The Falcons of Fire and Ice

Jul 20, 2025 4:19 AM

Author:Karen Maitland

The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland, author of the hugely popular Company of Liars, is a powerful historical thriller which takes you right back to the darkest corners of the 16th century. Intelligently written and meticulously researched, it is a real treat for all fans of CJ Sansom and Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.

'A tour de force: dark and woven with the supernatural' Daily Mail

1564, Lisbon. The Inquisition displays its power and ruthlessly spreads fear. Heretics are tortured and burned. Any who oppose the Church's will realize that silence is preferable to a slow and agonizing death.

Isabela, daughter of the Falconer at the Royal Court, is about to be caught in the Church's terrifying schemes. The slaughter of two of the King's precious white falcons sees her father arrested and imprisoned. As punishment he and his family will be killed unless the birds are replaced.

Isabela, young and headstrong, decides that only she can save her father. These birds are impossibly rare, and she will have to travel far and into strange lands to find them to clear her father's name. It is a journey that will take her into a dark and dangerous world filled with menacing people driven by fearful beliefs.

And, unfortunately for Isabela, the Church has sent a companion to ensure she never returns . . .

Step back in time with Karen Maitland's Dark Tales and discover a world full of imagination in The Falcons of Fire and Ice - 'a thrilling horrible vision of the Dark Ages' Metro

Karen Maitland travelled and worked in many parts of the United Kingdom before finally settling in the beautiful medieval city of Lincoln. She is the author of The White Room, Company of Liars, The Owl Killers and The Gallows Curse. The latter three titles are available as Penguin paperbacks.

Reviews

Scarily good. Imagine The Wicker Man crossed with The Birds

—— Marie Claire

Ripping . . . full of colour and detail

—— Daily Telegraph

A gem . . . meticulously researched

—— News of the World

Captivating, unforgettable, truly compelling

—— In Style

Irresistible

—— Sunday Telegraph

The Golden Egg is Donna Leon on top form.

—— Good Book Guide

Donna Leon is better than ever…Superb.

—— WI Life

[T]his is a much darker version of Brunetti-land than the earlier novels…The character of the deaf mutes seems to serve as an allegory of the political landscape of Italy – the public silenced and ignored, whilst those in power continue the ancient Italian tradition of fiddle-playing.

—— The Lady

The descriptions of Venice and Venetian life are beautifully written and acutely observed … The author clearly has an excellent understanding of the Italian psyche and a profound knowledge of Venice and Venetian life. This is the 22nd book in Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series and I can’t wait for the 23rd.

—— Crimereview

John le Carré takes us back to his favourite scenarios: Whitehall, the secret services, the gentleman's clubs, dodgy bankers, corrupt public schoolboys and gruesome American neo-cons . . . revelling once more in that imaginary world of secrets and lies that is le Carré's gift to us

—— Evening Standard

Tense, twisty, and driven by a melancholy insight into human motivation . . . deeply compelling

—— The Week

John le Carré is as recognisable a writer as Dickens or Austen, with an often-imitated but never rivalled cast of seedy spies, false lovers, public schoolboys struggling with guilt, and charming but immoral leaders of the brutal establishment . . . This is vintage le Carré and highly enjoyable

—— Financial Times

Thrilling, suspenseful . . . Fans will not be disappointed

—— Sunday Express

Utterly convincing characters, a tight plot . . . Wonderful

—— Sunday Mirror

Thrilling

—— Express

Choreographed with unsettling precision

—— Metro

When I was under house arrest I was helped by the books of John le Carré ... they were a journey into the wider world ... These were the journeys that made me feel that I was not really cut off from the rest of humankind

—— Aung San Suu Kyi

Plunges the reader into a modern-day thriller...Dad won't be able to put it down

—— Metro

[It] has all the essential ingredients of his masterpieces: the dilemmas of duty, patriotism and decency

—— Simon Sebag Montefiore , Metro 'Books of the Year'

John Le Carré at his masterful best . . . nobody does it better

—— Ben Macintyre , The Times 'Books of the Year'

Widely hailed as a return to the good old Smiley days . . . le Carré writes with laconic elegance

—— Kate Saunders , The Times 'Books of the Year'

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