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The Zealot's Bones
From Hell, Hull and Halifax, may the Good Lord deliver us. In 1849, Hull is a city forgotten and abandoned; in the grip of a cholera outbreak that sees its poorest citizens cut down by the cartload. Into this world of flame and grief comes Meshach Stone, a former soldier, lost upon his way. He's been hired as bodyguard by a Canadian academic hunting for the bones of the apostle Simon the Zealot, rumoured to lie somewhere in Lincolnshire. Stone can't see why ancient bones are of interest in a world full of them...but then a woman he briefly loved is killed. As he investigates he realises that she is just one of many... and that some deaths cry out for vengeance. From the twisted imagination of David Mark, author of the McAvoy series, THE ZEALOT'S BONES is historical crime with a difference.
247 pages, Hardcover
First published September 21, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 16, 2018
This combines historical fiction and crime. It is set in a specific time and place. The city of Hull in 1849 at the time of a cholera epidemic which killed one in forty-three of the population. It also moves to North Lincolnshire as well. This is my area of the country hence the attraction. The plot is a little far-fetched (well quite a lot actually). It is rumoured that the bones of one of the apostles, a rather obscure one, Simon the Zealot, have found their resting place in North Lincolnshire. Seeking for these relics is a Canadian antiquary and academic Diligence Matheson. He has hired as a bodyguard Meshach Stone, an ex-soldier with a very colourful past and enough inner demons to run a small portion of hell.
The search for the old bones becomes rather secondary as Stone discovers a quest of his own. Stone makes a connection with a prostitute in Hull. He returns to try to find her and discovers she has died, most likely of cholera. He goes on to discover that actually she has been brutally murdered and that there is a serial killer at work, murdering women of the lower classes (mainly prostitutes). Would it surprise you to find that the two quests become enmeshed? No, I thought not!
This is not for the faint-hearted and there is certainly a gothic edge with a script that could have come from Hammer Horror. There is also a great deal of brutal violence and torture, quite graphically described. What the novel lacks is meaningful female characters. The women involved are all prostitutes (and most of them are dead) and mentally unwell (and there are only two of them). It’s a man’s world and men have to do what they have to do, usually in inventively gruesome ways.
I like a bit more subtlety in my crime novels and this wasn’t for me. If you like your historical crime violent and brutal then this may be for you.
The search for the old bones becomes rather secondary as Stone discovers a quest of his own. Stone makes a connection with a prostitute in Hull. He returns to try to find her and discovers she has died, most likely of cholera. He goes on to discover that actually she has been brutally murdered and that there is a serial killer at work, murdering women of the lower classes (mainly prostitutes). Would it surprise you to find that the two quests become enmeshed? No, I thought not!
This is not for the faint-hearted and there is certainly a gothic edge with a script that could have come from Hammer Horror. There is also a great deal of brutal violence and torture, quite graphically described. What the novel lacks is meaningful female characters. The women involved are all prostitutes (and most of them are dead) and mentally unwell (and there are only two of them). It’s a man’s world and men have to do what they have to do, usually in inventively gruesome ways.
I like a bit more subtlety in my crime novels and this wasn’t for me. If you like your historical crime violent and brutal then this may be for you.
December 19, 2017
I have not read this author’s series books before, but was keen to try David Mark’s work and thought this historical, stand-alone crime novel, would be an interesting place to start. The novel takes place in Hull, 1849, and is a dark and violent portrait of a city. Diligence Matheson, a Canadian in search of the bones of the apostle, Simon the Zealot, much against the wishes of his father back home. Along the way, we read letters that Diligence writes to his sister, Constance, which helps fill in some background and also explains the presence of Meshach Stone, a former soldier in the Bombay Artillery, who acts as his guide and protector.
Stone is a man beset by personal demons, brought about by the murder of his wife, which he feels responsible for. Matheson writes of Stone’s strengths, but also his failings, and he certainly does drink too much and is unpredictable and maudlin. The times, and the setting of this novel, are very dark and unsettling, while Hull is a city in the grip of a cholera epidemic. As if this was not bad enough, there is a killer on the loose and he is murdering young women in violent, vicious ways.
This is a very violent and savage book. I liked the characters – the hapless, kindly Diligence Matheson and the competent, capable Stone. However, it is certainly not a light read; full of sickness, poverty, despair and darkness. It would make a good series; or, at the very least, there is good scope for a sequel.
