From Publishers Weekly
In her second well-crafted medieval mystery featuring valiant Roger the sic Chapman, Sedley ( Death and the Chapman ) places her strapping 21-year-old peddler in the treacherous duplicity of the War of the Roses. In 1473, a benign Richard of Gloucester (who will become Richard III) picks Roger to guard Philip Underdown, who is carrying a message to Duke Francis of Brittany on behalf of Richard's embattled brother King Edward IV. Underdown's unsavory past has earned him many enemies, so Roger arms himself with a stout cudgel, known as a "Plymouth cloak." Although his dislike of Philip intensifies when he learns that Philip has been a slaver specializing in dwarfs, then all the rage at European courts, Roger successfully foils various attackers. Then they seek shelter in a castle, where Philip, sneaking out on apparently amorous quest, is fatally beaten and stabbed. Roger, acting as detective, sorts through various suspects, wraps up the case and sees that Richard's message is delivered. The story compares well to Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael tales.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
A limp second outing for medieval peddlar Roger the Chapman finds him, in 1473, taking on another assignment for the Duke of Gloucester - this time, to keep the Duke's agent, Philip Underdown, safe until he can board The Falcon at Plymouth, two days hence, and sail for France with an important message for the Breton court. On their journey to the sea, two attempts are made on Philip's life. Then, alas, the ship is delayed, and they must put up at a local estate, where Philip's unsavory past comes back to plague him: he was a former slaver specializing in the sale of dwarves and children, whose growth he forcibly stunted with daisies and knotweed. Finally, despite Roger's best efforts, Philip is knifed and bludgeoned to death. Whodunit? A rival royal faction out to thwart his political mission or a victim from his slave-trade days? As Roger snoops and pokes about the manor (a la the pesky Miss Marple), numerous suspects abound - including an irate husband whom Philip may have cuckolded - before the downbeat, if not unexpected, conclusion. Less atmospheric than Death and the Chapman, and it takes much padding to stretch the skimpy plot to booklength. (Kirkus Reviews)
