Sam Thomas (2)

To be clear up front, I’m only giving this three stars because mystery-centric stories aren’t my favorite kinds of books—otherwise it would have been at least a four. So if you like historical mysteries, definitely read this one!

This was another book I picked up at Free Book Day in 2013, only to realize during my first week on the metadata job this year that it had grown into a whole series. So it was well past time to read it!

It was a delight to read historical fiction set in a less-usual time and a less-usual place than enjoyable but overdone Tudor London. Also a special delight was the presence of strong women characters, something I did figure was there given the series’ popularity (most readers in general, and most mystery readers in particular, are women), but I have to admit to some trepidation since the book was written by a man. Thomas delivers, though, with decently-developed women, even if one is a bit improbable. But despite the attention to historical detail, this is ultimately a detective novel, so I’ll grant some leeway for the butt-kicking maid.

This was definitely a fun book, and I think that fans of historical mysteries will love it (I mean, I know they do, I can literally see how many books, editions, and printings there are of this book). It has all the charm of an episode of Inspector Lewis (if more blood), with characters you can root for, characters you can frown at, and—best of all for history nerds like me—historicity has not been totally sacrificed on the altar of plot. Bridget’s case is interrupted every so often by births, so her profession is actually central to the book rather than just an excuse for her to know so many people.

Thomas reveals in a note at the end that the main character was inspired by a real midwife of the time. Though we have next to no information about her, I hope she would be tickled to have inspired such a spirited, independent character.


Quote Roundup

21) Bridget looks in a mirror, but Thomas resists the ghastly urge male writers have to wax poetic about their female protagonists’ beauty. Hurrah! That said, after Bridget hires Martha, her loyal but aging servant, Hannah, all but disappears from the book. Bit odd, that.

89) Points lost for the stereotypical gruff dwarf prison guard. Some points later regained when we find out he’s taken an urchin under his wing.

169) For much of the book, it wasn’t clear to me whether Ester was actually pregnant or not. Her arguments had seemed carefully worded to avoid an actual confirmation. Of course, lying would have ruined her legitimacy, but it was interesting that Thomas did not make clear from the start whether she was telling the truth or not.

192) While Thomas did have an excuse for so many suspects keeping diaries, I thought it a bit of a stretch that every apothecary in the city would use different bottles. It seems like an enormous expense for the time. I don’t know how large York was, but surely several would have used the same source of least-expense glassware?

256) I actually really admired the way Thomas developed Bridget’s feelings about the loss of her daughter. Feeling more happiness than pain here seemed like a realistic move, rather than having her wallowing in misery for the rest of her life—though of course some pain remains.

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