Memphis Reads Archive

Labels: Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Andrea King, Staff book reviews

This book was selected for our mother/daughter book club, and I really enjoyed it.  Young readers as well as adults will enjoy this book.  My nine-year-old daughter read it in six hours! Sarah Weeks skillfully grabs your attention in this mystery.  

Pie tackles the crushing reality of losing a loved one, building friendships and embracing self-discovery.  In Pie, the main character, Alice, embarks upon the task of finding a secret pie crust recipe left by her Aunt Polly.  

Aunt Polly was a beloved pie maker who opened a small pie shop, named Pie, in their town.  She was famous for her delectable pies.  The key to her scrumptious pies was a secret pie crust recipe that was passed down through generations.  The mystery of this story begins when Aunt Polly dies.  As Alice tries to cope with the sudden loss of her aunt, she is on a mission to solve the mystery behind the missing secret pie crust recipe.  

The best part of the book for me is that it comes with several pie recipes.  Each chapter begins with a famous recipe from Aunt Polly’s recipe book.☺

Nakia Armstrong, Central Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Nakia Armstrong

Fiction/Young Adult

Beth reviews THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray (Little Brown, 2012)

This book either needed editing or should be broken into two books.  It was just too long!  (I think a little of both honestly.)  But I love Libba Bray and will probably read the next one in the series.

WARNING: Contains murder, grave robbing, teen drinking & smoking, psychics and the occult/cult, language, racism, anti-immigrant, homosexuality, human testing

SPOILERS BELOW!
It's 1927 and Evie, age 17, is sent to stay with her Uncle Will, a professor of the occult and manager of the Museum of the Occult in New York.  Evie is a party girl who used her psychic ability to read the wrong person's secret--and revealed that secret!  Now in New York, she continues to party but also helps her Uncle solve a string of murders that they trace back to a long-dead man.

The evil spirit, Naughty John, is killing people according to an old prophecy.  His goal is to become the Beast and reign Earth as a God.  Can they stop him in time?  Will anyone believe the truth?  What will Evie's powers be needed for next?  Are there others like herself?

Beth, Cordova Branch Library

Labels: Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Beth, Young Adult

Labels: African-American Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Darletha Matthews

Fiction/Young Adult

Becky reviews THE CHRISTOPHER KILLER: A FORENSIC MYSTERY by Alane Ferguson (Sleuth/Viking, 2006)

Cameryn Mahoney is seventeen and lives with her dad and grandmother (Mammaw) in the small town of Silverton, Colorado. Her mom? Well, her mom's another story and Cameryn isn't sure it's one she's ready for. One thing she is ready for is her future. She knows she wants a career in forensic pathology. Her dad, Patrick Mahoney, just happens to be the County Coroner and when he hires her to be his assistant, it's a dream come true --until her second case.

A famous psychic, Dr. Jewel, has predicted that the "Christopher Killer" has struck again, and that the body of a girl will be found on a path leading to water. Cameryn doesn't believe in psychics -- she believes in science, but when a body is found just as Dr. Jewel predicted and it turns out to be Cameryn's friend Rachel, murder becomes personal.

Cameryn vows to let Rachel's body speak and to follow the clues to her killer. Who can she trust and who will believe a young and inexperienced girl? Will the new deputy in town be on her side in finding the guilty? What does he know about her mother and why don’t her dad and Mammaw want her talking to him?

Becky Graham, Central Circulation Department

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Becky Graham, Young Adult

Fiction/Mystery

Darletha reviews CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER by Tom Franklin (William Morrow, 2010)

Larry Ott is a 41-year-old white man living in Chabot, Mississippi. As a child, he wasn’t the strapping boy a father would be proud of and he struggled to find his place in a desegregated school. When he was sixteen, Larry’s date disappeared and was never found. Larry was never charged with a crime but he still became known as “Scary Larry.” When crime occurs in this small Mississippi town, Larry is automatically considered a person of interest. Larry lives as an outcast with only mail-order books and pet chickens as his company.

Silas “32” Jones is a black man who works as Chabot’s only constable. He was Larry’s only childhood friend. Silas grew up poor but he eventually became a popular high school athlete and Ole Miss graduate. A young woman from a prominent family is missing. All fingers point to Larry since he was the prime suspect in a similar crime 25 years ago. This latest investigation forces Silas to face an old friend and a past he has avoided for many years.

