Book Review | Anatomy of a Heretic

Jeronimus Cornelisz: a murderous apothecary who is offered freedom in exchange for accompanying and safeguarding a mysterious woman aboard a ship headed to the Indies. However, once aboard, he begins to have much grander schemes.

Nicolaes de Pelgrom: a gentleman, assassin, and spy tasked with hunting down all of those involved with the torture and murder of a grieving widow's husband.
Their deadly paths cross on the sea, but only one man will succeed with his mission.

Anatomy of a Heretic by David Mark paints a grisly and gripping historical thriller that’s diabolically good.

I do have to admit though, this was a bit of a different story than I had originally expected from the blurb. I thought that this was going to be more of a cat and mouse game with the two main characters facing off throughout. However, they don’t go toe-to-toe until much later on in the story.

Regardless, I still immensely enjoyed it. The characters in this book are complex and well-fleshed out, and Cornelisz, in particular, stole the show for me. He falls within a certain brand of manipulative and overambitious weasel along the lines of Iago and Little Finger (whom I adore). Are they morally irreprehensible? Absolutely, but a small part of me still can't help but root for them.

Overall, Anatomy of a Heretic is a compelling and richly-woven thriller filled with backstabbing and intrigue, and I can’t recommend it enough if you love darker historical fiction.

Thank you, NetGalley and Head of Zeus, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : January 21, 2022

Publisher : Head of Zeus

ASIN : B0971HFKPR

Pages : 375

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