Stone is a man beset by personal demons, brought about by the murder of his wife, which he feels responsible for. Matheson writes of Stone’s strengths, but also his failings, and he certainly does drink too much and is unpredictable and maudlin. The times, and the setting of this novel, are very dark and unsettling, while Hull is a city in the grip of a cholera epidemic. As if this was not bad enough, there is a killer on the loose and he is murdering young women in violent, vicious ways.
This is a very violent and savage book. I liked the characters – the hapless, kindly Diligence Matheson and the competent, capable Stone. However, it is certainly not a light read; full of sickness, poverty, despair and darkness. It would make a good series; or, at the very least, there is good scope for a sequel.
September 20, 2017
I am not usually a massive fan of historical crime fiction, but I do know and like David Mark’s contemporary fiction, so I was intrigued to find out what his first foray into historical crime would be like.
And what a blistering read it turned out to be. I was transfixed from the opening pages right through to the explosive climax of the novel.
I rather like Hull and I’m delighted that it is City of Culture this year. But today’s Hull is rather different from the plague ridden Hull of D.M. Mark’s book.
Set in 1849, Hull is in the grip of a cholera epidemic, running rife as a result of the squalid slums and rat infested hovels that are the unenviable dwellings of the poor.
Our protagonist is Mesach Stone, a hero of Afghanistan who was subsequently brutally injured and then court-martialled in his absence. Mesach is an imposing figure and one who now uses his strength and abilities to operate as a personal bodyguard and occasional companion.
His current employer is the son of a wealthy Canadian. Diligence Matheson, is not a dilettante but has an academic bent and is set on pursuing the trail of the remains of Simon the Zealot, which remains are rumoured to be buried in the Lincolnshire area.
Though somewhat unlikely companions, Mesach and Diligence have struck up a friendship of sorts, for Diligence is a decent, mild mannered chap and he can all to easily see that Mesach carries with him more demons than any man should have to bear.
On a trip into Hull Mesach, who will indulge in to any and all forms of alcohol and drugs in order to sublimate his demons, decides to go in search of a prostitute with whom he felt a connection last time he visited the town. But when he gets there, he finds that she has died and feeling a violent outburst of remorse, he pays to have her looked after and well buried; for this is a place where the epidemic means that bodies are carried off by the cartload and dumped in graves where no-one can ever find them.
Diligence meanwhile, is heartened by the news that a new lead he has followed as to the whereabouts of Simon the Zealot’s artefacts may be about to pay off. A new acquaintance could be just the one to help him gain access to a reliquary belonging to Lord Ansell, who lives in a large mansion on the outskirts of the city.
While Diligence settles in as a guest at the mansion, enjoying the best of food and wine, Mesach is relegated to a draughty stone hut on the estate, for Lord Ansell has recognised our fallen hero and is not best pleased to see him.
Mesach resolves to use the time while his master is a guest to go and ensure that his instructions regarding Laura, the prostitute have been followed. But in the course of trying to find her grave he discovers to his horror that Laura was one of a number of prostitutes who have been brutally killed, not by taken cholera, but murdered by a merciless butcher of women.
As Mesach hunts down the killer he will not allow anyone to stand in his way, and Diligence Matheson is also beginning to feel the first stirrings of unease in his new surroundings…
This is probably* not a book for lovers of uplifting cosy crime. This is a harsh and unforgiving era and Mesach’s demons are strong and repellent; his guilt all too well deserved and his conscience rightly heavy. D.M. Mark’s characters are rich with deep and compelling backstories; the Hull air is redolent with the sounds and smells of a cholera pandemic.
There were moments of real horror in this book and it is so beautifully descriptive that my skin literally felt crawled upon and I shivered at some of the detail offered up. This is a dark, grim and menacing tale that left me feeling weak and horrified.
But I loved it, and felt the gothic atmosphere unfold around me as I read. This is a compelling and utterly absorbing read. Beautifully written, with great characters and real tension, I could not put it down.
And what a blistering read it turned out to be. I was transfixed from the opening pages right through to the explosive climax of the novel.
I rather like Hull and I’m delighted that it is City of Culture this year. But today’s Hull is rather different from the plague ridden Hull of D.M. Mark’s book.
Set in 1849, Hull is in the grip of a cholera epidemic, running rife as a result of the squalid slums and rat infested hovels that are the unenviable dwellings of the poor.
Our protagonist is Mesach Stone, a hero of Afghanistan who was subsequently brutally injured and then court-martialled in his absence. Mesach is an imposing figure and one who now uses his strength and abilities to operate as a personal bodyguard and occasional companion.
