The Menagerie: Passion, Power, and Poison in the Court of the Sun King by Judy Willmore | Book Excerpt ~ $15 Gift Card 

The Menagerie: Passion, Power, and Poison in the Court of the Sun King by Judy Willmore | Book Excerpt ~ $15 Gift Card 

A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.

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Book Details

The Menagerie: Passion, Power, and Poison in the Court of the Sun King by Judy Willmore | Book Excerpt ~ $15 Gift Card The Menagerie by Judy Willmore
Published by Artemesia Publishing on 06/08/2021
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 394

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart had to have Louis, King of France, but his other mistresses stood in the way. Then she meets the very helpful sorceress and Athénaïs gets her wish.

But soon Louis hears tales of witchcraft and poison, a conspiracy spreading through his court—like the beasts in the Versailles menagerie, courtesans are clawing their way to his favor, and his bed. He orders Lieutenant General of Police Gabriel-Nicolas de la Reynie to investigate.

Mysterious deaths mount while La Reynie presses on, hauling in witches, charlatans, and the nobility alike. Grimy fingers point to Athénaïs, the King’s mistress, with whispers of a black mass celebrated over her naked body. Then La Reynie discovers a plot to kill her.


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Excerpt from The Menagerie

For Gabriel-Nicolas de La Reynie, the Poisons Affair began in such an ordinary way, routine. Or it should have been routine. La Reynie had been Lieutenant-General of Police exactly one day and here was a body. His first.

And he really had no clue what to do.

“Zut alors!”

La Reynie had been a judge with quiet chambers and a library filled with the classics, Greek and Roman philosophers always there to calm his mind and steady his hand. But then he was appointed to the newly created post by His Majesty, charged with transforming Paris from a wretched, stinking, dangerous place into a modern city. He had been studying, planning for weeks: clean the garbage out of the streets, catch the criminals, install lanterns to chase away the shadows and make the night safe. La Reynie’s predecessor, the Criminal Lieutenant, had been killed by robbers; then the Civil Lieutenant also died, quite possibly by poison. Now La Reynie had to replace both.

He was meeting with Sergeant Dupont to discuss the street lanterns when they were urgently summoned. “Poison!” cried the citizens, who led them to a scene of tangled bedclothes, stench of vomit and bloody diarrhea, the corpse’s face grimacing in agony. The black robed doctor was putting away his implements preparing to leave.

La Reynie glanced at the door—the weeping family had been exiled from the room—and asked, “Doctor, we were summoned here with a claim this death is suspicious. Do you believe that to be the case?”

The doctor gazed at the body, his wrinkled face a puzzle. “The symptoms are consistent with arsenic poisoning, but—”

“But?”

He sighed. “If it was arsenic, the poisoner was very careless.”

“Monsieur?”

“It could be arsenicum, rat poison. If arsenic is consumed on an empty stomach, symptoms are immediate and death soon. If taken with food, the signs are less immediately apparent and death delayed, but inevitable. I have heard that to avoid suspicion, arsenic should be administered over several weeks. The victim grows ill, and weak, and finally succumbs. The symptoms are not as obvious and the cause difficult to detect.”

La Reynie turned to Dupont. Surely, he would know how to handle this. “Sergeant? Your opinion?”

Dupont, portly and stolid, shrugged. “The relatives claim the widow was unfaithful, and besides, she detested her husband.”

“And that is all? No other proof?”

“This is the third suspicious death this month. Same symptoms.” He looked at La Reynie with an inquiring eyebrow as if to say, don’t you know what to do?

La Reynie turned to the doctor. “Is it at all possible to prove it was poison?”

The doctor sighed and looked at La Reynie with a condescending smile. “No, monsieur, not conclusively.” He shut his little bag and walked out.

La Reynie looked back down at the body. Merde. Should he warn the King?

Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.

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Purchase Links for The Menagerie

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About Judy Willmore

Judy Willmore Author image

Judy Willmore is a former journalist, then private investigator, and now a psychotherapist who practices in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her historical mystery, The Menagerie, was published in 2021 by Artemesia Press, and she is now working on a sequel.

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Purchase The Menagerie online from a local bookstore.

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Easy Amazon Info Link

Amazon – OneLink for every country   

If the above link does not take you to your country, here are a few more:

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Please send me a note if your country isn’t listed and you would like to purchase using my links. Using my link does not change the price you pay. Amazon pays me a minimal amount out of their share. 

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Giveaway!

The author will award a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter.

Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page for The Menagerie

Full Tour Schedule:

February 13: Our Town Book Reviews
February 14: Long and Short Reviews
February 15: The Book Connection
February 16:The Faerie Review
February 17: All the Ups and Downs
February 20: Literary Gold
February 21: Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
February 22: Edgar’s Books
February 23: The Key of Love
February 24: Sandra’s Book Club
February 27: Author Deb Bailey
February 28: Wake Up Your Wild Side

March 1: Two Ends of the Pen
March 2: Gina Rae Mitchell
March 2: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
March 3: Westveil Publishing
March 3: Fabulous and Brunette
March 6: Celticlady’s Reviews
March 7: Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin’
March 7: Independent Authors
March 8: Iron Canuck Reviews & More
March 9: Paws.Read.Repeat
March 10: The Book Countess review
March 10: Enchanting Reviews review

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Posted 03/02/2023 by Gina in Blog Tour, Book Promotions, Books, Fiction / 4 Comments

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4 responses to “The Menagerie: Passion, Power, and Poison in the Court of the Sun King by Judy Willmore | Book Excerpt ~ $15 Gift Card 

  1. Nancy

    The Menagerie by Judy Willmore is a book that many readers will find fascinating.