In the foreword, Dana Stabenow calls this book (and the others in the series) a you-are-THERE! book and she is so right. Once I started the first book (A FAMINE OF HORSES) I was hooked. The characters became friends (and enemies).
The series is set in the late sixteenth century when the Marches are very volatile. Sir Robert Carey comes from the court of Queen Elizabeth to become the Deputy Warden of West March -- a section of the Scottish/English border. Sir Robert prefers to solve problems with his wits and not his sword. The ways that he comes up with are marvelous.
In this book, Sir Robert is accused of masterminding the murder of a man he had sacked from his post of paymaster. Sir Robert's servant, Barnabus, is in the castle dungeon accused of the crime.
This book, and the rest of the series is very highly recommended. I am in the process of rereading the series as a new book, Murder of Crows, has just been published after a long wait by fans of the books.
The series is set in the late sixteenth century when the Marches are very volatile. Sir Robert Carey comes from the court of Queen Elizabeth to become the Deputy Warden of West March -- a section of the Scottish/English border. Sir Robert prefers to solve problems with his wits and not his sword. The ways that he comes up with are marvelous.
In this book, Sir Robert is accused of masterminding the murder of a man he had sacked from his post of paymaster. Sir Robert's servant, Barnabus, is in the castle dungeon accused of the crime.
This book, and the rest of the series is very highly recommended. I am in the process of rereading the series as a new book, Murder of Crows, has just been published after a long wait by fans of the books.
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
If anything, this, the second book in the series, was even better than the first.
Dana Stabenow wrote a foreword to this book calling it a "you-are-THERE!" novel, and it's so true. Sense of time and place are excellent. All the characters are finely drawn, and Carey is very appealing. This episode is more of a whodunit than the last, with Carey providing primitive forensic investigation while all around him are surprised he even bothers. Corruption is so commonplace in this era that it isn't even blinked at - it's simply assumed that cheating, stealing, and bribery are the way to get ahead, and if you get taken then you get even. Carey and Sergeant Dodd are advancing in respect for each other. The jury trial is especially fun to read, knowing that many of the jury have already been paid to come to a certain conclusion, so how will Carey convince them? This is the second in the series; you could read it without having read the first (but just read the first, you'll be happy). Great series and I'm looking forward to the rest.
