What a brilliant read!

A wonderfully written and researched slice of historical crime with just the right level of complexity. The narrator was pitch perfect too. Great addition to the Plus catalog.

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Interesting but poorly told

I have to repeat the opinion of another reviewer, in that while the story echoed with historic detail and some characters were alive and 3 dimensional, most others were left flat and without enough detail.

Mostly though, the author's habit of telling us in long prose about conversations that had happened,rather than driving the experience of the story through the conversations themselves, became tiring and repetitious by the end. It interfered with the connection to the characters, and I shan't pay to hear more long reporting of past events in the next books.

Also, the strange focus on sex rather unbalanced it all, and felt discordant, rather than enhancing understanding of the characters.
Shame really, had great potential as a series of stories.

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2 people found this helpful

enjoyable

I enjoyed this book. Medieval mysteries with good female protagonists are right up my alley, this one is good, I will listen again in a few months.

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Enjoyable but flawed

This is a light, enjoyable mediaeval murder. Any historical inaccuracies passed me by and I will forgive the Americanisms. What I can’t forgive though, is placing East Anglia on the Welsh border. That’s like putting Boston in California.

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Wine

Sorry I found it rather boring. Too much talk and little action for my liking

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Fascinating use of a “taboo” subject to create insightful characterisation

Very beautifully read/performed, with appropriate pace and distinction between the characters and their circumstances.

The choice of subject and the characterisation of an issue which, even today, haunts the relationship of most religious denominations with the realities of society, makes the story deeply humanistic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was much scene setting for future editions in this collection.

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Enjoyable mediaeval mystery

Sympathetic characters lead this story of pride, ambition and murder. The murderer is not a great shock but that’s not a problem. This more a meditation on good and bad than a straight whodunnit.

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4 people found this helpful

Great book

as with all the books this one didn't fall short, brilliant look forward to more

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lightweight yarn

an ok'ish medieval yarn, like so many others......a quick and easy read. not to demanding.

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enjoyable and interesting

I like a good historical mystery with an interesting lead character. Especially a woman bucking the expected norms of the time. This did fit the bill and the narration is excellent. A lot of world building in this first instalment but I will definitely listen on to the rest of the series. I do think though that there should be trigger warnings for SA on audiobooks that contain it. Also the historical note was actually quite useful and interesting although a bit long for the start of a book, worth listening to though for background on the unique setting of the book.

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