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A Mortal Bane

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A Mortal Bane

By: Roberta Gellis
Narrated by: Nadia May
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Summary

 Magdalene la Batarde is the madam of the Old Priory Guesthouse in Southwark. She and her women are expected to engage in a number of sinful activities, but bloody murder isn't one of them until Baldassare, the messenger, dies. Though Baldassare isn't a regular client of the Old Priory Guesthouse, Magdalene and her women refuse to allow his death to go unavenged. Of course, their efforts aren't completely altruistic. Chances are if they don't find the killer, they will be assumed guilty, because they are whores, and will be gutted and hanged.

Into this sea of intrigue steps the handsome Sir Bellamy of Itchen. The bishop of Winchester, who was served for many years by Baldassare, has put Bellamy, his most trusted knight, in charge of the murder investigation and ordered him to prove Magdalene is the killer. Bellamy is instantly captivated by his chief suspect but also convinced that she is hiding something. Sure that she is involved in the messenger's death right up to her beautiful eyebrows but unable to believe she's a killer, Bellamy must find out how and why Baldassare died, or watch the mysterious Magdalene meet her fate on the gallows.

©1999 Roberta Gellis (P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks Detective Historical Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Murder Crime

Critic reviews

"In this top-notch production Nadia May uses different cadences to effectively denote different characters. Her mellifluous voice and accents are perfect for the story. The authentic historical detail, mystery, romance, and well-defined characters work together to create a memorable story." (AudioFile)
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This story wasn’t in the same league as the Cadfael stories by Ellis Peters but nevertheless it was quite entertaining. The characterisation was a little limited in range and the narrative was overly descriptive at times but the story might keep you guessing until the end!

A medieval whodunnit

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Once I had got into the flow of the story and the chat became established, I really enjoyed this book. The plot wasn't difficult to follow, so not challenging but that could come in future . I'd like to know more about the main character s life before she became a Madam. She's refined intelligent and beautiful. A prequel possibly?
I'm going on to the second book and looking forward to how the friendship between her and Bell and the relationship with the Bishop of Winchester develops.

The makings of a good series.

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I got a bit confused with the politics.. but that did not detract me from enjoying the story. So refreshing to read a book with a strong, independent woman as the main character. Great characters and plot.

loved this book

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I found the character of Ella REALLY hard to take. She's an adult sex worker, although the word wh*re is used endlessly, who has the mental capacity of a child, talks like a child, dresses and acts like a child except for one adult enthusiasm, and the main character muses approvingly that men use her because they are attracted to children which is better than abusing an actual child. The whole "sex work is so empowering and high class" trope is writ large in this book and just feels so dated in a bad way

CW - sex work, paedophilia, the character Ella

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Enjoyable. Narrator is excellent and story engaging. please keep narrators consistent. it really helps with the character development.

Enjoyable

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