From Publishers Weekly
Careful plotting, strong characters and a wealth of period detail distinguish the latest adventure of itinerant peddler and sleuth, Roger the Chapman, from British author Sedley (The Lammas Feast). As the gloomy winter of 1478 draws to a close, Roger is returning home to Bristol when he stops for the night in a village haunted by old mysteries. Six months earlier, a local siren, Eris Lilywhite, disappeared after humiliating her betrothed by consenting to marry his father instead. At Eris's grandmother's request (and despite the hostility of Eris's mother), Roger agrees to stay in Lower Brockhurst and investigate. His efforts to connect the girl's disappearance with other events in the village, both past and present, parallel the old parlor game, Nine Men's Morris, in which two opponents each try to form a line of three markers on a rectangular grid. Roger's instincts and medieval superstition occasionally collide with his more rational, logical side. Peasant characters at times think in ways inappropriate to their humble status ("The Papal Commissioners don't venture into the wilds very often, and when they do, sand is thrown in their eyes"), but in every other respect the author is true to period. Sedley pens medieval historicals as fine as those by better known names in this subgenre, including Edward Marston, Alan Gordon and Candace Robb.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Sedley offers up another entertaining installment in her medieval mystery series featuring Roger the Chapman (that's peddler, for those unfamiliar with medieval job titles). On the way home from a successful selling trip through the Cotswolds, the erstwhile amateur detective makes a chance stop at a remote village. He is quickly drawn into investigating the disappearance and suspected murder of beautiful Eris Lilywhite, who disappeared after she foolishly promised to marry not only wealthy farmer Ned Rawbone but also his elderly father. The locals brand Eris as a fortune-seeking trollop, but her mother and grandmother are desperate to find out what happened to her. When they learn of Roger's previous investigative successes, they beg for his help. The detailed portrait of life in the fifteenth century, the charming hero, and the imaginative plot make this another pleasurable read in Sedley's stylishly written and historically accurate series.
Emily MeltonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
