A MURDER AT ROSAMUND'S GATE

A riveting historical mystery set in mid seventeenth-century England during the time of the Plague and the Great Fire of London. A chambermaid must uncover a murderer in seventeenth-century plague-ridden London.

For Lucy Campion, a seventeenth-century English chambermaid serving in the household of the local magistrate, life is an endless repetition of polishing pewter, emptying chamber post, and dealing with other household chores . Then, a fellow servant is ruthlessly killed, and Lucy's brother is wrongly arrested for the crime. The accused are presumed guilty until proven innocent, lawyers aren't permitted to defend their clients, and -if the plague doesn't kill them first- public executions draw a large crowd of spectators. Lucy knows she may never see her brother alive again. Unless, that is, she can identify the true murderer... Determined to do just that, Lucy finds herselv venturing out of her expected station and into raucous printers' shops, secretive gypsy camps, the foul streets of London, and even the bowels of Newgate prison on a trail that might lead her straight into the arms of the killer. In her debut novel, Susanna Calkins seamlessly blends historical detail, romance, and mystery into a moving and highly entertaining tale. The next novel featuring Lucy Campion is scheduled for publication early 2014 from Minotaur/St. Martin's Press and will be entitled FROM THE CHARRED REMAINS. Susanna Calkins became fascinated with seventeenth century England while pursuing her doctorate in British history and uses her fiction to explore this chaotic period. Originally from Philadephia, Calkins now lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two sons. This is her first novel.