Purity of Blood

Gear up for swashbuckling adventure in the second “riveting”* historical thriller in the internationally acclaimed Captain Alatriste series.

The fearless Alatriste is hired to infiltrate a convent and rescue a young girl forced to serve as a powerful priest’s concubine. The girl’s father is barred from legal recourse as the priest threatens to reveal that the man’s family is “not of pure blood” and is, in fact, of Jewish descent—which will all but destroy the family name. As Alatriste struggles to save the young hostage from being burned at the stake, he soon finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that leads all the way to the heart of the Spanish Inquisition.

Praise for Purity of Blood

“It’s great fun in the tradition of historical swashbucklers such as The Three Musketeers or The Scarlet Pimpernel.”—The Boston Globe

“Grabs the reader from the get-go with its moddy evocation of a lost time.”—USA Today

“In between the flash and the clanging of swordplay, Alatriste navigates the perilous dungeons of Inquisition-era Madrid. Absolutely riveting from beginning to end.”—*Entertainment Weekly

“A feast of dark historical detail and believable danger in which celebrated figures, such as poet Francisco de Quevedo and painter Velázques, are mixed in for authentic flavor.”—The Denver Post

“Purity of Blood hits the high note of Captain Alatriste and sustains the series’ uncommon verve.”—The New York TimesArturo Pérez-Reverte’s novels have captivated readers around the world and earned him a reputation as “the master of the intellectual thriller” (Chicago Tribune). Originally a war correspondent, he now writes fiction full-time. His novels include the Captain Alatriste series, The Flanders Panel, The Club Dumas, The Fencing Master, The Seville Communion, The Nautical Chart, The Queen of the South, and What We Become. His books have been published in fifty countries.He is a member of the Spanish Royal Academy. He lives near Madrid, Spain.