This somber novel is a combination of coming-of-age story, mystery, and human drama. Some of the most painful passages capture Larry being bullied and his eventual isolation as an adult. The southern setting allows Franklin to explore race relations and how they dictate the way blacks and whites interact.

I decided to read this novel because of its rave reviews. I liked the title, which is part of a childhood rhyme about Mississippi that we learned as children in the South. I was expecting a typical investigative mystery but Franklin does more with this story, creating an introspective tale of reconciliation and redemption.

Darletha Matthews, South Branch Library

Labels: Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Darletha Matthews

Fiction/Mystery

Hollye of the Parkway Village Book Club reviews THE CAMEL CLUB by David Baldacci (Warner Books, 2005)

When we choose this book for the book club, we knew it was going to be different than many of the books we have read. This book is about government conspiracies and the group of men that uncover them. The group calls themselves “The Camel Club,” and they meet once a week to share information that they have gathered.

All of the men in The Camel Club are less than conventional. One member, who calls himself “Oliver Stone,” is an ex-military man. He camps out across the street from the White House and reports what he sees. Oliver has vast knowledge of what happens in the government and appears to be hiding from something in his past. One member has obesssive-compulsive disorder and repeats numbers over and over in a ritual. Another member is a librarian who deals with old books, not people, and the last member is an ex-military man with a past drinking problem. Most people would never suspect that these men could get the information they are able to obtain.

The Parkway Village book club really enjoyed this book. David Baldacci was eerily right about things going on in the United States and other countries. This book was written in 2005 and Baldacci predicted many things that are happening now, including riots in Egypt. The book club members enjoyed the mystery and suspense in the book and several members want to read more by him. Most agreed that this was not an author they would have chosen otherwise, but after reading this book, they want more.

Hollye Ferguson, Parkway Village Library

The Parkway Village Library book club will discuss Firefly Lane, by Kristin Hannah, on March 16 at 2:00 p.m.

Labels: Book Club Reviews, Book Clubs, Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Hollye Ferguson

Darletha reviews THE LAST CHILD by John Hart (Minotaur Books, 2009)

I decided to read this book after it was awarded the Mystery Writers of America's 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel. I wasn't familiar with Hart's novels, so reading this book gave me the chance to see why he is a two-time winner of the Edgar Award. (Hart won in 2008 for the novel Down River)

This story begins a year after the unsolved kidnapping of Johnny Merrimon's 13-year-old twin sister, Alyssa. This tragic event has torn Johnny's family apart. Johnny's father leaves home and his mother, Katherine, numbs her grief in a fog of addiction. Johnny searches for suspects on his own, which exposes him to the dark secrets of residents in his North Carolina town.

Detective Clyde Hunt was the lead investigator of Alyssa's kidnapping case. His obsession with the Merrimon case damaged his relationship with his family and tainted his reputation as an investigator. He knows Johnny and Katherine are in a bad situation and he is determined to make things right for them.

When Johnny makes a shocking discovery, he becomes more determined than ever to find Alyssa. With no faith left in authority, Johnny and his only friend venture into a dangerous world where a wanted fugitive is on the run and another young girl has disappeared. As the boys attempt to stay ahead of the police, they journey down a path that will change their lives forever.

This was an unforgettable, intense mystery. It goes beyond the typical crime-solving plot and depicts how a tragic event connects different people. For me, this story is all about Johnny. I thoroughly enjoyed following Johnny's transformation from an isolated, quiet boy into a self-empowered young man. I'm adding John Hart's novels to my very long list of books to read.

Darletha, South Branch

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Darletha Matthews

Fiction/Mystery

Alice Kendall reviews THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION by Michael Chabon (Harper Collins, 2007)

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is the winner of the 2007 Nebula Award for best science fiction novel. It was also nominated for the 2008 Pulitzer award for literature and the 2008 Edgar award for best mystery novel. Intrigued, I had to read this book.

If you like space travel and aliens (as in ETs), this is not the book for you. It is an alternate history novel in which the United States offered part of the Alaskan Territory as a sanctuary for the Jews at the start of WWII and then again when the Nation of Israel was driven into the sea in 1948. Sixty years later, the United States is taking the land back and the Jews have two months to find somewhere else to go.

