Cardinal Black

A mysterious book, and the man who seeks it, hold the key to saving a woman's life in this historical thriller from a New York Times–bestselling author.

The year is 1703. The woman Matthew Corbett loves is rapidly deteriorating. A drug forced on her by criminal mastermind Professor Fell has destroyed her sanity. And the one thing that could save her—a book of potions—was stolen during an assault on the English village where she has been living under another name, an attack directed by a deranged man known as Cardinal Black.


Matthew is a professional problem solver employed by an agency in New York, but this case is personal. To save Berry Grigsby, Matthew will journey to London with one of Fell's henchmen and attend an auction to which Black has summoned unsavory characters from near and far—all vying to possess the powerful volume. But before Matthew can obtain the book and heal Berry, he must survive Cardinal Black . . .

"Intense." —Florida Times-Union
"Relentlessly paced . . . As usual, McCammon dazzles the reader with gritty historical detail, vivid local color, and a cast of memorable grotesques." —Publishers Weekly
Praise for the World Fantasy and Bram Stoker award-winning author Robert McCammon's Matthew Corbett Novels
"Excellent . . . full of tension and suspense." —Stephen King

"Told with matchless insight into the human soul . . . deeply satisfying." —Sandra Brown
"The Corbett novels are rich, atmospheric stories, the kind of historical mystery that makes the reader feel as though he really has stepped back in time." —Booklist