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Tuesday 26 February 2013

Wine Of Violence by Priscilla Royal

Review by The Mole

When Eleanor is appointed prioress of Tyndal she meets some resistance. It was not unexpected that a woman in charge of both monks and nuns would ruffle some feathers but a murder within the first 48 hours is going a little bit too far perhaps? And then a new monk arrives with a dark past. When he is attacked and a further murder discovered in the grounds of Tyndal it starts to become a little out of control. Does Eleanor have any allies anywhere?

This is book one in a series of Medieval mysteries and I am seriously left wondering "Who is the 'hero'?" Who is going forward to book two? Will it be Eleanor - she seems the logical choice but will it be Anne, the sub-infirmarian whose logic and brutal honesty comes through so well - but would she go forward without Eleanor? or will it be Thomas, the mysterious monk with a dark past and a mysterious master who seems to 'own' him? Of course it could be all three?

It is described as a mystery but I'm afraid I knew who it was, with a rare confidence, from the very early part of the book. The motivation was also apparent relatively early in the story. I am also left wondering about the title... ?

The story gives an insight into monastic life of the thirteenth century and the people that would have occupied it are brought to life in a tale that was very engaging and most enjoyable. I also found it most refreshing to have three characters so well developed that any one of them could steal the show or even work together in future stories.

Publisher - Head Of Zeus
Genre - Historical crime fiction

Buy Wine of Violence: 1 (A Medieval Mystery) from Amazon

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