A Taste for Killing: The intriguing medieval mystery series (Bradecote & Catchpoll)

by Sarah Hawkswood

Worcester, January 1145. Poison strikes down bow maker Godfrey Bowyer and his wife Blanche after their evening meal. While she survives, he dies an agonising death. Few could have administered the poison, which should mean a very short investigation for the Sheriff's men, Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin. But perhaps someone was pulling the strings, and that widens the net considerably.

With an unpopular victim, the suspects are many and varied.

• ISBN10: 0749028963
• ISBN13: 9780749028961
• Publish Date: 12 May 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 December 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Allison & Busby
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

A Taste for Killing is the 10th book in Sarah Hawkswood's medieval Bradecote & Catchpoll mystery series. Released 12th May 2022 by Allison & Busby, it's 352 pages and is available in paperback 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 an intricately crafted and well engineered mystery. The author has wrapped it around a meticulous and accurate historical framework so well and seamlessly that it's not at all clear where real actual history shades over into fiction. The plot and background are self contained in this volume and it's not necessary to have read the previous books to keep up with the story here. The pacing is occasionally a trifle measured/slow, but I found the whole a delightful read. I never felt lost or confused; it works very well as a standalone mystery. 

It's set in 1145 so the investigation is different from modern procedurals. The language is fairly clean, and the prose is well written and I never found myself yanked out of the narrative by anachronistic or clumsy dialogue or historical mistakes (although I am NOT a historian). 

I would heartily recommend this one to readers of the historical murder mystery genre, especially fans of Sharon Kay Penman, Ellis Peters, Candace Robb, and Susanna Gregory (and similar). Fans of well written character driven mystery from any period will find much to enjoy here. Since there are now 10 books extant with an 11th due out in 2nd quarter 2023, it would make a fun buddy/bookclub/binge read for fans of the genre.

Four and a half stars. 

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

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Thank you NetGalley and Allison & Busby for the chance to read and review A Taste for Killing!

Spoilers

In a small 1145. Godfrey Bowyer, one of the least likeable people in Worcester, dies a painful death by poisoning. Suspicion falls on a whole host of people; his wife Blanche, who ate the same meal but survived; his brother who is in a ton of debt and may have wanted his business; the cook who hated the wife and may have intended to kill her; the servant who was pregnant with the masters child; the man whose wife Godfrey harassed.

 

While A Taste of Killing is interesting, it's a slow read mostly because it's written in the same dialect that was used in 1145, which slows a reader down. That being said, it keeps your interest for the most part and you can tell that they aren't going to stop digging and take an easy answer.

 

I had no idea that taste for killing was part of a larger series when I requested it, so I'm not sure if the characters are growing or staying the same. I didn't find most of the characters memorable, all three of the men kinda blur into one for me, and as this was a series I've missed things like when Walkelin fell for Eluned, etc.

 

While I love Blanche as a character, I wasn't happy that she was the one who had done it. I feel like that was so easy to do as she's an outsider and suddenly that one priest remembers her. She was fairly smart to have gotten away with what look like 2 other deaths, and I don't think she would have risked this all so suddenly; there were too many loose ends for her to do this so suddenly.

Spoilers over

If you're reading this do keep in mind that Godfrey does totally deserve his end; he was pretty predatory towards a lot of women and an awful husband.