Excellent medieval mystery

A new author for me and delighted to have discovered her. Looking forward to hearing more stories. Excellent characters and settings. Reader conveyed the different perspectives brilliantly. Loved it.

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loved this book

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.

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A Mortal Bane

Whilst I enjoy medieval mysteries and this one was ok some of the terminology did not sit right with me. The term chick was unlikely to be used in that time period and I don’t think women would call each other luv either. But that is a small annoyance for an enjoyable listen.

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One for Ellis Peters fans

With a similar anatomy (though certainly not an identical one) to the Brother Cadfael stories, any fan of Ellis Peters is likely to like this one. It might be a little longer than was necessary but the good cast of characters are worth hanging out with a little longer.

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A Mortal Bane

Thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading others in this series. The narration is very good and clear which brings the story to life.

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A lively story of medieval loyalties and intrigues

A really enjoyable account of how medieval women's lives were restricted and despised, yet greedy, scheming men cannot manage without them.

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1 person found this helpful

Didn't expect to enjoy it...

… but I did - I really did. I usually read books from the historical mystery genre, but I tend to avoid all such with female main protagonists. I am a woman myself so no claims of misogyny please - it's just that their behaviour tends to annoy me as a fellow female, so I just steer clear. I took a chance on this, and I loved it. There was a teensy bit of what I don't like (stupid simpering behaviour when a man they are keen on is around), but not too much.

The performance of the narrator was outstanding and she brought the tale to life. The book had many male characters and she dealt with these extremely well, giving a different voice to each, and never making any of them sound like a woman trying to sound like a man. An all-round good story, and the mild sexual tension between the two main characters didn't intrude into the mystery too much. Again, I hate that sort of thing in my historical mystery fiction. I'm looking for Agatha Christie, not Barbara Cartland!

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A Really Good Listen

I stumbled across Roberta Gellis by accident and have become hooked. This is an easy listen with strong characters and a good storyline. Really well read by Nadia May. I have all of the available Gellis novels and hope one day that the final one in the series will be available on Audible. It is one of the books that I listen to often - it never fails to please.

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9 people found this helpful

Different from the usual historical fiction

On the whole I enjoyed this book. The main character, being a prostitute, meant it was different from the rest. Being set firmly within the historical period of the feud between Stephen and Matilda, I was generally aware of the major historical characters of the time, however I did find it difficult to distinguish between the less well-known and the author's own fictional inventions, and occasionally had to try to Google some of their names which wasn't easy as I wasn't sure of the spellings. Also, I don't know if it was just me, but I couldn't help keep thinking that 'Bell/Belle' was the name of one of the prostitutes! This had become fixed in my mind early on in the book due to my lack of concentration, and this often interrupted the flow of the story whilst I reminded myself of who he was. I wish he had been referred to by his given name. However, despite all these personal 'niggles', I would recommend this book and I intend to listen to the next book in the series ... but must remember the Belle/Bell is a man!

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Historical

A good performance pleasant mystery enjoyed the characters and the old English vocabulary and etiquette

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