June 11, 2012
Sedley gets the proportions of history and mystery just right in her solid 21st Roger the Chapman whodunit (after 2011’s The Midsummer Crown). In the fall of 1483, England is in tumult after the boy king, Edward V, has been deposed in favor of Richard III, Edward’s uncle. Since not everyone supports the regime change, a rebellion aimed at reseating Edward V has begun to gather strength as rumors swirl that the new monarch has ordered the deaths of his predecessor and the boy’s younger brother, the so-called princes in the Tower. Against this chaotic background, Roger’s wife, Adela, asks him to visit a friend of hers in Hereford, where Roger winds up embroiled in an inquiry into a fellow traveler’s murder and the related theft of some ancient documents from an abbot’s rooms. Sedley’s perspective on the dramatic events of the time will intrigue fans of Josephine Tey’s classic The Daughter of Time.
August 1, 2012
Doing a favor for his wife involves Roger the Chapman in yet another complicated and possibly treasonous mystery. Now that he's taken over the throne of England, Richard III faces opposition from several fronts. Because Roger has done some tasks for Richard, many people are convinced he is a spy for the king and treat him with more respect than most peddlers would command. But not Roger's wife, who asks him to go check on an old friend in Hereford. He finds her well but, disconcerted by rumors that the town will be attacked by rebels, seeks refuge with his traveling companions at nearby Tintern Abbey. There Roger, his fellow peddler Yorkshireman, Oliver Tockney, lawyer Heathersett, wealthy goldsmith Gilbert Foliot and wine importer Henry Callowhill, all from Bristol, witness a robbery at the abbey. Many years before, a secret cavity had been found containing some pages and a book of little interest. Now it seems that the cavity was much larger than anyone thought, and the thief has stolen something of real importance. When his body is found in the river, it turns out that he was also from Bristol. Upon their return home, members of the group have their houses broken into--all except for unfortunate Tockney, who's murdered in the street. Once the king's real spy is unmasked, it's up to Roger to discover what certain people are willing to kill to find. Although Roger's latest is far from the most exciting of his long series of adventures (The Midsummer Crown, 2011, etc.), it still provides the usual meticulous historical research along with a satisfying mystery.
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Starred review from May 1, 2012
Roger the Chapman is peddling his wares in Hereford when he learns that rebellion has broken out against his patron, King Richard III. According to some, Richard has stolen the throne from his two young nephews and imprisoned them in the Tower of London. Worse, the annoying upstart Henry Tudor is leading the rebellion. When a terrible storm forces Roger to stay at Tintern Abbey on his way back from Hereford, he encounters not only news of the rebellion but also a century-old mystery, the tale of four men who left a mysterious treasure secreted somewhere in the abbey. More than a century later, the hiding place was unearthed but contained only pages from an old diary. But while Roger is at the abbey, a thief is spotted making off with something apparently taken from that same hiding place. Roger is puzzled, but in his anxiety to get home, he pays little attention to the incident. Until, that is, he is attacked twice, and his home is burgled. Could these events have something to do with the mysterious Tintern treasure? Wonderfully entertaining, full of historical fact and ambience, cleverly plotted, and with an engaging and brave hero, Sedley's latest is a perfect choice for historical-mystery fans and perhaps the best entry in an outstanding series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)