The Hour of the Fox (A Brother Chandler Mystery, #1)

by Cassandra Clark

Introducing reluctant spy and friar-sleuth Brother Rodric Chandler in the first of a brand-new medieval mystery series.

London. July, 1399. As rumours spread that his ambitious cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, has returned from exile in France, King Richard's grip on the English throne grows ever more precarious. Meanwhile, the body of a young woman is discovered at Dowgate sluice. When it's established that the dead woman was a novice from nearby Barking Abbey, the coroner calls in his friend, Brother Chandler, to investigate.

Who would cut the throat of a young nun and throw her remains in the river? And what was she doing outside the confines of the priory in the first place? Secretly acting as a spy for Henry Bolingbroke, Chandler is torn by conflicting loyalties and agonising self-doubt. As the king's cousin marches towards Wales and England teeters on the brink of civil war, Chandler's investigations will draw him into affairs of state - and endanger not only himself but all those around him.

• ISBN10: 0727889583
• ISBN13: 9780727889584
• Publish Date: 28 February 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Imprint: Severn House
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Hour of the Fox is the debut novel in a new medieval mystery series by Cassandra Clark. Released 2nd June 2020 by Severn House, it's 314 pages (ebook) and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a cleverly plotted and well written but densely historical novel set during the very late years of the 14th century. Titular protagonist Brother Chandler is a clever spy/cleric reluctantly in the employ of Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV), one of the major players in the jockeying for the English crown. He and his friend, Sir Arnold Archer, a city coroner, investigate the murder of a novice who belonged to a neighboring religious order and try not to get arrested or murdered themselves.

This is definitely a promising start to a series for lovers of medieval mysteries. The historical background is meticulously presented and lovers of the history and intrigue of the English crown will find much to enjoy here. For readers less engaged in the background story and larger picture, I fear much of the story will be lost in the minutiae of who was doing what to whom and who was allied with who (and they're nearly all related: fathers and sons, brothers and uncles, all trying to kill or discredit one another). I enjoyed it immensely and found myself drawn along with the mystery and intrigue. This is one which will be gobbled up by fans of Candace Robb's Owen Archer series (set 30some years earlier), and it rang the same bell for me as many of the Brother Cadfael books or even Graves' prodigious epic I, Claudius (completely different time periods of course, but the rigorous background history is the same). Fans of the author's other series will also likely enjoy this one very much.

Well written and plotted, and the dialogue rang true for me. There's a weird/intriguing cameo from Chaucer (yes, that Chaucer) and his household with foreshadowing for future installments. I'm definitely interested in following this one up. It's a cerebral and complex mystery set against a backdrop of complex political upheaval. It's not particularly easy or fluffy reading.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.