That’s the integral backdrop. The book starts with a murder in the hotel where our hero lives--our member of the Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Slowly, inexorably, we are drawn into Meyer Landsman’s life; his feelings of guilt and love, his desires, his fears; his angst. We are given a glimpse of the Jewish consciousness, warts and all. All the while, the murder investigation, which starts out turgidly, continues to gain momentum. The identity of the dead man is answered quickly which only makes the questions of "who" and "why" that much more important. Unfortunately, the powers that be have ruled that all criminal cases are to be closed by the time of "reversion." So Landsman’s dead neighbor is consigned to the "cold case file." Unable to except this, Landsman continues to investigate even after his suspension.

Caught up in a story that is loaded with Yiddish slang that I don’t understand, that seemed to progress the plot marginally faster than a snail, I started wondering if the book was the choice of literature snobs. But I just couldn’t believe that critics in three different genres could be wrong, so I kept going. And my reward was pure enjoyment. This book excels on so many levels. The writing is flawless, the characters are true, the premise is intriguing and the outcome is totally satisfying in its uncertainty. Now I have to read the winners of the Pulitzer and the Edgar to see why this one didn’t win.


Alice Kendall, Parkway Village Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Alice Kendall, Science Fiction

Fiction/Mystery

Dean Moore reviews FUNERAL IN BLUE by Anne Perry (Ballantine Books, 2001)

When a double murder is reported, Kristian Beck, a surgeon, becomes the prime suspect. His wife and an artist’s model were the two victims. Beck is arrested, accused, and put on trial for the murders. A short list of the other suspects includes the artist the model worked for, the owner of a gambling house, a previous acquaintance of the Becks, a complete stranger, and even a rebuffed lover.

Anne Perry's writing is excellent. The reader is kept in suspense until the very end and must decide which of the many plot details may or may not be critical to solving this mystery. One example is the gambling debt that has driven the surgeon and his wife to near poverty. Also, a previous acquaintance has paid visits to London to see the surgeon’s wife. Beck did not know of these visits, even though the two men were close friends.

Funeral in Blue features private investigator William Monk, who can also be found in at least 10 other Anne Perry titles. Other primary characters are well-developed. By the end of this book, many of the characters seemed like long-time acquaintances. The wonderful, historical detail of London in the mid-nineteenth century is also appealing. The ending to this mystery is a real surprise and worth the read.


Dean Moore, Frayser Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Dean Moore

Fiction/Mystery

Alice Kendall reviews Elizabeth Peters' JACQUELINE KIRBY SERIES

Jacqueline (do NOT call her Jackie) Kirby is my kind of gal. The fact that she is a librarian probably has a lot to do with it. She is also an intelligent, no-nonsense free spirit.

From the moment I met her lying flat on her back in The Seventh Sinner until she achieves moderate success as an author in Naked Once More, I was constantly amused by her glasses, her antics and particularly her purse. Like something out of science fiction/fantasy, Kirby’s purse always seemed to produce exactly what she needed when she needed it. Of course, if you asked her, she’d tell you that it doesn’t take that much intelligence to be prepared. Oh, did I forget to mention that Jacqueline Kirby is not a cuddly, maternal character? She can be both prickly and sarcastic.

There are only four books in this series (The Seventh Sinner, The Murders of Richard III, Die for Love and Naked Once More), which is somewhat disappointing. On the other hand, it means the reader can get it all in a short amount of time. No waiting around for the next book, they’re all on the shelf. Elizabeth Peters has the ability to develop characters with whom readers can identify. They resonate like favorite aunts or cousins; people we envy while loving them completely.


Alice Kendall, Parkway Village Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Alice Kendall

Fiction/Mystery, Historical

Jesse Pool reviews SILVER PIGS by Lindsey Davis (Crown Publishers, 1989)

Silver Pigs is the first novel in Marcus Didius Falco mystery series. Generally, I'm not much a of mystery reader, but a customer who shares a passion for some of my favorite authors recommended the series to me, so I thought I'd give this book a try.

