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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Good medieval mysteries when I need my "England in the middle ages" fix.
A solid read in all respects. Not the most difficult of mysteries to solve, but a good deal of time spent on the satisfying solution. Slow paced, wonderful details, a feet up with the beverage of you choice kind of book
A Morbid Taste for Bones was easily as good, if not better than, A Rare Benedictine. In this novel, the first of the Cadfael chronicles, Brother Cadfael, acting as translator, travels with five other Benedictine monks to Wales in hopes of exhuming the remains of Saint Winifred and re-interring them at Shrewsbury Abbey. Upon arriving in Gwytherin, the representatives of Shrewsbury find that the villagers are less than keen to relinquish ownership of their Saint's remains. As the Benedictines and the villagers try to come to an agreement, the plot thickens and Brother Cadfael finds himself with a murder mystery on his hands.
Ellis Peters is a wonderful story teller and crafts her mysteries masterfully. I'm so excited to read more of Brother Cadfael's adventures. Thankfully, this is not a short series =)
Ellis Peters is a wonderful story teller and crafts her mysteries masterfully. I'm so excited to read more of Brother Cadfael's adventures. Thankfully, this is not a short series =)
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked this book, but not as much as I expected. It felt like a modern mystery slapped in a medieval setting. The main characters spoke and acted in ways that wouldn't have been accurate for the time period. That annoyed me and left me merely liking the book, but not loving it. I also expected the mystery to get started earlier in the book. I might have knocked it down for that too, but once the action got going, the interesting nature of the crime made up for its slow start. I'd say people who enjoy mysteries and like a past setting without caring that its accuracy will probably really enjoy the book. I might read more in the series since it makes for fluffy bedtime reading.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
British-people-solving-mysteries is one of my favorite narrative genres, and this novel was well written, entertaining, and full of just enough medieval historical details to make it interesting. But, I think I prefer to watch film/TV adaptations.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fine mystery story with a medieval flair. I saw the Derek Jacobi series first and wanted to read the book it was based on, I was not disappointed - they naturally cut a few sub-plots for TV, but on the whole it was well done.