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The Good Death
'The series gets better and better . . . a very credible medieval world . . . Oswald is such an appealing character, growing richer and deeper with every book' - Andrew Taylor, author of Ashes of London
1370. Oswald de Lacy was not always Lord of the Manor, or even meant to be. The third son, he was sent off to become a novice monk. Now, with winter closing in on Somershill, his wife flirting with their houseguest, his sister sniping from the sidelines and his mother still ruling his life even from her deathbed, Oswald is forced to confront the secret that has haunted him ever since those days in the monastery.
1349. Sent to gather herbs in the forest by his tutor, Brother Peter, 18-year-old Oswald encounters a terrified girl, who runs into the swollen river and drowns. In her village, he discovers that she is only one of many poor young women who have disappeared, with no-one in authority caring enough to investigate.
Convinced the girls are dead, Oswald turns to the village women for help in finding the murderer - in particular to the beautiful Maud Woodstock, who provokes feelings in Oswald that no monk should entertain.
Soon, however, another killer stalks the land. Plague has come and the monastery is locked against it. Brother Peter insists that Oswald should forget his quest. But Oswald will not stop until he has discovered the shocking truth, which will echo down the years to a letter, clutched in his dying mother's hand.
1370. Oswald de Lacy was not always Lord of the Manor, or even meant to be. The third son, he was sent off to become a novice monk. Now, with winter closing in on Somershill, his wife flirting with their houseguest, his sister sniping from the sidelines and his mother still ruling his life even from her deathbed, Oswald is forced to confront the secret that has haunted him ever since those days in the monastery.
1349. Sent to gather herbs in the forest by his tutor, Brother Peter, 18-year-old Oswald encounters a terrified girl, who runs into the swollen river and drowns. In her village, he discovers that she is only one of many poor young women who have disappeared, with no-one in authority caring enough to investigate.
Convinced the girls are dead, Oswald turns to the village women for help in finding the murderer - in particular to the beautiful Maud Woodstock, who provokes feelings in Oswald that no monk should entertain.
Soon, however, another killer stalks the land. Plague has come and the monastery is locked against it. Brother Peter insists that Oswald should forget his quest. But Oswald will not stop until he has discovered the shocking truth, which will echo down the years to a letter, clutched in his dying mother's hand.
Hardcover
Published August 5, 2021
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March 20, 2022
Sooooo good! On realising this was a 5th book of a series and a subject and era of which I am an avid reader I quickly bought the 1st one, to get a feeling of context and character; but then followed it with the 2nd and 4th (I still have the joy of reading the 3rd, based in Venice, to come). I LOVE the character of Oswald de Lacy, from the gawky youth to the grown man. In this book, he has returned from Venice with his second wife, Filomena and his (first wife's) son.
This book is centred around Oswald's mother's deathbed. Always a difficult woman, she holds a letter close to her chest which Oswald is anxious to obtain, and destroy. We dont' know what the letter contains. He wants her forgiveness for his sins and actions past, before she passes away and so begins a long confession of events which occurred back in his youth when he was a novice monk at Kintham. This centres around his first investigation of 5 missing young women from a nearby village; swiftly followed by a missing monk. Lots of twists and turns, forbidden love, and arrogant and violent acts. Brother Peter of course is there to protect Oswald at every turn - or is he?
I highly recommend not just this book but the whole series of books by SD Sykes. And as a huge fan of CJ Sansom's Shardlake series (an investigator around the Tudor period with a very similar down to earth attitude and sense of dry humour) - I strongly think these two authors need to get together to plot the family tree as I'm convinced Oswald is a forbear of Shardlake! I'm going straight to buy Book 3 right now!
This book is centred around Oswald's mother's deathbed. Always a difficult woman, she holds a letter close to her chest which Oswald is anxious to obtain, and destroy. We dont' know what the letter contains. He wants her forgiveness for his sins and actions past, before she passes away and so begins a long confession of events which occurred back in his youth when he was a novice monk at Kintham. This centres around his first investigation of 5 missing young women from a nearby village; swiftly followed by a missing monk. Lots of twists and turns, forbidden love, and arrogant and violent acts. Brother Peter of course is there to protect Oswald at every turn - or is he?
I highly recommend not just this book but the whole series of books by SD Sykes. And as a huge fan of CJ Sansom's Shardlake series (an investigator around the Tudor period with a very similar down to earth attitude and sense of dry humour) - I strongly think these two authors need to get together to plot the family tree as I'm convinced Oswald is a forbear of Shardlake! I'm going straight to buy Book 3 right now!
Displaying 1 of 1 review