A Taste for Killing by Sarah Hawkswood

A Taste for Killing (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.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

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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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Reading updates

  • 10 January, 2023: Started reading
  • 10 January, 2023: Finished reading
  • 10 January, 2023: Reviewed