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C. B. Hanley

Auteur de The Sins of the Father

8 oeuvres 98 utilisateurs 10 critiques

Séries

Œuvres de C. B. Hanley

The Sins of the Father (2009) 36 exemplaires
The Bloody City (2013) 19 exemplaires
Whited Sepulchres (1687) 9 exemplaires
Brother's Blood (1814) 9 exemplaires
Give Up the Dead (2018) 8 exemplaires
Cast the First Stone (2020) 7 exemplaires
By the Edge of the Sword (2021) 6 exemplaires

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Membres

Critiques

This is the eighth book in the author's series of Medieval murder mysteries featuring Edwin Weaver, scribe to Earl Warenne of Surrey during the political upheaval after the barons' revolt against King John and the latter's death, when the country is ruled by William Marshal as regent in the name of the boy king Henry III. Earl Warenne is in dispute with another noble Baron Robert de Vieuxpont over the ownership of Tickhill Castle, which he has to reason to believe should come back to him on behalf of his ward Alice. Edwin and his pregnant wife Alys have to adopt false identities as a merchant and his wife in order to infiltrate the castle and find out de Vieuxpont's motives. Eventually it emerges that a vital official document has been mislaid when the body of a messenger is discovered. In fact, the latter's demise is not the lynchpin of the story; the main narrative drive is Edwin's determination to protect Alys during her pregnancy and get back to his quiet family life. This is understandable and moving, but perhaps a little overdone here, and I thought the story was a bit less substantial than many of the others. Still, this was quietly enjoyable and I like Edwin and his family, and am glad there are to be more in the series.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
john257hopper | Sep 27, 2023 |
This is the seventh book in what has become one of my favourite historical mystery series, featuring Edwin Weaver, a scribe to Earl Warenne of Surrey in the early 13th century, in the aftermath of the civil wars that has taken place under King John, and now during the minority of his young son King Henry III. A former member of the Earl's household, Lady Joanna, is accused of murdering her husband and Edwin is called to investigate (both by Joanna to establish her innocence, and by the Earl to establish the facts and if necessary distance his household from her alleged actions). Edwin's headstrong friend Martin is in love with Joanna and his rash actions sometimes hinder Edwin's investigations. Needless to say, there are numerous red herrings and motivations for murder, including potential heirs to the murdered man. As ever, Edwin comes across as an immensely likeable and humane man, trying to do the right thing in very difficult circumstances, where gossip and rumour prevail on all sides and he has to try patiently and persistently to sift out the few hard facts from the morass of hearsay. The conclusion is suitably dramatic and violent and Edwin's quiet courage wins justice in the end. One can sympathise with him as he leaves at the end of the book to return to his young wife Alys who is pregnant with their first child. I love this series and hope there will be many more.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
john257hopper | Jan 3, 2022 |
This is the sixth book in the author's series of historical mysteries set in the early 13th century. Our hero Edwin Weaver, scribe to Earl Warenne of Surrey, is back in his home town of Conisbrough in South Yorkshire after his traumatic experiences at the naval battle of Sandwich in the previous book. When the unpopular local bailiff Ivo is murdered, many of Edwin's fellow townspeople blame one of the French masons who had been working on the bailiff's house. Edwin's investigations are frustrated by the local desire to pin blame on the foreigners in their midst, whatever the evidence, a sad trait in some communities even today. But things turn nastier for Edwin when his belief that the mason Denis is innocent causes some of the local community, even people Edwin has known for years, to turn on him and he is himself convicted by a local jury of complicity in the murder. Then there is a further killing of a member of Edwin's family and he must race against time to find the real culprit before the sheriff of Yorkshire arrives to confirm the local verdict. Needless to say, he succeeds but only very narrowly. I like Edwin and his wife Alys and the local villagers are well described and quite interesting characters - this is a series I have enjoyed over the past five years. What slightly brought this down for me was that the original murder victim Ivo the bailiff was deeply unpopular and many people had cause to resent him, so would his death really be greeted by the near unanimous foreigner-baiting depicted here? In reality, it seems to me many would have privately welcomed his demise, and not been so keen to find pin the murder on the wrong culprit.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
john257hopper | Jul 13, 2020 |
This is the fifth in the author series of historical mysteries set in the early 13th century during the civil war between the supporters of the boy King Henry III and those of the French Prince Louis, who had previously been invited to the country by the barons opposed to young Henry's father, King John. Our hero Edwin Weaver, scribe to Earl Warenne of Surrey, a thoughtful and observant young man from Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, is missing his wife Alys, whom he re-encountered and married at the end of the previous book, and feeling increasingly repelled by the ravages of the civil war being inflicted by both sides on the innocent people of the country. The climax of the action in this book is the bloody naval battle of Sandwich, off the coast of Kent, in and around the savage fighting of which Edwin loses some of his friends and companions in differing circumstances. He also solves the mystery behind a series of near fatal mishaps that occur around the retinue of the earl and his key comrades, the source of which is shockingly unexpected to young Edwin. I really like Edwin, and I was glad to read in the author's historical note that there will be further books in the series.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
john257hopper | Oct 27, 2019 |

Prix et récompenses

Statistiques

Œuvres
8
Membres
98
Popularité
#193,038
Évaluation
3.8
Critiques
10
ISBN
18

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