X-Book

The Bone Fire

The Oswald de Lacy Medieval Murders (Book 4)

Click Buy to Log in and see personalised pricing.

Send as a gift Get in the xigxag app
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

The brand new Oswald de Lacy thriller, for fans of C.J. Sansom, Minette Walters and S.J. Parris.

A Publishers Weekly Book of the Year!

'Living legends Andrew Taylor and Susanna Gregory; bestselling phenomena SJ Parris and CJ Sansom... a league of extraordinary resurrectionists. If you love their books, I invite you to visit fourteenth-century England, with SD Sykes ... Savour the company of young Oswald de Lacy, among the most appealing historical sleuths currently on the hunt.' A.J. Finn

'A fascinating glimpse of an almost forgotten period of history.' Andrew Taylor

'Sykes give it (plague) a life and character of its own - swift, remorseless and deadly' New York Times

***

1361. Plague has returned to England - thirteen years after the devastation of The Black Death.

As destruction advances towards his estate in Kent, Oswald de Lacy leads his family to the safety of a remote castle in the marshes - where his friend Godfrey is preparing a fortress to survive the coming disaster.

The rules are clear: once the de Lacys and other guests are inside the castle the portcullis will be lowered and no-one permitted to enter or leave until the Pestilence has passed.

And then a murderer strikes.

Oswald is confronted with a stark choice - leave and face the ravages of the plague, or stay and place his family at the mercy of a brutal killer. With word of his skills as an investigator preceding him, it falls to Oswald to unmask the murderer in their midst. Host, guest, or servant - everyone is a suspect in this poisoned refuge of secrets, deceit and malice.

(P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

An intriguing and vivid addition to an increasingly interesting series, and a fascinating glimpse of an almost forgotten period of history.
Andrew Taylor
Living legends Andrew Taylor and Susanna Gregory; bestselling phenomena SJ Parris and CJ Sansom... a league of extraordinary resurrectionists. If you love their books, I invite you to visit fourteenth-century England, with SD Sykes ... Savour the company of young Oswald de Lacy, among the most appealing historical sleuths currently on the hunt.
A.J. Finn
Chilling and evocative. This book will have you gripped from the first page to the last
Tracy Borman
If you love C.J. Sansom, you have to read S.D. Sykes. Her Oswald de Lacy series just gets better and better. The Bone Fire is a wonderfully claustrophobic and compelling mystery, filled with clever twists, fascinating characters and flashes of Sykes's sly wit. Utterly immersive, utterly gripping historical crime at its very, very best.
Antonia Hodgson
An ingenious, twisty plot with memorable characters in an intriguing siege narrative
Rebecca Mascull
Sykes' fourth is anchored in a grimly evocative first-person narrative reminiscent of Poe, and there's a whodunit to boot.
Kirkus
Neatly done, crisply-paced historical... written with a fine sense of place and time
Shots Magazine
Sykes effectively uses her diligent research in the service of a memorable plot. This outing reinforces her place in the historical mystery genre's top ranks.
Publishers Weekly
The setting is fantastic [...] builds to a satisfyingly twisty climax
The Times
SD Sykes proves that she is not only on top of her historical fiction game but is also a mistress of the detective genre
Historia Magazine
Enjoyable 'locked castle' mystery
The Sunday Times
Atmospheric, and well told
Choice Magazine
Sykes give it (plague) a life and character of its own - swift, remorseless and deadly
New York Times
As the number of victims rises, Oswald knows he faces a threat every bit as great as the plague that now besieges the castle walls
S Magazine
An absolutely engrossing historical mystery
Booklist
Sykes gives it (plague) a life and character of its own - swift, remorseless and deadly
New York Times
Praise for S D Sykes
-
Sykes is a master at combining historical setting with mystery
The Times
The medieval CJ Sansom
Jeffery Deaver
The whodunnit aspect is neatly done, the family secrets and waspish relationships are intriguing, and humour and originality are abundant.
Daily Mail
Author S D Sykes
Narrator Ewan Goddard
Series The Oswald de Lacy Medieval Murders
Duration 10 hours and 43 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781473680050
Format Audiobook
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Genre Historical fiction, History: plagues, diseases etc
Availability AU, GB, IE

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK’s only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at £8.99. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from £3.99. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.