Elegy to Murder: Medieval Mystery

by Priscilla J Royal

Overview

May 1283. The roads near Tyndal Priory are filled with happy pilgrims, but not all is joyful with Prioress Eleanor's loved ones. Signy, the innkeeper, is quarreling with her suddenly rebellious foster son, Nute. Brother Thomas remains distant and morose after the events in the last book. Gytha, Crowner Ralf's wife, suffers failing health while her husband is hunting smugglers on the remote North Sea coast.

Before she can bring comfort and advice, a pilgrim is murdered just outside the priory walls. This is the king's jurisdiction. She has no authority to investigate, but she knows something must be done in the crowner's absence before the killer vanishes into the crowds.

Is it too late? Will this be the first murderer she cannot bring to justice?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952747007
Publisher:	Priscilla Royal
Publication date:	12/18/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	383
Sales rank:	1,561,194
File size:	209 KB

Editorial Reviews

01/25/2021

This well-researched 16th installment in the Medieval Mysteries series follows the murder of a wool merchant in a village near Tyndal Priory. Travelers, returning from a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Walstan, flood the town seeking a place to stay before their journeys home. After a series of violent events—the brutal beating of a carpenter, the murder of a merchant from Norwich—and with the King’s Crowner away catching smugglers, Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas begin an investigation with the help of Nute, the innkeeper’s foster son. Meanwhile, the residents of the priory struggle to understand their relationships with God, as they explore the morality of homosexuality, birth control, and calculated dishonesty.

This book stands alone and works well as a one-off, even though the characters are part of a much larger series. Certain plotlines (Brother Thomas’s homosexuality, Prioress’s Eleanor’s move to Tyndal) are mentioned in this installment but are not fully explored; those seeking in-depth backstories may want to start at the series’ beginning. In the first half of this volume, well-developed character studies of village residents get almost as much focus as the mystery, with complex characterization. The second half is lean and quick-moving, more focused on the murder.

The novel’s real triumph is Royal’s steadfast commitment to remaining true to period while crafting dialogue and prose that feel at home in both the 21st century and the 13th. The characters have modern sensibilities, but never don’t seem out of place in the society in which they live. History buffs will appreciate the attention to detail. Readers who are less familiar with medieval history may want to familiarize themselves with some of the basic customs of the time, but the book includes enough context to remain enjoyable for those who are new to the genre. This well-balanced novel, with its blend of fact, fiction, and thrills, will pique readers’ interest in the village and its denizens.

Takeaway: This period thriller will appeal to medieval history buffs and those who like their murder mysteries set in a well-developed context.

Great for fans of: Bernard Knight’s Crowner John series, Ellis Peters’s A Morbid Taste for Bones.

Production grades Cover: B- Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: B+ Marketing copy: A-

BookLife Reviews