His current employer is the son of a wealthy Canadian. Diligence Matheson, is not a dilettante but has an academic bent and is set on pursuing the trail of the remains of Simon the Zealot, which remains are rumoured to be buried in the Lincolnshire area.
Though somewhat unlikely companions, Mesach and Diligence have struck up a friendship of sorts, for Diligence is a decent, mild mannered chap and he can all to easily see that Mesach carries with him more demons than any man should have to bear.
On a trip into Hull Mesach, who will indulge in to any and all forms of alcohol and drugs in order to sublimate his demons, decides to go in search of a prostitute with whom he felt a connection last time he visited the town. But when he gets there, he finds that she has died and feeling a violent outburst of remorse, he pays to have her looked after and well buried; for this is a place where the epidemic means that bodies are carried off by the cartload and dumped in graves where no-one can ever find them.
Diligence meanwhile, is heartened by the news that a new lead he has followed as to the whereabouts of Simon the Zealot’s artefacts may be about to pay off. A new acquaintance could be just the one to help him gain access to a reliquary belonging to Lord Ansell, who lives in a large mansion on the outskirts of the city.
While Diligence settles in as a guest at the mansion, enjoying the best of food and wine, Mesach is relegated to a draughty stone hut on the estate, for Lord Ansell has recognised our fallen hero and is not best pleased to see him.
Mesach resolves to use the time while his master is a guest to go and ensure that his instructions regarding Laura, the prostitute have been followed. But in the course of trying to find her grave he discovers to his horror that Laura was one of a number of prostitutes who have been brutally killed, not by taken cholera, but murdered by a merciless butcher of women.
As Mesach hunts down the killer he will not allow anyone to stand in his way, and Diligence Matheson is also beginning to feel the first stirrings of unease in his new surroundings…
This is probably* not a book for lovers of uplifting cosy crime. This is a harsh and unforgiving era and Mesach’s demons are strong and repellent; his guilt all too well deserved and his conscience rightly heavy. D.M. Mark’s characters are rich with deep and compelling backstories; the Hull air is redolent with the sounds and smells of a cholera pandemic.
There were moments of real horror in this book and it is so beautifully descriptive that my skin literally felt crawled upon and I shivered at some of the detail offered up. This is a dark, grim and menacing tale that left me feeling weak and horrified.
But I loved it, and felt the gothic atmosphere unfold around me as I read. This is a compelling and utterly absorbing read. Beautifully written, with great characters and real tension, I could not put it down.
January 3, 2018
Nothing less than brilliant!
December 12, 2017
Charnel House
Hull 1849, a city enveloped in a miasma of cholera, poverty and murder; Meshach Stone, a former soldier, maimed in body and soul by his experiences in love and war; Randall Hall, a house of shadows, secrets, rats and bones; Diligence Matheson, a young man in search of the holy bones of the martyrs.
This is a novel of savagery and hate, violence and perversion. Among the dead of the plague, Stone identifies the sadistic killings of a number of young women, as it happens all inspired by the gruesome deaths of early Christian martyrs. Who is the killer? Whoever he is, he is in big trouble, as Stone is no mean killer himself.
This is a well-written, often fascinating novel, but I did not enjoy it. The author has said he wrote it as an historical novel, as some scenarios are too dark for a present day setting. Think about that for a while, before you decide to read.
Hull 1849, a city enveloped in a miasma of cholera, poverty and murder; Meshach Stone, a former soldier, maimed in body and soul by his experiences in love and war; Randall Hall, a house of shadows, secrets, rats and bones; Diligence Matheson, a young man in search of the holy bones of the martyrs.
This is a novel of savagery and hate, violence and perversion. Among the dead of the plague, Stone identifies the sadistic killings of a number of young women, as it happens all inspired by the gruesome deaths of early Christian martyrs. Who is the killer? Whoever he is, he is in big trouble, as Stone is no mean killer himself.
This is a well-written, often fascinating novel, but I did not enjoy it. The author has said he wrote it as an historical novel, as some scenarios are too dark for a present day setting. Think about that for a while, before you decide to read.
November 3, 2017
Mesach Stone is a former soldier injured on the 19th century battlefields of Afghanistan and now working as a sort of mercenary. He's accompanying rich Canadian Diligence Matheson on a quest to find the bones of biblical characters in northern England. In Hull they find a city wracked with cholera and a serial killer maiming and murdering prostitutes in a most horrible way. This was very much a character driven story which, by the end, leaves the reader ready for more adventures. A very good start to what I hope will be a series.
