Massive tome found in the bookbox at Basel railway station. Heavy to bring home, but I do like KM's writing.

For all its weight, this was quite a quick read. It's set in the 16th century during the wars between Catholics and Huguenots in Toulouse, Carcassonne and Puivert, all places I know - Puivert, and in particular its castle, is a very special place; it is the only place I've been that I've felt to be haunted.
The name of Rue du Taur in Toulouse sounded familiar, and looking through my photos I see that I have walked along it.
Kate Mosse's books are well researched and her French is good (and here she uses some occitan, too), though I was surprised by "chatte de griffes" which I would have thought should be "griffes de chat" (cat's claw's), but I am no expert in French medieval instruments of torture. However, I did not find chatte de griffle on google.
My heart sank a bit when I got to the end and realised this is only part one of a trilogy and I need to get my hands on the next volume to unravel the happenings of the first chapter, which takes place in 18th-century Franschhoek. It does actually say Book One on the title page but I didn't see that until I put the BCID in.

Don't be put off by the size or the weight, it's a page-turner
For the meetup