A Famine of Horses: A Sir Robert Carey Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Famine of Horses
Review: Although a little thin in the mystery department, A Famine of Horses presents us with an interesting, entertaining character, authentic-seeming details of Elizabethan life, and lots of action. Sir Robert Carey arrives in the borderlands of England/Scotland to take on the job of Assistant Warden and has to cope with a jealous rival, a funeral procession lacking horses, a dead body with dangerous, revengeful relatives, and the arrival of his lady love--married, of course. How Sir Robert solves both mysteries, of the disappearing horses and the body, makes a fun read that you want to gallop through to the end! I have never read any of this series before and am looking forward to more.

Rating:
Summary: Famine of Horses
Review: Here is a very enjoyable book, set on the 16th-century Scottish border and written in a stark, clear style. Readers of Barbara Hambly's work may well appreciate this.

Chisholm's differences from the standard run of historical mystery authors start with her (?) writing style, which is spare, and reminds me of that of Cecelia Holland. It is also not devoid of humor, and the dialogue crackles along.

The setting is wonderful: very different from the norm, but extremely lawless and full of potential pitfalls for the characters. As a nonspecialist in the Renaissance, I didn't find any particular historical errors, though some readers may be confused by the references to the two separate courts, the Scottish one of which was headed by the man who would soon become James I of England. The women are perhaps a little independent for the time period, but it seems plausible enough given the setting.

Characters here stand out. I particularly liked the lugubrious Sergeant Dodd and his fiery wife, but Robert Carey, perhaps the only man on the Border with a concept of impartial justice, is also appealing. Assorted hard cases and Border ruffians fill out an entertaining cast. Chisholm's names for characters are wonderful.

The plot is an exciting one, involving murder, horse theft, kingnapping schemes, and assorted brawls. Though the larger themes have a certain implausibility about them, and some of the elements could be better described, there's little real cause for complaint.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable well written Renaissance mystery
Review: The setting is the Northern border of England. Our hero is Robert Carey, the son of Lord Hundson, Queen Elizabeth's Lord Chamberlain and her first cousin through their mothers', Mary and Ann Boleyn. Hundson is also, however, in this novel, historically he may not have been, the bastard son of Henry VIII. So Robert Carey, new deputy warden, more like sheriff really, of one the two main border keeps, is the grandson of the late great Tudor king himself. Unfortunately, Carey's noble bloodlines and his courtier experience is not going to matter a jot to the rough hewn Scottish and English clans around the border. Their main interests are feuding, cattle and horse "reiving," an old word for rustling, and occasionally killing each other. Carey's brother-in-law, Lord Scrope has just become Warden of the March after the death of his father. Unfortunately for everyone Lord Scrope is not exactly brilliant, even if his wife, Carey's sister, Lady Philadelphia, is plenty smart. Meanwhile, the dead body of Sweetmilk Graham, favorite son of one of the leading clan chiefs, Jock of Peartree, has just been discovered on an old battlefield. Jock thinks he knows who did it and wants to pursue a vendetta against Carey's new local man, Seargent Dodd, while Carey isn't so sure, and would like to introduce the concept of Justice to the lawless frontier. Not that anyone on the lawless frontier cares. Carey is willing to go to great lengths and place himself in the middle of a mysterious anti-royal plot to prove his mettle, solve the mystery of Sweetmilk's murder, bring the murderer to Justice, and incidentally find out why all the horses south of the border have suddenly disappeared. But his love, Lady Elizabeth Widdrington, is the real reason he's turned up in these parts. And she's very concerned about his predilection for adventure, a little bit less concerned about her husband. It's an entertaining story, with fun yet believable characters, and even the hero makes human sometimes stupid and serious mistakes. The dialect reads beautifully, though I was occasionally confused as to where exactly the different "Marches" or border forts were.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable well written Renaissance mystery
Review: The setting is the Northern border of England. Our hero is Robert Carey, the son of Lord Hundson, Queen Elizabeth's Lord Chamberlain and her first cousin through their mothers', Mary and Ann Boleyn. Hundson is also, however, in this novel, historically he may not have been, the bastard son of Henry VIII. So Robert Carey, new deputy warden, more like sheriff really, of one the two main border keeps, is the grandson of the late great Tudor king himself. Unfortunately, Carey's noble bloodlines and his courtier experience is not going to matter a jot to the rough hewn Scottish and English clans around the border. Their main interests are feuding, cattle and horse "reiving," an old word for rustling, and occasionally killing each other. Carey's brother-in-law, Lord Scrope has just become Warden of the March after the death of his father. Unfortunately for everyone Lord Scrope is not exactly brilliant, even if his wife, Carey's sister, Lady Philadelphia, is plenty smart. Meanwhile, the dead body of Sweetmilk Graham, favorite son of one of the leading clan chiefs, Jock of Peartree, has just been discovered on an old battlefield. Jock thinks he knows who did it and wants to pursue a vendetta against Carey's new local man, Seargent Dodd, while Carey isn't so sure, and would like to introduce the concept of Justice to the lawless frontier. Not that anyone on the lawless frontier cares. Carey is willing to go to great lengths and place himself in the middle of a mysterious anti-royal plot to prove his mettle, solve the mystery of Sweetmilk's murder, bring the murderer to Justice, and incidentally find out why all the horses south of the border have suddenly disappeared. But his love, Lady Elizabeth Widdrington, is the real reason he's turned up in these parts. And she's very concerned about his predilection for adventure, a little bit less concerned about her husband. It's an entertaining story, with fun yet believable characters, and even the hero makes human sometimes stupid and serious mistakes. The dialect reads beautifully, though I was occasionally confused as to where exactly the different "Marches" or border forts were.

Rating:
Summary: What a romp of a book this is!
Review: This is entertainment at its best. This book features authentic history and period detail cloaked in a rollicking story about wonderful characters. It is funny, touching and full of adventure. You'll love the hero (based on a real person), and the rest of the cast of characters are equally entertaining.

The writing throughout is excellent, with sparkling dialogue and just enough period descritpion that you'll swear you are actually there in Carlisle in 1592.

It is billed as a mystery, which is a little of a misnomer. There is a dead body and a search for the killer, but that is just one element among many. This book is hard to characterize; maybe "period adventure" fits it best. But even at its most exciting, it remains light-hearted.

Highly recommended.