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Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Roe, Caroline
Legal name: Roe, Caroline Medora Sale
Other names: Sale, Medora
Birthdate: 1937
Gender: female
Nationality: Canada
Birthplace: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Places of residence: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Education: University of Toronto (PhD|Medieval Studies)
Occupations: teacher
novelist
Relationships: Roe, Harry (husband)
Organizations: Crime Writers of Canada
Sisters in Crime
Short biography: Caroline Medora Sale was born 1937 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She is married to Harry Roe, professor emeritus in the Center for Religious Studies of the University of Toronto. She obtained a doctorate in Medieval Studies at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto. After completing her doctorate, Roe taught English at Branksome Hall, the private girls’ school in Toronto, and in 1979 began writing mysteries in the summers under the name Medora Sale. She won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first crime novel in 1986. In 1998 she published Remedy for Treason, the first of the Isaac of Girona paperback mysteries, starring a 14th-century Jewish doctor.

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Reviews

Cure for a Charlatan (Isaac of Gerona) by Caroline Roe

After a series of mysterious and unnatural deaths, and amid angry rumblings about witchcraft and sorcery, the physician Isaac tries to figure out what malice is at play in late fourteenth-century Girona. Pleasantly readable, if neither deep nor wildly compelling—in days gone by, I would have said this series would make for an excellent read on a plane. Remember travel?

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siriaeve | Dec 16, 2020 |

Remedy for Treason (Chronicles of Isaac of Girona) by Caroline Roe

A murder mystery set in Catalonia in the second half of the fourteenth century, with a blind Jewish physician trying to figure out how the apparent murder of a nun relates to a plot against the children of Pedro, king of Aragon. Pleasantly readable if a bit thin—the mastermind is both obvious and quite stock.

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siriaeve | 2 other reviews | Dec 13, 2020 |

Short cut to Santa Fe by Medora Sale

Although this mystery is set in New Mexico, it stars a Canadian team of sleuths, architectural photographer Harriet Jeffries and Toronto homicide cop John Sanders. Harriet has been in Kansas doing some photography and then she went to visit her friend Kate Grosvenor in Denver because Kate is recovering from a bullet wound received while she was in Lebanon working as a photojournalist. Kate talks Harriet into going to Taos, New Mexico because it is a special place to photograph. Harriet invites John to join her and then Kate invites herself along. However, since Harriet is going to Santa Fe to pick up John they drive separately. John got to Santa Fe by joining up with a charter that is bringing a tour group to New Mexico. Also with the group but not part of it are two eleven-year-olds(Caroline and Stuart) returning home for a weekend visit from school in Texas. The bus is supposed to drop the children off at the intersection near to the hotel their parents manage. However, Stuart dawdles when he gets off the plane and the bus leaves without them. Harriet and John determine that the bus is going to Taos as well and they decide to take the children and follow the bus. Except the bus follows a peculiar route to get to Taos and both the bus and Harriet's rented van end up on a deserted road which seems to go nowhere. When the bus abruptly crashes Harriet has to stop as well because there is no room to go around. The hour is late and it is hard to see. The four occupants of the van go to the bus and discover it is in the command of two armed men. One woman has already been shot and the armed men are threatening to kill the others if they don't give up the valuable cargo the armed men believe they carry. When the armed men disappear in the middle of the night and so do a few of the other guests, Harriet and John are left to try to go for help in a van that has the air let out of all the tires. Meanwhile Kate has called the police because Harriet and John have not shown up at the motel they agreed to meet at.

It seems that a number of the people in the tour group are not what they claim. As well, a notorious crime boss is somehow involved and dead bodies start showing up. Harriet, John and Kate are all in danger. There are a number of tense moments for them but in the end it works out well.

I really liked this team of detectives. As well, Kate joins up with a local cop and manages to overcome a bad drug habit. They look like they could become a sleuthing duo too.

I could have done with more local colour from New Mexico but that's not a serious drawback.… (more)

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gypsysmom | Aug 25, 2017 |

A Potion for a Widow (The Chronicles of Isaac of… by Caroline Roe

I really enjoyed this book and I thought it was better written than Shortcut to Santa Fe. The author obviously has done a lot of research into this era and I learned a lot about life in Spain in 1354.

Although this series is called The Chronicles of Isaac of Girona in this particular book Isaac does not play a very large role. He was present when the murdered man, Pasqual Robert, arrives at the main gate of Girona with a knife stuck in his back. However, the main investigation into his murder is done by Oliver Climent, a friend of the deceased who travelled with him on the King's business. Another thread in the book has to do with the King's seige of Sardinia. The King's page, Yusuf, has been working with Isaac but questions have been raised about the appropriateness of an Arab living in the Jewish calle. So Yusuf travels to the King in Sardinia to get his permission to continue to live there. While he is in Sardinia he becomes aware of a plot to embitter the soldiers of the army so that the King will be forced to lift the siege. The solution of this sub-plot was somewhat ambiguous so I expect the next installment in this series will examine this problem again. However, the murder plot was resolved very nicely and there is even some happy romantic moments at the end.

There is a quote on the back from the Toronto Globe and Mail "Should go instantly to the top of any Cadfael-lover's list." and I would agree with that. I'll be looking for more of these books.… (more)

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gypsysmom | Aug 9, 2017 |

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