An Abbess of Meaux Mystery – Book III
Cassandra Clark
Allison and Busby
26 September 2011 / 9780749009243
Historical Mystery / 1384 / Yorkshire, England
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Reviewed
by
Rachel A Hyde
Hildegard of
Meaux is back for another, larger book full of crime solving, espionage
and history. Now abbess of her own Cistercian abbey, she takes a
risk by taking in a bonded maid and incurs the wrath of the wrong
person. Hildegard is still in possession of a valuable relic following
previous adventures and has more than one dangerous person on her
case. This time, she gets entangled with traitors who want to overthrow
unpopular Richard II, including Richard Bolingbroke, and is the
end truly nigh as various portents appear to be forecasting?
As with Michael Jecks, here is another author who has spotted that
the straight historical mystery has had its day and who is delivering
something rather different. Expect adventures rather than just sleuthing,
replete with mysterious signs, relics and of course a murder or
two for seasoning. The result is something that will appeal to fans
of books like The Da Vinci Code and Brother Cadfael,
as well as readers of other types of historical fiction. There is
more than a dash of real history (of the more colorful variety)
resulting in a heady brew of mystery, espionage and general excitement.
Unlike the majority of other mystery series, this one reads more
like one long story, although each separate novel has elements that
are unique. You will need to read the two earlier books to understand
what is going on (quite a lot most of the time), and there is more
than one story arc that is yet to be resolved. Like most long novels,
this one could stand some editing in places, but the end result
is something that ought to interest quite a range of people.
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