This is a hard-boiled detective story with a twist. Falco is a private informer in ancient Rome. He's 30-years old. He rents a one room apartment which doubles as his office on the 6th floor of an apartment building, which is bad for business since anyone who might want to use his services would have to climb six flights of stairs to see if he's in. When he's late with the rent, which is fairly often, he can expect a visit from gladiators who are employed by his landlord as collection men. In addition to the gladiators, he has to be on the look out for his mother, who is constantly tidying up his room and running off any flute girls he may bring home for the evening.

Falco's luck changes one afternoon when a gorgeous young lady of 16 runs into him at the Temple of Jupiter. It goes from "bad" to "worse". The girl is the daughter of a senator and she is being chased by four thugs who had recently kidnapped her.

Her name is Sosia Camillina, and she confides in him that there is a plot to overthrow the emperor Vespasian being paid for with stolen silver smuggled in to Rome from Britain. The silver is in the form of ingots, or "silver pigs" as they are called. It is illegal for anyone other than the government to own one, so when one comes into Falco's possession, he has to be careful about where to hide it until he can be certain of who he can trust in the government in order to turn it in.

Falco is ready to walk away from the case, but when Sosia Camillina is murdered and it looks as if no one will answer for it, he feels compelled to see the case through, even though it means going to Britain. Falco has been to Britain once before, as a young soldier, and hated every damp, cold minute of it. To make matters worse, in order to find out about the scheme, he must endure the wicked tongue of Sosia's beloved cousin Helena Justina as well as work undercover as a slave for several months in the silver mines.

When he has gathered enough evidence of the plot, Falco accompanies Helena Justina back to Rome. The pair must be careful to avoid getting killed by the conspirators they are trying to unmask while they try to discover who murdered Sosia Camillina.

In addition, romantic tension between Falco and Helena Justina has developed over the long trip home from Britain, which troubles Falco because of their difference in social station.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series. Davis paints a vivid picture of ancient Rome and ancient Britain while giving the reader an action-packed mystery full of developed characters, romance, intrigue, and even a chase scene on chariots.

Jesse Pool, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Jesse Pool

Labels: International Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Doris Dixon

Fiction/Mystery

Alice Kendall reviews MOTOR MOUTH by Janet Evanovich (HarperCollins, 2006)

Love Janet Evanovich? Can’t get enough of Stephanie Plum, her crazy family and oh-so-hunky love interests, Ranger and Morelli? Wonder what all the excitement is about, but don’t want to start a book series 12 books behind? Relax. Ms Evanovich has a new series out.

Metro Girl was our introduction to Alexandra Barnaby, aka Barney. Barney is a Baltimore girl and excellent mechanic with an engineering degree who finds herself in Miami trying to save her brother’s life. There she meets Sam Hooker, a race car driver and owner of the boat her brother has stolen. The two team up and the fun and action begin.

Motor Mouth is the second in the series. Barney is still in Florida (when she isn’t in another state acting as “spotter” for Sam while he’s racing) and still getting into riotous trouble. This time, she and Sam try to help an acquaintance and end up with a Saran-Wrapped dead body. Wishing to get rid of the body, but also wanting to make sure the police know who he is, they use a magic marker to write the man’s name on the wrap and leave him in Sam’s rival’s truck. By now you may be noticing some similarities to Stephanie when she’s out rounding up bail jumpers with Lula. The fun and danger only increase as Barney, Sam and an assortment of zany characters stumble through threats, kidnapping and being wanted by the police.

Barney and Sam will probably never replace Stephanie and Morelli (or Ranger), but they are a lot of fun and will satisfy that Evanovich itch until Lean Mean 13 comes out.


Alice Kendall, Parkway Village Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Alice Kendall

Fiction/Mystery

Sara Ellen Reid reviews THE UNEXPECTED MRS. POLLIFAX by Dorothy Gilman (Doubleday, 1966)

Sixty-something Emily Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey is a widow with two grown children and grandchildren when she tires of volunteer work, garden club meetings, and her "sensible" life. Mrs. Pollifax has always longed to do something significant for her country, so she decides to contact the CIA to offer herself as a spy! This unlikely spy candidate is, of course, initially rebuffed, but through a series of miscues she is actually given a "simple" assignment! She is to travel to Mexico as a tourist, go to El Papagayo Libreri on August 19, and request a copy of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. The book (presumably containing secret documents) is then to be brought back to Washington to Mr. Carstairs of the CIA. Predictably, the plan quickly goes awry as Mrs. Pollifax finds herself drugged, bound, and imprisoned on a remote mountaintop in Albania. Although a novice, the clever Mrs. Pollifax proves to be formidable adversary who is grossly underestimated by both her captors and the CIA.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: The central character, Mrs. Pollifax, an older, charming, highly intelligent woman who repeatedly outwits the enemy and amazes her cohorts is the book's main appeal.

