The Unquiet Bones (Hugh de Singleton, Bk 1)
Author:
Genres: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Paperback
This is the First Chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon.
It is the first book written by history-professor-turned-author Mel Starr. I felt like The Unquiet Bones read like a first novel due to the relative simplicity of the plot and the effort by the author to use period naming for everything. (Let's just say that a forest is not a forest unless it is a recently 'coppiced' forest.)
It is fortunate that a glossary is provided at the start of the book. Otherwise I might have been lost among all of the church holidays, job descriptions, and period vocabulary. Perhaps this choice of wording was used in order to make the book more realistic or true to its time, but for me it actually detracted from the work. The effort, I assume, was to make the work seem authentic. In my opinion it simply made it seem contrived.
The murder mystery is relatively simple although it does contain one rather interesting twist. The main character is moderately likable although he is a little slow on the uptake. I was also expecting to learn more about Medieval surgery, but very little (or far less than I expected) was actually described.
In all, this is a relatively simple book but a pleasant read. It is not bad, but it is also not among the best offerings of Medieval forensics that I have come across in the past. It seemed to lack a richness and a depth that would separate it from similar works. In all, it was worth reading even though it was somewhat forgettable. I would recommend it, but not with much enthusiasm.
It is the first book written by history-professor-turned-author Mel Starr. I felt like The Unquiet Bones read like a first novel due to the relative simplicity of the plot and the effort by the author to use period naming for everything. (Let's just say that a forest is not a forest unless it is a recently 'coppiced' forest.)
It is fortunate that a glossary is provided at the start of the book. Otherwise I might have been lost among all of the church holidays, job descriptions, and period vocabulary. Perhaps this choice of wording was used in order to make the book more realistic or true to its time, but for me it actually detracted from the work. The effort, I assume, was to make the work seem authentic. In my opinion it simply made it seem contrived.
The murder mystery is relatively simple although it does contain one rather interesting twist. The main character is moderately likable although he is a little slow on the uptake. I was also expecting to learn more about Medieval surgery, but very little (or far less than I expected) was actually described.
In all, this is a relatively simple book but a pleasant read. It is not bad, but it is also not among the best offerings of Medieval forensics that I have come across in the past. It seemed to lack a richness and a depth that would separate it from similar works. In all, it was worth reading even though it was somewhat forgettable. I would recommend it, but not with much enthusiasm.
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