Here’s the blurb
A young nation in peril.
A web of deception.
A triangle of forbidden love.
The year is 1315. The fledgling nation of Switzerland – the Helvetic Confederation – is under threat from the Habsburgs. In France, the Knights Templar have been disbanded and declared heretics by the king.
Magda, a beautiful weaver living near the alpine village of Morgarten, befriends Walter, a messenger who is the son of the legendary Wilhelm Tell. Walter and Magda’s budding romance is threatened by the arrival of Sébastien, a French fugitive.
What secrets is this foreigner hiding? Can Walter solve the mystery of a murder and a stolen religious artefact before a mighty battle with the Habsburgs ensues? And who will be the victors in their turbulent triangle of love?
My Review
The Secrets of Morgarten is a historical fiction/romance novel set in the early 1300s, following three main characters through about a year of their lives. The characters of Magda, Wilhelm and Sebastian all offer different, if not strictly, opposing, viewpoints of events as they unfold.
It is a story of conflict and love against a backdrop of intrigue and approaching war, and the narrative moves quickly between the twin storylines, so that the conflict occurs between the characters as well as in the wider world.
It is a slower-paced novel, rich in detail and complex political machinations that builds towards its conclusion (the theft not occuring until quite late in the book) which thrusts our three main characters into the midst of the unevitable conflict where decisions must be made that will have far-reaching consequences. It’s an intriguing novel, depicting events I’ve not previously read about before.
Meet the author
Louise Mangos grew up in the UK but has spent more than half her life in Switzerland. Her debut psychological suspense Strangers on a Bridge was a finalist in the Exeter Novel Prize and long listed for the Bath Novel Award. She has published four further psychological suspense novels – The Art of Deception, The Beaten Track, Four Fatal Flaws and The Girl in the Doorway.
She lives in the foothills of the Alps, a stone’s throw from the site of the Battle of Morgarten, with her Kiwi husband and two sons. When she’s not writing you can find her on the cross-country ski trails or wild swimming in the lake by
her home, depending on the season. Louise also writes short fiction which has won prizes and been published in more than twenty print anthologies. She holds a Masters in Crime Writing from the University of East Anglia.
Find her on Twitter, Instagram or BlueSky
@LouiseMangos and Facebook @LouiseMangosBooks
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MJ Porter 