May 22, 2019
I am a big fan or David Mark and his Aector McEvoy crime series. His style is easy for me to read and he is mostly understandable. This novel was too tedious for me. Took too long for the story to develop and I wasn't drawn in like I am in his other novels. If you like rats, lots and lots of rats.
August 14, 2017
Wow! D.M Mark has served up yet another brilliant,twisted and gruesome novel but this time based in 1849. Mesach Stone ,a former soldier has been hired by Diligence Matheson as bodyguard and companion whilst he searches for the bones of Simon the Zealot. It takes them to Hull where cholera is rife and leads to all sorts of predicaments.A fabulous start to what I hope will be the start to a whole new series .
March 4, 2019
This was definitely a chiller of a book and not for the faint-hearted. It is a historical chiller thriller set in Hull during the 1840's when there is a cholera epidemic sweeping the city, but beneath the grim, debauchery, debasement and cruelty of the poor areas of the city there is a sickening serial killer, unbeknown to everyone, on the loose. The main character, Mechach Stone, is a veteran of the British Empire and the reader gains an in depth view of his life, maybe too much so.
I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5 as it was slow to start, did not flow that well and I felt the main character was too much 'woe is me'. After all the things he learnt about survival I thought he gave in to his 'needs' too easily. The ending was left hanging so there may be a follow up, but not a particular riveting ending.
Well worth the read if only out of morbid curiosity and to help gain knowledge of that period of history in Hull.
I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5 as it was slow to start, did not flow that well and I felt the main character was too much 'woe is me'. After all the things he learnt about survival I thought he gave in to his 'needs' too easily. The ending was left hanging so there may be a follow up, but not a particular riveting ending.
Well worth the read if only out of morbid curiosity and to help gain knowledge of that period of history in Hull.
August 9, 2018
Well this was a strange one for me. At times it dropped to a 2 star, then rose up to a 4 star and then ended overall as a 3 star for me.
How to explain?
At the beginning there was a bit too much 'tell' and not enough 'show'. This made the book difficult to read for me. It was kind of like being preached to by a preacher who desperately wants to be believed, but who isn't always convincing. But the writing was good, if bloody dark. Then when the 'show' took over it improved immensely.
Although the dark continued.
A bit too much at times.
I liked a couple of the characters - the main ones - Stone and Matheson; they grew on me. The plot was kind of obvious - bar the love of Lady Ansell - and there were some continuity problems that irked. It felt like it needed another read-through and edit in a couple of places. But overall it held my attention and I kind of enjoyed it.
Did I say it was dark?
It is...
Don't read it if you're depressed or suicidal; it's not a pick you up.
How to explain?
At the beginning there was a bit too much 'tell' and not enough 'show'. This made the book difficult to read for me. It was kind of like being preached to by a preacher who desperately wants to be believed, but who isn't always convincing. But the writing was good, if bloody dark. Then when the 'show' took over it improved immensely.
Although the dark continued.
A bit too much at times.
I liked a couple of the characters - the main ones - Stone and Matheson; they grew on me. The plot was kind of obvious - bar the love of Lady Ansell - and there were some continuity problems that irked. It felt like it needed another read-through and edit in a couple of places. But overall it held my attention and I kind of enjoyed it.
Did I say it was dark?
It is...
Don't read it if you're depressed or suicidal; it's not a pick you up.
Read
January 9, 2022Grisly, very violent and no redemption. The men are all (with one exception) violent, some cowardly, some corrupt; the women are either prostitutes or mad. The premise that you shouldn't use violence for art's sake which the flawed hero comes to believe seems ironic in a book that devotes numerous paragraphs to graphic descriptions of violence.
March 29, 2024
OMG!
I'm so happy I bought it!
From pages 1-5 I absolutely roared with laughter about how the way the author describes Lily's character!
The entire book is very well written and thought out, good strong characters and they evoke your imagination to the fullest.
Very well done, D.M Mark, I'll be looking out for more of your books!
I'm so happy I bought it!
From pages 1-5 I absolutely roared with laughter about how the way the author describes Lily's character!
The entire book is very well written and thought out, good strong characters and they evoke your imagination to the fullest.
Very well done, D.M Mark, I'll be looking out for more of your books!
October 11, 2017
I won this book in a recent Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
This was a very enjoyable book! I rarely write what a story is about for fear of spoiling for others, but if you enjoy historical crime fiction, I would certainly recommend this book.
