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Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Roe, Caroline
Legal name: Roe, Caroline Medora Sale
Other names: Sale, Medora
Birthdate: 1937
Gender: female
Education: University of Toronto (PhD|Medieval Studies)
Occupations: teacher
novelist
Organizations: Crime Writers of Canada
Sisters in Crime
Relationships: Roe, Harry (husband)
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.
Nationality: Canada
Birthplace: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Places of residence: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Associated Place (for map): Ontario, Canada

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25 reviews

gypsysmom 2,562 reviews

Pursued by Shadows: An Inspector John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries Mystery (An Inspection John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries Mystery) by Medora Sale

This book was written over 30 years ago and, unfortunately, time hasn't done it any favours. It's not so much dated as improbable even at the time it was written. I couldn't get over a woman marrying the father of her child when he insisted she leave her behind for over a year. And there were other things that strained my credulity.

The book starts in England where a man has forged something for a buyer but before it can be picked up by the buyer two Canadians come to get the work. When the show more original buyer comes to pick up the work and finds it is gone, the forger is killed. Back in Canada Harriet Jeffries has received a letter from her former assistant who asks to stay with Harriet for a time. This is an unusual request because the assistant, Jane, had an affair with Harriet's lover, Guy Beaumont, and when Harriet discovered this she fired Jane. Jane had Beaumont's child but, when they left for Britain, he insisted she leave the child behind. Jane never does show up at Harriet's place but Guy does, demanding to know where Jane is because she took something valuable from him.Harriet denies knowing where Jane is (the truth) and Guy becomes violent. Fortunately, Harriet's present lover, Inspector John Sanders, shows up and takes care of Guy. When Guy's dead body shows up in Harriet's apartment a few days later it's obvious Sanders can't be involved in the murder investigation. Meanwhile, Jane has surfaced in upstate New York and again has asked Harriet for help. Harriet and Sanders drive down to where she is supposed to be staying but can't find her. Jane has turned to her sister for help putting her sister in harm's way. Harriet and Sanders return to Canada but keep investigating. They question Beaumont's art dealer several times but she denies having heard from Guy or Jane. Is anyone besides Harriet telling the truth? And what are they hiding? If you really need to know, read the book. show less

May 27, 20241 other review

Smilee306 12 reviews

The Spider Bites (Rapid Reads) by Medora Sale

While I'm in the middle of too many books, when I received The Spider Bites yesterday I was intrigued by the concept of books that can be read in one sitting, so I had to give it a try last night. True to the ideal, I read the book in less than an hour, in one sitting. The characters were interesting even though we only get a glimpse of their personalities and motivations. At first I found the prose clunky, but that may have been partly the aim of the Rapid Reads, as they are also marketing show more to "those struggling with literacy challenges." as per their marketing flyer that came included with the book. I have received books from LibraryThing though where the prose was bad to the point of distraction; that was not the case here, it just didn't flow as well as I would have liked. Eventually I didn't worry about the prose anymore, just the story, but I would be interested to read Sale's award winning book to see if this is her personal writing style or if she went easy on the readers in this book. It was a good story, and pretty interesting, but I don't know that it would have kept me reading if I hadn't had the goal of reading it in one sitting. The print is quite large, like a YA novel, and the chapters were very short, so it was very easy and palatable to read in one sitting. I just feel like I may not be the type of reader to benefit from this short format. What bothered me the most is that it seemed like we got to the solving of the mystery much too quickly. All of a sudden, there it was, without much warning that we were at the end. I do think that the concept is great, and that you wouldn't necessarily want to add any length to the work, but I would have been happy to have a couple of extra chapters between chapters 16 and 17. It was very refreshing to be able to sit down and read a book in a sitting, but I suppose that I'm one who doesn't mind luxuriating and maybe having a few too many novels in queue, as long as the tradeoff is great detail and story.

This was an interesting little mystery, and I think many people would enjoy it. For readers like myself, I might say this would be the perfect book to read at Barnes and Noble when you're trying to kill an hour - you would get through and be satisfied in the completion. It's not one that I will need to read again, but I am still thinking about the characters, and I've now been encouraged to pick up another novel by Medora Sale. I would also be interested to see the other novels in the series, to see how other authors deal with the apparently imposed 128 page limit (although The Spider Bites is 131!) I hope others enjoy this! show less

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Jun 22, 201012 other reviews

gypsysmom 2,562 reviews

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 show more 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. show less

Aug 25, 2017

siriaeve 2,436 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?

Dec 16, 2020

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