Sara Ellen Reid, Parkway Village Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Sara Ellen Reid

Fiction/Mystery

Beth reviews PLUM LOVIN' by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Press, 2007)

My friends and I play matchmaker a lot (not that it seems to work out too well) but this story left me laughing and sending portions of it to them by email. We could relate all too well to the adventures Stephanie gets in "helping" out the un-lucky in love.

Stephanie Plum is at it again in this "between-the-numbers" novel by Janet Evanovich. Diesel appears again at Stephanie’s doorstep--"nice-looking guy, with perfect white teeth and a smile that made a woman get all warm inside"--and he’s the last thing she needs with both bounty hunter Ranger and cop Joe Morelli out of town. But Diesel comes with a deal: "skip" (that’s bounty hunter speak for a person who didn’t make their court date as agreed when they were bonded out) Annie Hart is in hiding and he will tell Stephanie where she is . . . but only if Stephanie takes over Annie’s caseload as a "relationship coach." Stephanie agrees and ends up as matchmaker for a shy butcher, a desperate vet, a 30-something virgin and several others.

This short and sweet adventure is full of "Stephanie Plum" moments including LuLu and her grandma. It left me ready for upcoming Lean Mean Thirteen in the Stephanie Plum series.

Beth, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Beth

Fiction/Mystery

Alice Kendall reviews THE SHAPE SHIFTER by Tony Hillerman (Harper Collins, 2006)

Joe Leaphorn, retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, has no worries about how to spend his time. Given his years of solving crimes and his contacts in and out of law enforcement, people just naturally turn to him when they think something is not as it should be. Mel Bork, an old acquaintance who used to work with the FBI, contacts him about an old Navajo blanket that was supposed to have burned in a fire. The fire was memorable because the body of one of the FBI’s “most wanted” was found in the ashes. Now, the blanket is apparently part of a private collection and Mel Bork is missing. Enlisting Jim Chee and Bernie Manuelito, who are (finally) married and back from their honeymoon, to do some research for him, Joe does the leg work to see if he can solve the mystery of the reappearing blanket and the missing investigator.

Tony Hillerman’s numerous awards include the Center for American Indian’s Ambassador Award and the Navajo Tribe’s Special Friend Award. One of the joys of reading his books is his understanding and portrayal of the Navajo beliefs. In The Shape Shifter we learn about people who can change in order to avoid pursuit or take advantage of the innocent. Joe knows he’s after a shape shifter, the questions are “What was he before?” and “Who is he now?” Starting this book at the end of the story just adds a little more mystery to an enjoyable read. It also puts the reader in the same position as Jim and Bernie; wondering what is going on. In the end, we are left with a deeply satisfying “Ahhhh” when all is revealed.


Alice Kendall, Parkway Village

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Alice Kendall

Fiction/Mystery Historical

Jason Ezell reviews THE NAME OF THE ROSE by Umberto Eco (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983):

The young Brother Adso of Melk recounts the events that took place when he was assigned to assist the peculiar but well-respected Brother William of Baskerville in the politically charged task of ferreting out heresy in the monastic orders of the day. The two arrive at a small Italian abbey with a reputation for its wealth in relics and manuscripts. In a few days' time, the abbey becomes the site of a tense debate over the role of poverty in monastic life. Brother William's sharp detection skills become invaluble when the bodies of dead monks begin to appear on a daily basis, apparently following a pattern of apocalyptic prophecy. Adso and William find themselves lost in a community where secrecy and enlightenment, superstition and reason, church and state, and power and compassion become desperately confused. The abbey becomes a microcosm of the very rifts that threaten to tear Christendom--and civilization itself--apart, and at the very heart of this strained social fabric is a fanatically guarded library full of mirrors, trick doors, ghosts, demonic visions, forbidden books, and the key to the deaths that lie like a humorless darkness over the entire monastery grounds.

