The Medieval Murderers

These are just good fun. A group of historical detective fiction authors get together and write a set of short stories that are set in different priods of time and connect through an object or location. IN this book the connection is Solisbury Hill, outside Bath. The series starts with the prologue, and finds King Arthur about to fight the Battle of Baydon hill against the invading Danes in order to save Saxon England from obliteration. The series of stories then proceed in order. I think my show more favourite was that featuring the murders of monks at Bath Abbey, mainly because the wife was such a charatcer and she was certainly the brains of the operation. In her husband's defence, he knew it too and between them they made a formidable pair. Malinferno (the Georgian set pair) and his partner Doll Pocket are also great fun to follow.
I like the format of these and the way the stories refer back to the previous tales, as artefacts re-appear in different guises. show less

This was definitely an interesting read, and a fairly clever way to introduce new readers to the series characters of 6 historical mystery writers. For the most part, I enjoyed this, though the reasoning for a supposed holy relic from Jerusalem continuing to float around England for 500 years is tenuous, at best.

The plot is exactly as it says on the tin. The "tainted relic" is supposed to be a splinter from the True Cross, stained with Holy Blood. A curse was put on it when the family of its show more keeper was slain during the First Crusade. Barzak proclaimed that anyone who handled the sacred piece of wood would die once it left that person's possession. This novel follows the relic as it travels from the Holy Lan,d to France, and then on to England, from 1100 AD to the 1600s.

Each author contributes a self-contained "Act" to the story. The Prologue is by Simon Beaufort and features the knight, Geoffrey Mappstone, who is present in the Holy Land and writes the certificate of authenticity for the relic. The unusual deaths start right away, and this was a very good setup for the story to come.

Act 1, set in 1194 in Devonshire, features Sir John de Wolfe, who served as a coroner in medieval England (Bernard Knight). While nicely written and a good overview of his series and characters, I didn't enjoy this introduction to de Wolfe. The idea of adventures of one of the first coroners to hold the office was enticing, but de Wolfe is selfish and mean, IMO. I'm not sure I'd seek out this series.

Act 2, set in 1269 in Oxford, features the Falconer, penned by Ian Morson. The relic has come into the hands of monks who are dying pretty gruesome deaths, which the academic William Falconer sets out to solve. I enjoyed this section a lot, and quickly warmed to the characters here.

Act 3, set in 1323 in Lincolnshire, features former Knight Templar Sir Baldwin and is written by Michael Jeck. Perhaps surprisingly, this was perhaps my favorite act of the book - the plot moves at a fairly quick pace, and features a series of strange deaths, the aftereffects of which ripple through the town. It has a rather wry twist ending, too. I've tried and failed with the first book in Jeck's series featuring this character, but perhaps it is worth revisiting.

Act 4, set in 1353 Cambridge, features Susanna Gregory's series characters Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael of Michaelhouse, as the relic passes from a character in the previous act through the hands of several here, leading to a trail of improbable deaths. I found this act to be way too long, the plot too convoluted, and I actively disliked Bartholomew for most of it. Given my history with this character and this author, perhaps this is no surprise, but it was disappointing nonetheless. Gregory piles twist upon twist at the end, basically to prove that she can.

Act 5, set in 1600s London, is narrated by Nick Revill, one of the actors at Shakespeare's Globe Theater during the Elizabethan age. This is the only first person narration in the book, and I take it that this is a feature in Phillip Gooden's series. Revill is sent by Shakespeare into the depths of St Bartholomew's Fair to retrieve an early edition of a drawer play, but Nick and his friends stumble into more than they bargain for when the bookseller produces the ancient relic and its curse instead. The trio find him dead less than a hour later and are accused of committing the crime. This one has the most unusual solution of all, I'd wager.

There is a postscript epilogue at the end, also by Bernard Knight, in which the relic is unearthed from the mud of the Thames in 2005 by a construction worker who is working on the Millennium Dome. It is quite the fitting ending to this story, honestly, as the curse of the relic lives on.

I see that this group of writers has pooled together for 9 more books in a similar vein, and I'd definitely read more of these. I'm likely to seek out some of these series on their own as well, so overall, I'd say it's a win-win for me! show less

The Deadliest Sin was written by a group of medieval mystery writers who call themselves the Medieval Murderers. The authors include Michael Jecks, Ian Morson, Susannah Gregory, Simon Beaufort, Philip Gooden, Bernard Knight and Karen Maitland. Each author has written a separate chapter of the book that advances the plot. Each chapter concerns one of the Bible's 7 deadly sins which are greed, lust, gluttony, sloth, anger, envy and pride.

The story begins in the spring of 1348 with rumors about show more a coming plague which scared people into either becoming devout Christians, drinking or going on a pilgrimage. A group of travelers meet at an inn in England. The inn owner convinces his guests to tell everyone what they have seen in their travels. Each guest tells a tale about one of the deadliest sins that becomes a chapter in the book.

I love this series. While some of the chapters were more interesting to me than others I feel that is to be expected in an anthology. All of the chapters were well written and the authors' knowledge of medieval times is evident. Anyone interested in medieval mysteries will love this book. show less

These are just great fun reads. A series of short stories set at different historical periods that are linked by an object. In this case, the object are the Bones of King Arthur, which get dug up at Glastonbury Abbey, smuggled to Wales, dug up, moved, reburied, rediscovered, dug up, cause trouble and finally carried back to Wales. I like the way that the stories link to each other. So in this case there is a family of guardians of the bones, and the family name crops up in each story, with show more different degrees of involvement.
I particularly like the pairing of Simon & Gwenillan, the Norman lord & welsh lady who rely on her brains & his brawn. Nice portrait of a marriage, each bringing their own skills to life and the case at hand.
In a similar line there's Joe & Doll, in early 19th century London. they have a romantic element that adds a little extra angle to that element of the story as well.
the epilogue also leaves one with a satisfied glow.
A nice way to package a set of short stories, by having a common thread. show less