Trigger warnings
Violence, violent death, kidnapping, attempted rape
Synopsis
Medieval England sees a string of murders, and at the heart of it is a money launderer. The under sheriff's wife-to-be goes on a pilgrimage but ends up kidnapped along with some monks. The historical mystery unfolds.
Characters
I'm very fussy with characters, and while this does have some brilliant moments, I do feel some of the characters fall a little flat. This could be because they are existing characters - Christina, Hugh, and Hugh's team all feel like they have been in past books (which, again, I've not read) - but even the villains seemed a little... predictable in a bad way. Sometimes predictable can be a good thing; this means the author has been foreshadowing well, dropping clues to guide the reader. Predictable doesn't immediately mean it's bad. The issue I have is that the villain here did typically evil things just for the sake of doing them.
Christina was definitely the most interesting character. She is a victim, for sure, but she remains defiant as much as she can. In a way she reminds me of Evie from The Mummy movies, in that she isn't a passive victim, just waiting for her husband-to-be to save her. She actively tries to help herself, while knowing the risks.
Plot
This was a classic good v evil story, with a beautiful background of Medieval England in winter. The writing style is very clean, nothing is unnecessary, and the plot reflects that. There's nothing that happens in the book that is unnecessary, or purely for character development. Everything has a purpose and I love that. Despite it being third person narrative, you really get deep into the minds of the narrative characters, including the villain.
Overall
I'm not sure if I'd read the rest of the books in the series, just because 12th century England isn't my favourite period of history. That said, if the author writes some historical fiction set in a period I'm more fascinated by, I'd look into reading it. Reading this as a standalone book, I think it holds well, but I would be interested to see it's context within the series. I gave it three stars on Goodreads, because it just didn't fill me with awe, but it was still an enjoyable read.
Enjoyed with: peach tea
Time it took to read: just under an hour and a half
Would recommend to: mystery and historical fiction fans
Bechdel test: fail
Goodreads: review
E