October 20, 2008
Medievalists rejoice! British author Clark's debut, the first in a projected series, offers careful plotting, well-drawn characters and smart dialogue. In November 1382, Sister Hildegard, a Cistercian nun, is hoping to find in the East Riding of Yorkshire a place where she and several other sisters can establish an abbey to minister to the sick and the poor. Hildegard seeks help from the local magnate, Lord Roger de Hutton, in securing a suitable property, but after someone tries to poison Lord Roger, she winds up turning sleuth. Both members of his household and political rivals have motives for wishing Lord Roger dead. Hildegard's status as a nun allows her plenty of room to move through the different strata of society. Readers should be prepared for some slow pacing at the start, part of the scene setting that prepares for later plot developments. Clark may well do for Yorkshire in the age of Chaucer what Michael Jecks has done for Devonshire in his Knights Templar series set half a century earlier.
Starred review from November 1, 2008
Hildegard, a wealthy widow who now is abbess of a small priory, embarks on a dangerous journey to her childhood home in Yorkshire. It is November 1382, and England is unsettled after the Peasant Revolt of 1381. Arriving at Castle Hutton, Hildegard finds all is not well. When her friend Roger de Hutton is poisoned, she agrees to help find the murderer. This mystery debut and series launch is replete with complex characters and plot lines woven into a tightly tangled web that Hildegard must untie to reveal the evil hidden within. Clark renders in astonishingly beautiful prose a magnificent historical portrait of England on the verge of the War of the Roses. Historical mystery fans, especially those who long for more books by Ellis Peters and Sharon Newman, will snap this up. Highly recommended for all collections. [Library marketing campaign.]
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