The Riverwoman's Dragon (An Owen Archer mystery)

by Candace Robb

When the wise woman Magda Digby is suspected of murder, Owen Archer sets out to prove her innocence in this intricately plotted medieval mystery.

May, 1375. Owen Archer returns from London to find York in chaos. While the citizens are living in terror of the pestilence which is spreading throughout the land, a new physician has arrived, whipping up fear and suspicion against traditional healers and midwives. With the backing of the new archbishop, he is especially hostile towards Magda Digby, the wise woman who has helped and healed the people of York for many years. At the same time, Magda is uneasy about the arrival of two long-lost kinsfolk. Though they say they are seeking her help, she senses a hidden agenda.

Magda's troubles deepen when she discovers a body in the river near her home - and finds herself under suspicion of murder. Days later, fire rips through a warehouse in the city. Amongst the charred debris lies the body of a man - not burned, but stabbed in the back. Could there be a connection to the corpse in the river?

Determined to prove Magda's innocence, Owen sets out to find answers - but the more he uncovers, the deeper the mystery becomes . . .

• ISBN10: 1780291361
• ISBN13: 9781780291369
• Publish Date: 26 August 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Imprint: Severn House
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Riverwoman's Dragon is a beautifully written medieval historical mystery and the 13th book in the Owen Archer series by Candace Robb. Released 2nd Nov 2021 by Severn House, it's 256 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats (paperback due out in June 2022). 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.

I'm always impressed by well constructed technically adept mysteries. They're well constructed puzzles and it's definitely not a trivial exercise to fasten all the disparate pieces together into a cohesive working whole. Adding another layer of complexity to the task is setting the mystery and resolution in a historical setting. Eagle eyed readers are guaranteed to notice any mistakes, however minor.

This is a mystery series which is consistently solid; quite well written and with a protagonist who is intelligent (but not TOO intelligent) and compassionate (but not TOO soppy). The dialogue is believable, but not incomprehensible given the time period, and the plot is woven around a framework of real historical events so skillfully that it's not always apparent what's fiction and what is real history.

This will be a good choice for library acquisition, and for fans of medieval historical mysteries. The writing and plotting are superlative and fans of mystery in general will find a lot to like here.

Five stars. Very strong series. This book works as a standalone, but I recommend the series as a whole.

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