Candace Robb

A Snake in the Barley is the next entry in the long-running Owen Archer mystery series, and honestly, I don't know how this author manages to come up with engaging mysteries book after book. This instalment features Tom and Bess from the York tavern, and I was thrilled to get to know them better and have them feature in their very own mystery.

Being book fifteen in this series, it is hard to keep developing Owen and his family as we have gotten to know them pretty well, so I was glad the show more focus was on developing the characters around Owen. Although Tom and Bess feature in older books, we don't really know a lot about them so it was nice to have their characters in the foreground and learn more about their history. I thought the author did a great job weaving the past into the present and how that eventually has consequences if you haven't dealt with major things from your past. Although the concept of PTSD and other mental illnesses did not really exist during this period, the author managed to include that in that book but from the perspective of the time period which we know doesn't really go well for those who suffer.

The descriptions of the time period are well done, and I like how the author does not romanticize the past. I personally would not want to live during this time period as it was pretty rough and disease ran rampant through people's lives. Although it was sad to read about those downtrodden people, it was the reality. In fact, I think it was probably worse than even the descriptions showed in this book. Hunger, cold, homelessness, starvation, disease, etc.. all all realities of this time, much worse than in today's world. Although it can be bleak however, the author shows a nice balance of what life is like for those who work hard and are comfortable, and the reliance on each other in order to survive.

Verdict
A Snake in the Barley has a mystery that was quite fascinating and although it was quite a complex case, with a lot of people involved, I was captivated by the concept of how you can't really run away from your past actions. It can be hard to keep track of all the players, especially if you are not familiar with the books, and there were quite a few secondary themes running through the story. However, the author managed to pull them all together in the end in a satisfactory way. This was definitely another entertaining entry to the series, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. show less

“When had I been other than I was?”

This phrase is the sole essence of this novel. The theme remarks how complicated life can get when free will and choice are taken away. Alice Perrers, a common woman who needing royal protection when her husband disappears, is confined to a golden cage.

The author was inspired by the monk Walsingham who talked briefly about Alice Perrers as this common harlot to King Edward III of England. As a result, Campion shaped a possible life for Alice, imagining show more that Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde was based on her. The novel cannot be considered a biography of her because so little facts are known about this notorious woman. And to make the story even more exciting, Campion includes fictional suppositions of Alice’s earlier life, along with her first marriage to Janyn, and her connection to the Dowager Queen Isabella and Mortimer’s (completely fictional) secret love child.

But using the power of fiction, Campion wrote “The King’s Mistress” with the hope that Alice herself may be happy with the result, and I think she would have been. show less

1375 Medieval Mystery

What can I say! Forever I’ve been fascinated by Magda Digby, the Riverwoman, her dedication, her wisdom, her insights. More than other characters she’s called to me. So fitting to have a story devoted to Magda, skilled healer, reliever of suffering, attuned to the impossible, and mentor to Owen Archer. Two of my favourite medieval characters.
Magda’s daughter Asa has returned to York. Impatient , greedy for knowledge, Asa has blamed Magda for her own shortcomings show more with her healing abilities. She has brought with her Einor, a cousin. One whom Magda sees possibilities for if he can overcome his greed.
The mystic aspect of Magda is grounded in the forest and the river. She lives outside of York. Available to those who seek her, yet far enough away to be not too caught up in the action of those who believe her a witch. The ordinary folk watch over Magda. One must take a coracle to reach her. Magda’s house is an upturned boat in the middle of the River Ouse with a dragon carving over the door. A dragon that protects our pagan healer. A dragon she connects with. Indeed as she reflects on things, Robb gives us a gorgeous insight into Magda’s thoughts. “ Eyes closed, Magda was one with her dragon, diving into the rich brown water, welcoming the flow against her skin, her hair riding the currents, replenishing body, heart, and mind… Magda sought release, racing through the waters, spinning, leaping, diving, one with her dragon.”
Owen Archer sometimes catches a glimpse of that tie.
“ Turning back toward the house, Magda touched the dragon’s head, and for a moment it was as if the two became one, woman and dragon, completing each other, a being of fire and water, her scales aglow, hovering in the air, then gracefully diving into the river, but also Magda the woman Owen had always sensed, a warrior woman but with wise eyes that drew him in, clearing his mind of doubt.“
It’s a time of pestilence. Plague is marching North. A physician, a leech, Bernard has spoken out against the healers and midwives. He’s fixed his eyes on Magda for poisoning opinion against her. The cleric Dom Jerome appears to be supporting Bernard. Who will help the poorer of the community? Magda has been accused of sickening a merchant and causing his factor’s death. Suspicion combined with religious fervour is ugly. Owen is investigating. Somehow Asa is caught up in this focus on Magda.
It’s also a time for Owen to pay attention to his gifts. His ability to see what others can’t. Blind in one eye Captain Owen Archer has become more aware of nuances.
Archer and Brother Michaelo have their hands full trying to handle people’s fears about the plague, an unexplained death, the firing up of the populace by a suspicious leecher, and theft.
There’s movements within movements at work here. Greed, evil and death stalk the folk of York. Magda does what she can. As does Archer.
A superb blend of mystery, pestilence and mysticism.

A Canongate Severn House ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change show less

I have a friend who loves Robb's Owen Archer mysteries about a medieval spy for the Archbishop in Wales while I greatly enjoyed her Margaret Kerr series set in thirteenth-century Scotland. This author certainly knows how to write historical mysteries, and I looked forward to this first Kate Clifford mystery set in fourteenth-century York. Fortunately for those of you who don't love a lot of politics in your mysteries, Robb uses just enough of it to give a clearer understanding of what's show more going on without making readers' eyes glaze over.

I found Kate to be a strong, interesting, multi-faceted character. She grew up on the Borders in Cumbria where the Scots and the English are always fighting each other, so she's learned out to take care of herself with bow and arrow, battle-ax, or anything else that comes to hand. Although she loved her husband, his debts and illegitimate children have caused her to think differently of him, and she's actually enjoying the freedom of her widowhood to make her own decisions and build a life for herself that she can be proud of. When you add that she has good family connections that can help her out with pesky things like murder, her character gets better and better.

But it's not all about paying off debts and becoming wealthy for Kate. When she first had the chance to dismiss old servants who might be a bit slow or crippled with arthritis, she kept them on instead, finding useful work that they could do with pride. But she has brought on new servants who come from different walks of life and have a variety of very useful skills. Her attitude toward herself and others is also seen by how she ultimately treats an elderly tenant named Odo, who has let one of her properties go to wrack and ruin.

With a brother-in-law who's intent on stealing her inheritance and the Earl of Westmoreland's knight who looks at her with a gleam in his eye, Kate doesn't need any more stress if she's going to solve the murder in her guesthouse, and with the danger coming from so many different directions, this was an extremely difficult investigation for this particular armchair sleuth, which means...

Candace Robb has done it again, and I look forward with pleasure to reading the next books in this series. She is an author of historical mysteries who should not be missed. show less