Forsaken Soul

Medieval Mystery #5

by Priscilla Royal

The summer of 1273 is peaceful for most of England, but not for Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal Priory. Her friend, Crowner Ralf, is newly widowed with a baby. And her new anchoress is welcoming visitors to her window at one of them a man the prioress secretly loves. Now his loyalty to her as head of Tyndal Priory is suspect. Then Martin the Cooper is poisoned at the local inn. Martin had a wealth of enemies. The killer could be any of them. No one likes the direction the evidence points, but God's justice must be rendered even for the most forsaken soul. "Against an authentic backdrop of medieval life and lore, Royal once again brings alive characters who are true to their period yet exhibit emotions and feelings that 21st-century readers will recognize as their own." ―Publishers Weekly starred review Priscilla Royal lives in Northern California. Forsaken Soul is her fifth Medieval Mystery. www.priscillaroyal.com

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Historical, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Priscilla has a degree in world literature from San Francisco State University, where she discovered the beauty of medieval literature. She is a theater fan as well as reader of history, mysteries, and fiction of lesser violence. She lives in Northern California and belongs to the California Writers Club and Sisters in Crime.

Reviews

[Ken Kugler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forsaken Soul, by Priscilla Royall, is the continuing story of the Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal Priory and the monk, Thomas. There are many characters that are used in all the stories but they are central to all the stories.
Crowner Ralf has returned with a new baby daughter whose mother had died with her birth. There is also the anchoress, who is scaring many by meeting with visitors at her window at night. These two have upset many and then there is the murder of Martin the Cooper, while at the local inn, by poison. This title could be not just about the murdered Cooper but about several of the characters and how they perceive themselves.
This entre into Priscilla Royall’s growing list of books is best used this time to grow the characters and give them more depth. Much as I enjoyed the story, the way Thomas is tortured by the demons in his soul and starts to come to grips with it with the help of the new anchoress, Juliana. Crowner Ralf returns also as a much more confused man who has much trouble with seeing things clearly because he will not/cannot see things as he once did, without prejudice. Prioress Eleanor too has to come to grips with many things including her discovery of Brother Thomas working for a spymaster and not just giving his fealty to her and the Priory.

This is a story, which is much more focus on interpersonal relationships than the previous books. The interplay between the main characters shows also how each sees themselves as more the center of their own worlds and how things seen and said can be wrongly interpreted. I cannot wait until I get my hands on the next volume.

[Woodstock Pickett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It looks like I read this for the first time not long after it was published. I recently checked out the audio book to enjoy on my regular walks, The characters, of course, were familiar, but I enjoyed the story all over again as if for the first time.
In the village of Tyndal, a man is found murdered in the local inn. The priory medical sister determines that the method was poisoning. In short order, there is another body, and eventually a third, all dead from drinking a poisoned brew.
I was suspicious all along of one of the main characters and turned out I was right.
The village is home to an innkeeper, his niece, a pair of blacksmith brothers, a cooper, an old hag skilled in various herbs and brews, the Prioress Eleanor, members of her community, a local law enforcement official, and a monk attached to the priory.
Quite a cast of characters! I enjoy this series and what I learn about 13th century England

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was set in the 13th century (1273) in a priory and the local township. It dealt primarily with the prioress and the doomed characters, and although I would have liked a broader view, it was overall a pretty good read. I would have liked to have a little more thoughts about the history of the characters, but since this is apparently not the first in the series, that may explain the lack of background.

The characters are interesting, but since I don't have their background, they seemed a little paper-dollish to me.

Unfortunately, I figured out rather quickly whodunnit - but people kept dying while the characters kept running around verbally bludgeoning each other.

However, it was very interesting in that it was truer to history - it did not pretend that people were perfectly chaste, or that priests never had sex.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I waited too long between books but I felt like I missed something the whole time I was reading. Example: Apparently there is this letter received by Prioress Eleanor from her aunt Sister Beatrice that exposes Brother Thomas as a spy. The reader is never told when this letter arrived or really what is says. It was a little confusing as Prioress Eleanor seemed to struggle with the knowledge for most of the book. I would imagine it's building to a conclusion but it would be nice to know a little more about how the whole thing came about in the first place. The letter, I mean. The reader has always known about Brother Thomas

[Diane Meyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Skip this book. Dry and dull.