This was a very enjoyable book! I rarely write what a story is about for fear of spoiling for others, but if you enjoy historical crime fiction, I would certainly recommend this book.
October 13, 2017
Suspenseful and absolutely compelling reading, but deeply, darkly and spine-tinglingly disturbing..... murders of working girls in Victorian Hull slums masked by a Cholera outbreak....... perhaps not the best thing to read before bed.....!
August 12, 2018
This book is very vivid and descriptive in gore and violence so it captures the horror of a Victorian cholera outbreak extremely well. The characters are interesting and there is much horror in the plot, but I can't help feeling like it is missing something... I don't know what, but something.
September 5, 2017
Review to follow but I thought this was blisteringly good.
December 2, 2017
Nowhere near as readable (good) as the Aector McAvoy books.
December 28, 2017
Weird and tested!
March 23, 2018
A harder read somehow than the modern ones by David Mark, but with some good ideas and all came together in the end.
April 6, 2018
‘“Hull is paying the price for its gluttony and lust,” says Lord Ansell, emphatically. “It is a pit of devilment and debauchery.”’
An enjoyable fusion of crime, historical fiction and the Gothic.
An enjoyable fusion of crime, historical fiction and the Gothic.
June 22, 2018
A killer strikes during an epidemic.
The basic idea was OK, but the writing / characters / dialogue / plot were all a bit clunky.
The basic idea was OK, but the writing / characters / dialogue / plot were all a bit clunky.
April 2, 2019
Not quite a 4. I would read the sequel if it’s written
September 25, 2020
Diverting.
May 7, 2022
Started out strong but didn’t sustain.
If that many women have to die and die this gruesomely then the plot, setting and characters better make up for it. Sadly that was not the case for this book.
If that many women have to die and die this gruesomely then the plot, setting and characters better make up for it. Sadly that was not the case for this book.
March 4, 2021
Meshach Stone is the sultry, brooding figure adorning the pages of this gritty book. Thankfully, the malevolence emanating through him is only directed at himself and our enemies, like when Stone wants ‘to defend himself,’ but finds ‘nothing good about his personality to hang his defence upon’.
This book is full of simple, little descriptive gems such as when Stone ‘studies the outline of a bootprint in the churned mud’ and wonders as to its origins. Out of context it might not be much, but in context it paces the story beautifully. Another such gem I enjoyed was Sergeant Cooke staring into Stone’s eyes ‘as if reading what might be printed on the back of his skull’.
And the principal antagonist is not without sympathy for his victim’s rage – ‘a sense of loss and injustice’ as she inhabits her own demise at the point where she must realise there is no escape from it. ‘I watched the light go out in her eyes,’ he declares as Mark once again forces me to endure that very final moment, the like of which I have no desire to experience. Such is his skill in coaxing me into a flirtation with horror.
Reading this book put me in mind of someone suffering from PTSD, such is the vividness of the recall. I kinda hate Mark for dragging me so thoroughly through the mud and the blood, but I admire him to such an extent that I’d allow him to do it all over again.
This book is full of simple, little descriptive gems such as when Stone ‘studies the outline of a bootprint in the churned mud’ and wonders as to its origins. Out of context it might not be much, but in context it paces the story beautifully. Another such gem I enjoyed was Sergeant Cooke staring into Stone’s eyes ‘as if reading what might be printed on the back of his skull’.
And the principal antagonist is not without sympathy for his victim’s rage – ‘a sense of loss and injustice’ as she inhabits her own demise at the point where she must realise there is no escape from it. ‘I watched the light go out in her eyes,’ he declares as Mark once again forces me to endure that very final moment, the like of which I have no desire to experience. Such is his skill in coaxing me into a flirtation with horror.
Reading this book put me in mind of someone suffering from PTSD, such is the vividness of the recall. I kinda hate Mark for dragging me so thoroughly through the mud and the blood, but I admire him to such an extent that I’d allow him to do it all over again.
January 23, 2022
An unexpected historical novel from the creator of the Aector McAvoy detective series. I found this very well researched, with a complex yet easy to follow plot, and fully rounded characters. I’d like to read more about them actually! Very evocative of that period and of Hull itself. I do hope that David Mark will go back to this type of writing at some point in the future.
February 17, 2019
This is a very dark historical thriller, I enjoyed much of it and the central characters are fascinating but it isn’t for the faint hearted!
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