puzzling murder case in this twisty historical mystery set in seventeenth-century London.

London, 1667. On her way to a new market to peddle her True Accounts and Strange News, printer's apprentice Lucy Campion quickly regrets her decision to take the northwestern road. Dark and desolate, the path leads her to the crossroads - and to the old hanging tree. She doesn't believe in ghosts, but she's not sure ghosts don't believe in her.

But before she even reaches the crossroads, she's knocked off her feet by two men in a hurry. What were they running from? To her dismay, she soon discovers for herself: there, dangling from the tree, is the body of a man.

Did he commit self-murder, or is there something darker afoot? The more Lucy learns, the more determined she is to uncover the truth. But this time, even the help and protection of magistrate's son Adam, and steadfast Constable Duncan, may not be enough to keep her safe from harm . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448308699
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	06/28/2022
Series:	Lucy Campion Series , #5
Edition description:	Main - Large Print
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.58(h) x 1.18(d)

About the Author

Susanna Calkins is the author of the award-winning Lucy Campion mystery series, set in seventeenth century London, and the Speakeasy mysteries, set in Prohibition-era Chicago. She has a PhD in history and works at Northwestern University. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she currently lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two sons.

Editorial Reviews

A crisply written, cleverly plotted, and nicely detailed historical mystery, with a lively heroine and a satisfying ending

Booklist

Calkins is an excellent storyteller and draws the reader into Lucy's world effortlessly ... This is a wonderful series, a really wonderful array of characters, and best of all a great mystery at the center of things

Aunt Agatha's Bookstore

An involving tale. Solid historical mystery, with intriguing hints about the future

Booklist on A Death Along the River Fleet

Absorbing . . . Calkins' tantalizing clues and rich historical details depicting everyday life and class differences draw readers into the seventeenth century

Booklist on The Masque of a Murderer

Calkins is an excellent storyteller and draws the reader into Lucy's world effortlessly ... This is a wonderful series, a really wonderful array of characters, and best of all a great mystery at the center of things

A crisply written, cleverly plotted, and nicely detailed historical mystery, with a lively heroine and a satisfying ending

Booklist

02/01/2021

Set in 1667 London, Agatha finalist Calkins’s diverting fifth Lucy Campion mystery (after 2016’s A Death Along the River Fleet) finds Lucy, a servant turned printer’s apprentice, horrified to discover a dead man hanging from a tree at a crossroads. Whether the man was murdered or committed suicide piques Lucy’s curiosity, as does the strange behavior of two rough men she encounters near the tree. Constable Duncan and Adam Hargrave, a magistrate’s son, join Lucy in a search for answers after she learns that a murder in a tavern has set in motion a relentless quest for justice. The romantic triangle that develops with Duncan and Hargrave leads to exchanges that are more awkward than pulse-racing. Far more enticing is the role of a series of messages requiring a cipher to comprehend. Calkins makes fine use of advances in mathematics and cryptography of this period, while also drawing in the chaos of the Great Fire and plague in London as agents of change in society. For anyone interested in 17th-century England, this mystery is a treat. Agent: David Hale Smith, InkWell Management. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Calkins makes fine use of advances in mathematics and cryptography of this period, while also drawing in the chaos of the Great Fire and plague in London as agents of change in society. For anyone interested in 17th-century England, this mystery is a treat. Publishers Weekly



A crisply written, cleverly plotted, and nicely detailed historical mystery, with a lively heroine and a satisfying ending. Booklist

From the Publisher

Absorbing . . . Calkins' tantalizing clues and rich historical details depicting everyday life and class differences draw readers into the seventeenth century

null Booklist on The Masque of a Murderer

An involving tale. Solid historical mystery, with intriguing hints about the future

null Booklist on A Death Along the River Fleet

2020-11-18
In 1667, London may be recovering from the plague and the Great Fire, but murder never goes away.

Lucy Campion, former chambermaid to Magistrate Hargrave and now a printer’s apprentice, is selling her wares when she’s knocked down by two men. Moving on, she comes upon a man hanging from a crossroads tree. Hoping to help identify him, she removes an unusual ring and chain from his neck, hiding them and herself when the pair return to rob the corpse. Clever, enterprising Lucy has come far from her humble roots to solve several murders, often with the help of Constable Duncan, who loves her, and Adam Hargrave, her former employer’s son, whom she loves. The local doctor suspects murder, but the best clue may be a coded message found on the body. Lucy seeks help from the magistrate, who introduces her to professor Neville Wallace, an authority on ciphers. Wallace thinks the cipher may have been created by his former pupil Lucretia de Witte but claims not to have the key; his wife intimates that he had an adulterous relationship with Lucretia. A visit to Lucretia reveals a portrait of her murdered brother wearing the ring Lucy found. Lucy’s convinced that the cipher holds the key to the mystery, which has morphed into a much wider investigation.

Lavish period detail, romantic tension, and a complex puzzle make the heroine’s fifth adventure one of her best.

Kirkus Reviews