[Richie4 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the sixth, and LAST, of this series for me. Two books so far, Sorrow without End, and this one, have committed the unpardonable sin for a novelist of cheating, of playing cheap tricks on the reader just to create false clues. In the earlier book, Ms Royal has the murderer coldly and rationally plan his revenge in his mind prior to the murder. We find out a day later he is a psychological basket case (presumably PTSD from the crusades) with no chance of having had those thoughts. In this book, early (page 14), Signy says to herself, "It is over ... It is done with." The reader is clearly meant to interpret this as her feeling of completion having poisoned Martin. In fact it was not her at all. If Ms Royal were to counter that she said those things to herself as a reaction to having been groped, I would laugh. Who says that after being molested?

No, I am done with Ms Royal. It is perfectly reasonable to create false passages, ambiguous clues, but a novelist must represent reality; the facts and clues and character portraits must be congruent or one is writing fantasy, where anything goes. I've read tons of mysteries (and do not read them with any hope of solving them before the end; they are just fun) and in none of them does one think to oneself, "Wait, that clue back on page 14 could not have happened."

I don't read writers I can't trust. Stick to Kate Sedley and Roger the Chapman if you want enjoyable medieval murder mysteries. It's too bad since Ms Royal is an excellent writer with fantastic dialogue and Eleanor a great character. Despite the tedious interminable bathos of her lust for Brother Thomas, and despite the obsessive book-after-book pre-occupation with homosexuality, they are, when Ms Royal is not playing games with the reader, good books.

[Potatoes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was well written, however I was disappointed in how quickly I figured out who the murderer was. I’m also surprised that all the main characters didn’t consider that character to be the murderer either, especially Ralf who knew the history of them and the other characters.

Originally I was going to give this book 3 stars, but I appreciated the Brother Cadfael reference at the end of the book (the old crusader who was going to Shrewsbury to be a Benedictine monk and who had poppy seeds). That made me smile because I’m a huge fan of the Brother Cadfael books so I’m glad Royal references them.

[Dena · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, I have been enjoying this series, but this book wasn't a favorite. I am tired of Brother Thomas' whining. I'm not even sure what he is whining about, but it's getting tiresome. The Crowner was an uncharacteristic bully, and the Prioress almost seemed to be verging on religious fanaticism. It felt like all the characters I had grown to love were gone. I'll try the next book in the series in the hope the characters return to normal.

[Bruce Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forsaken Soul

Another great book in this series. A man is poisoned and the quest for the truth begins. Who did it? We have an odd group of suspects. The new anchoress may be possessed. Ralf the Crowner has feelings for Signy one of the suspects, will that lead him to the wrong conclusion? I enjoyed it.

[Papri · Rating 4 out of 5]

More convoluted than the last one

Mystery was not so hard to guess but the way it unfolded was rather elaborate.
Still a good one, spdcially interesting the way the moral and spiritual struggles of the characters is drawn.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the characters in this series but I didn't really care for the Eleanor's character development in this story. The plot was a little weak (it was obvious who the murderer was going to be about halfway through) and the writing was sloppy in places. Lots of typos.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

1273. At the local inn Martin the Cooper has been poisoned by the wine he ordered while entertaining the local harlot. Crowner Ralf investigates but is he persuaded by his feelings and then there is another death.
Not the best in the series, not enough mystery too much introspection.

[Nance Roepke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book because I am fascinated by anchoresses. But it really wasn't that authentic nor did it focus on the anchoress as much as I had hoped.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the characters and the plot as confined by medieval mores.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’re enjoying listening to this series but I did feel that they took a ridiculously long time to figure out “who done it” this time.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made it through the first few, but they just kept getting more and more depressing.

