City of Masks

Comparisons to the master of historical crime, CJ Sansom, are inevitable and, in this case, justified. - The Times

The whodunnit aspect is neatly done, the family secrets and waspish relationships are intriguing, and humour and originality are abundant. - Daily Mail

Sykes offers an unusual perspective on this historical period … She also deals realistically with the troubles of the era’s women. - New York Times

Trouble, and its attendant duties, confront the reluctant young lord on nearly every page of this eventful, engrossing, informative mystery set in mid-14th-century Kent, England. - Wall Street Journal

There’s a nice, cliche-free sharpness to Sykes’ writing … that suggests a medieval Raymond Chandler at work, and there are no phony celebrations of the peasantry or earth-mothers thrusting herbal concoctions down grateful throats. Plenty of action and interesting characters, without intervention of the libertarian modern conscience that so often wrecks the medieval historical novel. - Independent

Sykes establishes herself firmly as a major talent. - Publishers Weekly