Murder at Whitby Abbey by Cassandra Clark

Murder at Whitby Abbey (Abbess of Meaux Mystery, #10)

by Cassandra Clark

Despatched to Whitby Abbey to barter for a Holy Relic, Hildegard of Meaux is plunged into a baffling murder investigation in this gripping medieval mystery.

December, 1389. As penance for her sexual misconduct earlier that year, Hildegard is sent by Abbot de Courcy to the powerful Whitby Abbey on a difficult quest: to obtain a Holy Relic, a lock of St Hild's hair, kept secretly by the monks for over 600 years.

Accompanied by two monks militant and a young priest from the Abbey of Meaux, Hildegard finds the Whitby guest house teeming with visitors intent on celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas before the austere days of Lent set in. To her dismay, she finds that others, too, are desperate to obtain the Relic and she has no choice but to enter a bidding war if she wants to fulfil her Abbot's request.

When the unmarked body of a young monk is discovered in an apple store, dangerous secrets emerge and with tensions between town and abbey erupting into open violence Hildegard finds that even the holy precinct is full of menace ...

"Clark expertly blends murder and Machiavellian politics in this stellar 14th-century historical . Fans of strong female sleuths like Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma will feel right at home" Publishers Weekly on A Parliament of Spies

"Highly recommended for fans of medieval mystery series like Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries" Library Journal on The Law of Angels

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Murder at Whitby Abbey is the 10th book in the Hildegard of Meaux medieval mystery series by Cassandra Clark. Released 1st Oct 2019 by Severn House, it's 240 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

I absolutely love historical mysteries. I was previously unfamiliar with this series and had no trouble keeping up with the characters or the plot. It works well as a standalone although references to plot developments from earlier books will likely affect my reading of them since there are some spoilers contained in this one.

The plotting is controlled and the story arc is interesting and immersive. The main characters are very well delineated, compassionate, and believable. I really like the setting and history, they come alive. The author has clearly done meticulous research about the daily lives and environs of people in and around religious orders of the 14th century in England. I wasn't slavish about looking up every date or historical character mentioned in the narrative, but the ones I did look up were correct and matched the known historical details. I'm not an historian (I'm a huge bio-nerd), but there were no glaring anachronisms which jumped out at me.

I really enjoyed Hildegard's practicality, intelligence, and wit. She works well with her 'team' and they complement one another's strengths. The book reminds me in a lot of ways of Brother Cadfael, although Ellis Peters' superlative series was set a couple of centuries earlier.

There is no especially graphic violence (it is a murder mystery) or rough language here. The denouement is satisfying. It's a well written period murder mystery and I will be seeking out the other books in the series.

For Kindle Unlimited subscribers; some of the earlier books in the series (about half) are available in the KU subscription to borrow and download for free. It's also worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Five stars. I really enjoyed it.

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

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  • 14 November, 2019: Reviewed