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Rating: 
Summary: Forget Ellis Peters
Review: Leave those old Edith Pargeter books languishing on the shelves. Forget Elizabeth Peters. Hide your cache of Paul Doherty books. Because here, my fellow readers, is the historical series to end all historical series'. Alys Clare is a brilliant writer, and she wonderfully evokes all things historical about the period. We have no way of knowing whether her details are correct, but they FEEL right. Which is all that matters. The attitudes and events and feelings and details have a certain authenticity about them, which is great. The plot is simple.....a young nun is found on the path outside an Abbey, her throat slit. Soon, another nun goes missing, and turns up dead. The Abess investigates, along with Sir Josse d-Acquin, friend of the King, who has been asked to inquire into the deaths too, in order to prove that the killer is not one of the fellons which the King recently gave pardon to in order to appease the people, and convince them of his goodwill. The writing is sharp, and the two lead character (Josse and the Abbess Helewise are great) they are incredibly likeable and human, and they work very well together. This series is incredibly fresh. The ideas are entirely original, and Clare frequently breaks through the accepted boundaries. She is a daring writer, not unwilling to try something new. the plots are original and interesting, the mysteries intriguing, and the solutions always realistic and satisfying. The resolution to this one comes with a nice amount of emotional impact...and to some could be very moving. Excellent. And, the novels in this series only get better and better. (Following on from this are..."Ashes of the Elements"#2..."The Tavern in the Morning"#3..."The Chatter of the Maidens"#4..."The Faithful Dead"#5..."A Dark Night Hidden"#6. ONly the first three have been released in the US, but the fourth has been released in the UK already, and is probably the best one so far.) Enjoy :)
Rating: 
Summary: A murder mystery in the time of King Richard
Review: Sir Josse d'Acquin is sent by King Richard to investigate a murder at Hawkenlye Abbey, a crime that could put a cloud over his coronation, and a case of particular interest to his mother, Queen Eleanor. The setting is near Tonbridge, at a time when the town was a small village on the main road to London. Sir Josse teams up with Abbess Helewise to investigate and solve the mystery. The case opens up questions about arranged marriages, inheritances, and unrequited love. The investigation reveals surprises about relationships, motives, and actual events. The story is a tragedy for most secondary players, while Josse receives what is perhaps not an unexpected reward for his services.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Strong on History or Mystery
Review: While I was reading this book I kept a piece of paper beside me and tore off a slip to mark every page that I had a question about a historical fact or internal logic. By the time I had finished the top of the book was a forest of little white scraps. If you are a reader who likes books that are strong on the history or the mystery this book is not for you. It actually begins with an entertaining and nonserious look at Richard the Lionhearted, who has a bit of a publicity problem in England. His mother, in an effort to improve his image, had ordered the release of certain prisoners. Now a young nun was found slain in dramatic circumstances that suggest one of the freed prisoner's performed the heinous act and Richard needed someone to take a look at the situation at Hawkenlye Abbey. The someone he chose was Sir Josse, a knight he had known briefly as a young page, who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Sir Josse, on the other hand, is not too pleased to be sent to England. Nevertheless, he goes. Hawkenlye Abbey is a very unusual medieval institution. It is a double institution, with both monks and nuns under the control of the Abbess. But that's not what is so unusual about it. The surprising part is that 1) Sir Josse appears to walk as freely in and out of the nunnery as he would a manor house, 2) nuns appear to be creeping in and out at all hours of the night, without being noticed, and 3)the Abbess appears to have no problem having unchaperoned meetings with Sir Josse. Also they run a retirement home for old monks and nuns--one home for both it seems. (I have this irrisistable image of aged monks and nuns playing shuffleboard) They also run a reformatory for repentent prostitutes, who are reclaimed from their sinful life by becoming mothers. (Don't ask.) And my favorite was the hospital where a nun was helping a man learn to walk on a crutch. A poacher, explains the Abbess serenely, who lost his foot in a mantrap. I think we are in Disney World. As for the mystery, Sir Josse appears to think that the state of the sole of a leather shoe worn by a body that has been prepared for burial, encoffined and left in a subterranean crypt for a couple of weeks in the heat of the summer would help his solve a mystery. He also takes a cast of a footprint using melted wax from candle ends. I suppose it is possible but I would wonder why since he knew who the footprint belonged to and rules of evidence were somewhat sketchy at the time. No chain of custody or best evidence rule then. Finally, my favorite, when Sir Josse (who is staying at the guesthouse) stumbles on a body, takes off his tunic to covers its face then rushes bare chested into the Abbess' presence. The resolution of the mystery in certain ways is telegraphed rather broadly, in other ways definitely violates some of the rules of fair play. But that is for the reader to discover.
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