Praise for the Devlin Diary
“Fans of historical fiction and traditional whodunits alike will welcome Phillips’s second novel, which like her debut, The Rossetti Letter, alternates between past and present. In the present, historian Claire Donovan, who delved into 17th-century Venetian intrigue with handsome Cambridge fellow Andrew Kent in The Rossetti Letter, is now a temporary lecturer at Cambridge’s Trinity College, packed with scheming academics roiling in a hotbed of nearly every human frailty imaginable. When dashing and venal professor Derek Goodman is found slain clutching a page of a coded diary by 17th-century physician Hannah Devlin, Claire and Andrew get on the trails of vicious killers from different centuries. The mysterious death of Charles II’s sister, Princess Henriette-Anne, wife of Louis XIV’s dissolute brother, propels the main historical narrative. Phillips’s command of period detail and her sure touch with emotional relationships help make this a stand-out.”
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“In this fast-paced sequel to The Rossetti Letter, newly minted Ph.D. Claire Donovan is now a temporary lecturer at Cambridge in the same department as historian Andrew Kent, her co-investigator of the Rossetti Letter in Venice. Searching for a new research topic in the depths of the Cambridge library, Claire stumbles upon the diary of Hannah Devlin, doctor to one of the mistresses of Charles II. Hannah’s entries of 1672 are interspersed with Claire’s life in 2008, and the murderer stalking Hannah and the royal court may be linked to today when a fellow historian is found dead on the riverside. The story is highly enjoyable…a thrilling reading experience. An excellent suggestion for fans of literary historical thrillers.”
- Library Journal
“A follow-up to the well-received The Rossetti Letter, Phillips once again simultaneously follows seventeenth-century and twenty-first century mysteries. A serial killer is loose in seventeenth-century England. Are his gruesome crimes random, or are they part of a royal conspiracy? Hannah Devlin, a rare female physician, becomes convinced of the latter. Meanwhile, in twenty-first century Cambridge, England, Clare Donovan finds Hannah’s diary. Shortly thereafter, an academic rival is murdered. Are the crimes connected? Both women work to solve their mysteries, while also becoming embroiled in parallel romances…both sets of mysteries and romances are engaging. An excellent afterword answers questions about historical accuracy and literary license. A novel sure to appeal to readers of Philippa Gregory.”
- Booklist
“Christi Phillips takes readers on a wild chase through London streets, court conspiracies, and the stacks at Trinity College. The audience will not find the time shifts confusing as they take place seamlessly…Phillips’s talent lies in the details. She pulls together a rich tale set in 1672 London. One can clearly picture this London, smell the rank Fleet River, and feel sympathy for Hannah and all she has lost. Her descriptions of the inventions of the time and the characters she has assembled are marvelous. She delivers a story full of historical suspense. In fact, you’ll wish there were more of her take on the time period she describes so wonderfully. She enchants readers with her world and the detail in which she has immersed it.”
- Bookreporter.com
“Intricate, intriguing, The Devlin Diary is deliciously absorbing. Read it obsessively–it’s a story that will wrap you in laughter and tears.”
- Perri O’Shaughnessy, New York Times bestselling author
“Lyrically written, The Devlin Diary introduces two of the most witty, gifted, and resourceful heroines you will find between the covers of one book.”
- Stephanie Cowell, author of Marrying Mozart
“For the mystery fan who enjoys a double dose of murder mixed with history that overlaps centuries, The Devlin Diary by talented author Christi Phillips is one you won’t want to miss. The settings in this great tale give the reader the feeling of having lived twice. You’ll walk the grounds of a modern college with roots deep in the past and through the diary, you’ll step into a day when disease and intrigue ran rampant in the best of homes, even the royal palace. Through the fine research the author has done to give this tale a sense of reality…it feels as if it really did happen.
This is a tale I’m pleased to highly recommend to any reader of history, mystery, contemporary fiction and more. This is a book guaranteed to please.”
- Reader to Reader
IndieNext Notable Pick for June:
“When The Devlin Diary arrived, I knew that I wanted to read the first book, The Rossetti Letter, before I started the second. Although this book stands alone, reading the first gives a background to the events in the second. I loved both books. Phillips beautifully blends the story of Hannah Devlin, a physician in seventeeth-century London, who is charged with treating King Charles ll’s mistress, with the story of Claire Donovan as she searches for clues to the mystery surrounding the death of a Trinity College/Cambridge fellow. Does the physician’s diary contain the keys to the death of Derek Goodman, a Trinity fellow not above blackmail? Beautifully told, the story develops to a suspenseful ending for Hannah Devlin, and leaves the future for Claire with a question regarding her relationship with Andrew Kent, a fellow instructor at Trinity. As the story of Claire Donovan is not finished, I sincerely hope that a third book is in the works.”
- Dorothy Pittman, Horton’s Books
“This entertaining mystery travels smoothly between past and present. While I thought Hannah was more intriguing than Claire was, the locations, characters and details from both time periods are fascinating. Hannah travels between the lowest and highest of London’s social levels. Claire isn’t sure where she stands as an American at a venerable English college. The book’s structure gives readers a peek inside the royal court of Charles Stuart and a peek inside the modern “royal court” of academia. I liked Andrew and Claire’s tentative relationship and the romance that developed between Hannah and Dr. Edward Strathern. For me, the romance elements added to, rather than detracted from, the story. This book should please fans of historical fiction and mysteries, as well as Anglophiles and anyone else looking for a good read!”
- Leonore Howard, Fresh Fiction.com