[Michael Wojciehoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep. Psychology and the what ifs? Karma and who is it to judge? Transitions and how will they play out in the rest of the series.

[BookAddict · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this and only wished I'd been able to read the first four. (This was the audio version and the narrator did a great job!) I'm not completely sure who the "detective" was in this because it seemed as if there was a collective of people in the town all investigating the mysterious poisonings. The mystery was well plotted and the characters were engaging. There was amazing historical detail in this that was fascinating and if I hadn't been driving while listening I would have been searching the internet and dictionaries for more information to further explain some of the tidbits of the life portrayed in this novel.

Just an aside: About the only complaint I have is that it would have been really nice to have had the "Author's Notes" information in the beginning as there was quite a bit of historical information that would have been nice to have up front. Given that this was audio there was no way for me to look up terms or other information that I didn't completely understand as there would have been in a regular book or an e-book. Hearing the notes at the end I had a big "a-ha" and there were only a couple of instances in the notes that referred to characters in the book.

[Barb Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters are engaging, if not always likeable, and the depiction of medieval England is very well done. I particularly appreciate the recognition that the majority truly believed in the church's teachings that women were inferior, and that the author doesn't put anachronistic feminist views into her characters' heads. To pretend that those prejudices didn't prevail, to me, is to pretend that there was no need to fight for any changes. The crime's solution was fairly obvious, but the story still held interest because of the interactions of the characters and because of the historical setting.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I figured out the culprit very early on, which was kind of disappointing. It's extremely obvious. Great group of characters, though, so I'll be moving on to the next book in the series.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of this mystery was well developed and most of the setting seemed pretty believable, not that I know much about that time beyond fiction, but the presentation of the populace as firm believers in Christianity seemed a little to complete to be true. They seemed to be all pretty well brainwashed, which I doubt was the case, human nature being what it is. The main character has her obvious failings, but even these are presented within an absolute faith in the current interpretations of the church.

I may try another of this series, to see if my analysis is valid.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had realized it was part of a series. This was number five - I believe. The story was good but I was missing elements most likely supplied in the previous books. The characters are very much into their own religious and often tormented thoughts. This reader was unable to care about any of them in a relatable way. However the writing is good and tbe narrator of this audio book was very pleasing.

[ReadHowYouWant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the summer of 1273, Royal’s fifth historical finds Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal beset by various problems, including the death of a friend and her attraction to a monk. The Midwest Book Review stated, “The latest Priscilla Royal medieval mystery…is a clever historical whodunit that uses vivid background to enhance an engaging investigation.”

[Deborah Bogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read on village life.

Royal has created a believable medieval village and gives us a picture of the contradictions and queries that religious teaching at the time might have prompted in the minds of the more thoughtful. If you enjoy a mystery be warned that guilty party is evident early on. Nevertheless the psychology of those near the dire murders is interesting.

[Debbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this author, who publishes under a couple of non de plume's, but this book had a little too much soul searching and seeking answers from God in it for me. Ok, it is about an abbess who solves mysteries, but I like it better when she's not so self doubting. If that kind of thing doesn't bother you, read this book. If it does, try one of her others!

[Cece · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd rather give this 3.5 stars. The characters continue to grow and develop in this series, but it is the second in which the solution of the mystery is through sudden intuition-getting a little samey.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this book althought the plot was quite good. I found the flowerly language especially in the dialogue was too much more so when the uneducated are speaking. Also too much "Satan" as the blame for all evils.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not grab me - it was a struggle to finish it. If it had been longer, I probably would have quit before I got to the end. Even though I had read the previous three books in the series, I felt like I didn't know any of the main characters.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The constant questioning of their souls is getting kinda boring...the mystery is good, but the actual investigation by Thomas & Eleanor is pretty shallow. Crowner Ralf takes more of the center stage in this.

[Caroline Hodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Knew the murdered from about Chapter 2. Don't mind the series for being fairly fluffy historical whodunnits, but you spend most of the book thinking the characters are idiots/wilfully ignoring the people they should be questioning.