Margins
The Blood Promise book cover
The Blood Promise
A Hugo Marston Novel
2014
First Published
3.97
Average Rating
286
Number of Pages

Part of Series

Hugo Marston must figure out what lies hidden inside an old sailor's chest before a 200-year-old blood promise is revealed and claims another life. In post-Revolution Paris, an old man signs a letter in blood, then hides it in a secret compartment in a sailor's chest. A messenger arrives to transport the chest and its hidden contents, but then the plague strikes and an untimely death changes history. Two hundred years later, Hugo Marston is safeguarding an unpredictable but popular senator who is in Paris negotiating a France/U.S. dispute. The talks, held at a country chateau, collapse when the senator accuses someone of breaking into his room. Theft becomes the least of Hugo's concerns when someone discovers a sailor's chest and the secrets hidden within, and decides that the power and money they promise are worth killing for. But when the darkness of history is unleashed, even the most ruthless and cunning are powerless to control it.
Avg Rating
3.97
Number of Ratings
1,933
5 STARS
27%
4 STARS
47%
3 STARS
23%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads

Author

Mark Pryor
Mark Pryor
Author · 15 books

Mark Pryor is a former newspaper reporter from England. He moved to the US in 1995 and subsequently spent 16 years working as a prosecutor with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, in Austin, Texas. He is now a partner at the law firm of Cofer & Connelly, in Austin. His upcoming book DIE AROUND SUNDOWN is the first in a new series of historical mysteries set in Paris during WW2. It will be published August 16, 2022, by St. Martin's/Minotaur. Mark is also the author of the Hugo Marston mystery series, set in Paris, London, and Barcelona. The first in the series, THE BOOKSELLER, was a Library Journal Debut of the Month, and called "unputdownable" by Oprah.com, and the series has been featured in the New York Times. Mark also wrote the psychological thrillers, HOLLOW MAN, and its sequel, DOMINIC. As a prosecutor, he has appeared on CBS News' 48 Hours and Discovery Channel's Discovery ID: Cold Blood. Of his books, reviewers said: "[G]ood character development, increasing levels of action and suspense, a complex and deranged antagonist, and—once again—appealing Paris settings. The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan's watch list." —Booklist "Haunting imagery in Père La Chaise cemetery sets the stage for Pryor's chilling sophomore entry, and the City of Light becomes a backdrop for Marston's adventures. The clever antagonist leads him on a merry chase that will keep the reader entertained throughout." —RT Book Reviews "Two young lovers make the fatal mistake of sneaking into Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery the same night as a bone-stealing psychopath in Pryor's propulsive second novel starring affable former FBI profiler Hugo Marston.... The engaging characters sweep readers into a suspenseful chase from Pigalle to the Pyrenées." —Publishers Weekly The third Hugo Marston novel, THE BLOOD PROMISE, was released in January 2014. It may be his best yet... "Mark Pryor is one of the smartest new writers on the block. His new novel is a doozy." —Philip Kerr, author of A Man Without Breath, a Bernie Gunther novel "Pryor seems to have hit his stride in this series, as he adroitly juxtaposes the light banter between Marston and Green with some scenes of intense emotion.... And, all the while, the suspense ramps up. Top-notch mystery in a skillfully delineated Parisian setting." —Booklist Mark is also the author of the true crime book, AS SHE LAY SLEEPING, which is the account of a "cold" murder case he prosecuted. Published in January 2013, Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review and called it "compelling" and "riveting."

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