A Plague of Lies
by Judith Rock

In her historic mysteries The Rhetoric of Death and The Eloquence of Blood, Judith Rock created an atmosphere that “takes you back to fascinating and dangerous seventeenth-century Paris so well that I suspect her of being a time-traveler who’s been there” (Ariana Franklin, national bestselling author of A Murderous Procession). Now, the latest novel to feature Charles du Luc finds the ex-soldier-turned-Jesuit caught up in royal intrigue...

Versailles, 1687

Madame de Maintenon is King Louis XIV’s second wife. The daughter of a minor noble of ill-repute, she has not forgiven the king’s Jesuit confessor for encouraging him to withhold the title of Queen from her. To placate her, the prestigious Louis le Grand Jesuit school has sent a delegation—including her distant cousin Pere Jouvancy and rhetoric teacher Charles du Luc—to Versailles with a gift of reliquary.

But while the Sun King’s palace might be spectacular, this visit is anything but pleasant. Their first night, a courtier dies, and court whispers claim poison. Then the Jesuit delegation falls direly ill, and a palace gardener is found murdered. Fear grips a court already on edge. In the midst of all this, Charles learns that one of his students is in love with the king’s rebellious (and betrothed) daughter, and may ruin not only himself, but all of them ...

Other Books by Judith Rock

The Whispering of Bones
A Charles du Luc Novel #4

The Eloquence of Blood
A Charles du Luc Novel #2

The Rhetoric of Death
A Charles du Luc Novel #1

Judith Rock's Bio

“AN ARTIST IS ONE ON WHOM NOTHING IS WASTED...”

Years go, I came across these words, though I don't remember whose they are. But I know how true they are.

Before I was a novelist, I was a dancer and choreographer; actress and playwright; professor and police officer; lecturer and researcher. Each of those passions and adventures has deepened and expanded my writing.

The Rhetoric of Death (which will be released by Berkley/Penguin on Oct. 5, 2010) is a historical novel with a dark mystery at its heart. It grew out of my 17th century dance research in Paris and is set in the Paris Jesuit college in 1686. Besides taking you into the lavish dance and drama the Jesuits produced on their college stage, the novel also takes you into the treacherous world of religious and political intrigue in Louis the XIV’s France.

You can read up on the history behind the novel in Terpsichore at Louis le Grand (Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1996). I think you’ll be surprised at what real Jesuits were doing back then, especially with dance!