Set during a week in 1327, Eco's novels finds in the fusion of ecclesiastic history and mystery a chance to explore some of the most fundamental issues of any period of taxing social change. It also explores the importance of symbols and logical debate. The stylistic strength of the book is the resultant combination of rich descriptive detail (especially when it comes to the art and architecture of the Medieval Church) and philosophy (as seen in the impassioned debates over heresy). Although obviously literary, The Name of the Rose benefits from being a mystery novel, using intrigue, adventure, carefully executed pacing, and suspense to propel the story forward. A careful balance is struck between the honest depiction of complexity and the human desire to make things make sense. And politics--simply understood as the social use of power--is exposed as all-pervasive in that balancing process. The book has an incredibly broad appeal, being a highly respected canonical work at the same time as it is an international bestseller.

Jason Ezell, Humanities Department

Labels: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Jason Ezell

Fiction/Mystery

Alice Kendall reviews UNDER ORDERS by Dick Francis (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2006):

This new book by Dick Francis is exactly what one has come to expect from the ex-champion jockey: fast paced, suspenseful, loads of fun. Sid Halley is back in a fourth novel featuring this ex-champion, one-armed ex-jockey turned private investigator. Francis has written 40 books of fiction including a book of short stories. Only the characters Kit Fielding and Sid Halley appeared more than once. Two of the Sid Halley books (Whip Hand, Come to Grief) received the Edgar (Allan Poe) Award from the Mystery Writers of America. So, it’s no wonder that after a lapse of 6 years, Francis’s favorite character is back.

The book starts with three deaths at the track on race day. One of the deaths is murder--three bullets in the chest usually indicates foul play. Since Sid had just been asked to check into the ethical practices of this dead jockey, he became involved. Shortly after the murder, he is asked to check into the possibility of corruption in online gambling. Are the two connected? Can online gambling sites profit from race fixing? Will Sid find the answers? Of course he will, but not before he has to face the horror of having those he loves endangered. Should I mention red herrings? Nah. All in all, this is a wonderful read with danger, affection and reconciliation all nicely handled with British reserve and aplomb. In short, this is a Dick Francis novel.

Alice Kendall, Parkway Village Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Alice Kendall

Fiction/Genre: Historical Fiction Mystery

Philip Williams reviews A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES by Ellis Peters (Morrow, 1977):

Brother Columbanus, a monk in the Benedictine Monastery in Shrewsbury, claims that he has had encounters with Winifred, a Welsh saint, who tells him she is unhappy with the lack of care and dedication her grave receives in the Welsh village of Gwytherin. Brother Columbanus claims that St. Winifred wants her bones to be brought to the Shrewsbury Abbey in England. Another brother, John, is very skeptical of these claims. He believes that the brother is motivated by ambition since having the relic at Shrewsbury would make both the abbey and Columbanus famous.

The Abbot believes that Columbanus has has real visions and sends an expedition of monks to Wales to retrieve the bones of St. Winifred. One of the monks is Brother Cadfael, an herbalist. Before becoming a monk later in life, Cadfael had been a soldier and a sailor and had participated in the capture of Jerusalem during the Crusades. He is part of the expedition because he is of Welsh descent and can speak the language.

In Wales, even though the monks have the approval of the Bishop and the local prince, the people of Gwytherin oppose the removal of the bones to Shrewsbury. Lord Rhysart becomes the chief spokesman for the villagers. He is outraged by an attempted bribe, but he agrees to further discussion with the monks. On the way to a meeting with the monks, Lord Rhysart is murdered. It will be Brother Cadfael, with his detective and forensic science skills, who will solve the murder. And it will be Brother Cadfael who will be instrumental in determining what will happen to St. Winifred's bones.

As the first chronicle of Brother Cadfael, this is the ideal starting point for readers who want to follow the entire series. This book would appeal to anyone who has an interest in medieval times. A reader can learn about life in a medieval abbey, as well as what life was like--the social structure and customs--in a medieval Welsh village. It is an interesting mystery, very well-written, with an intriguing plot and sub-plots, and so readers of mysteries, who never thought about reading historical fiction, could very well like this book. It is certainly not a fast read, however.

Similar authors include Sharon Kay Penman, Michael Jecks, and Sharan Newman.


Philip Williams, Whitehaven Branch Library

Labels: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Reviews by Philip Williams