A Draught for a Dead Man

Rating:
Summary: Original setting and detective but a predictable mystery
Review: Caroline Roe sets her medieval mystery in a locale other than Great Britain and makes its main character unique in both ethnicity and disability. A medieval scholar, she delivers rich and impeccably authentic historical detail.

However, there is little beyond a fresh setting, an unconventional detective, and good history to recommend this book.

Isaac, a blind Jewish physician in thirteenth-century Spain, is called upon by a colleague to treat a very unusual patient - a man whose identity must remain unspoken, but whose garments mark him as a noble. Who tried to beat the man to death, and why? And why must the very name of Isaac's patient remain unknown?

The mystery itself is awkwardly crafted, with the culprits pinpointed early on. Some characters could be fascinating, yet they're never brought into clear focus. Even Isaac himself, who is sharper without his vision than most of us are with it, never quite comes to life. Ms. Roe's prose is colorless for the most part and is peppered with statements of the obvious.

Rating:
Summary: excellent historical mystery
Review: In 1354, a group of investors led by Don Aranu Marca of Perpignan chartered a ship loaded with high quality goods to sell along various ports in the Mediterranean. Some of the investors wanted to sell arms to Aragon's enemies, but Don Marea refused so the conspirators arranged for it to look like he was committing treason. He was sent to jail and was all but convicted when his clever wife arranged his escape.

During the confusion that followed the escape Don Marca was badly injured and brought to physician Jacob Bonjuhes who lives in the Jewish section of town. Isaac, a physician of Girona, is also staying at Jacob's house to attend the wedding of Jacob's brother to a woman from the visitor's hometown. Isaac heals Don Marea and sets out to prove that the man is an innocent dupe, the victim of other men's greed.

Although Isaac is blind, his other senses are heightened which enables him to successfully perform as an amateur sleuth. He is a credible and likable character that is so skilled readers will forget for long periods of time that he is sightless because he doesn't let his lack of seeing stop from being an excellent healer, sleuth, husband and father. Caroline Roe has written an excellent historical mystery that gives readers insight into an era long gone but not forgotten due to works like this.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: excellent historical mystery
Review: In 1354, a group of investors led by Don Aranu Marca of Perpignan chartered a ship loaded with high quality goods to sell along various ports in the Mediterranean. Some of the investors wanted to sell arms to Aragon's enemies, but Don Marea refused so the conspirators arranged for it to look like he was committing treason. He was sent to jail and was all but convicted when his clever wife arranged his escape.

During the confusion that followed the escape Don Marca was badly injured and brought to physician Jacob Bonjuhes who lives in the Jewish section of town. Isaac, a physician of Girona, is also staying at Jacob's house to attend the wedding of Jacob's brother to a woman from the visitor's hometown. Isaac heals Don Marea and sets out to prove that the man is an innocent dupe, the victim of other men's greed.

Although Isaac is blind, his other senses are heightened which enables him to successfully perform as an amateur sleuth. He is a credible and likable character that is so skilled readers will forget for long periods of time that he is sightless because he doesn't let his lack of seeing stop from being an excellent healer, sleuth, husband and father. Caroline Roe has written an excellent historical mystery that gives readers insight into an era long gone but not forgotten due to works like this.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A riveting mystery and story of a healer
Review: Isaac has been invited to attend the wedding of his friend's son - an easy journey by mule - but finds in the city he visits a world of politics, deadly alliances, and danger. Set in medieval Spain, A Draught For A Dead Man provides a riveting mystery and story of a healer who must handle murder and social changes alike.

Rating:
Summary: Good characters, history, and mystery. Wow!
Review: Isaac, a blind Jewish physician, and his daughter Raquel accompany their friend and his daughter to her marriage in Perpignan (Spain), only to find adventure and danger. Arnau Marca, a Spanish nobleman has been accused of smuggling contraband weapons out of the country--a capital offense in time of war. His wife bribes Arnau's way out of prison, but he is wounded in the attempt. Now, Isaac and Raquel find themselves responsible for nursing him back to health--and incidentally uncovering the truth of the men who seek to destroy him. Raquel must also dedal with her friend, Bonafilla's marriage, threatened by a brief triste with a well-spoken man they meet on the road.

Author Caroline Roe has created a charming tale of medieval Spain a century before the expulsion of the Jews. Combining court intrigue with everyday life in the Jewish ghettos (calls) of Spain, Roe weaves a story that combines adventure with interesting characters and old-fashioned detection. The device of a blind doctor as protagonist gives Roe a fine excuse for detailed and interesting descriptions that would otherwise be seen as author intrusion but her writing moves the story along quickly enough that the reader hardly notices.

A DRAUGHT FOR A DEAD MAN is an interesting and thoughtful mystery with enough emotional impact to make it ring true and a fine set of characters.