April 7, 2008
At the outset of Sedley's rewarding 17th mystery to feature Roger the Chapman (after 2007's The Three Kings of Cologne
), Roger joins an English army set to invade Scotland in the summer of 1482. The duke of Albany, whose older brother, James III of England, plans to put him on the Scottish throne, enlists Roger as a member of his personal bodyguard. On the march north, uncanny events connected to the cult of the legendary Green Man make Roger wonder why Albany wanted him in this role. When the army reaches Edinburgh, Roger discovers he must clear one of Albany's friends of murder. Sedley provides vivid vignettes of domestic life in the late Middle Ages, covering the social spectrum from the mighty Plantagenets to the most deprived agrarian serfs and foot soldiers. The meticulous, well-paced plot builds to a real surprise at the end.
June 13, 2005
In the spring of 1480, Roger the Chapman, the hero of Sedley's beguiling historical series (The Lammas Feast
, etc.), is planning a peddling excursion away from his troubled family in Bristol when the duke of Gloucester's spymaster summons him to London to help look into the murder of Fulk Quantrell—the ambitious son of a lady-in-waiting to the duke's sister—found battered to death in Fleet Street. Once in the capital, Roger joins forces with one of the duke's officers, Bertram Serifaber, and they soon have a number of suspects. Another death narrows the field, but the suspects are united by a tangle of family and business interests. Family preoccupies everyone—the duke wants to resolve Fulk's death for the sake of his much-loved sister, and Roger and Bertram each have difficulties with their own families. The tale starts slowly, but Sedley provides a wonderful window to England during the Wars of the Roses, from members of the aristocracy and the artisan and mercantile classes to the agrarian poor. This is not only splendid social history but a rich and satisfactory mystery to boot. Agent, David Grossman (U.K.).
June 1, 2008
Sedleys latest Roger the Chapman mystery is robust, bawdy, and chock-full of authentic fifteenth-century period detail. Its 1482, and the English king is determined to win back a northern border town recently lost to Scotland and claim the Scottish throne for his brother, the Duke of Albany. He appoints the Duke of Gloucester to lead an invasion into Scotland to teach the stubborn northerners a lesson. The Duke of Gloucester is Roger the Chapmans patron and commands Roger to accompany the army as bodyguard to Albany. Roger is reluctant to leave his home and family, and he cant imagine why hes needed to guard Albany. Then he and Albany are attacked on the way to Scotland, and one of Albanys friends is murdered, and theres unrest among Albanys men, leaving Roger in the middle. Although the plot is a bit contrived and meandering, Roger is a strong enough character to carry the book. Not the best in the series, but still a must for fans of English history-mysteries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)