Cheryl R. (Spuddie) -
#14 Roger the Chapman medieval mystery. Roger is once again off from Bristol as his cobbled-together family begins to wear on his nerves and after more than a year, he decides to hit the open road selling his wares. Before he can leave, Master Timothy Plummer, agent and spy for Duke Richard of Gloucester comes to Bristol and finds Roger with a summons from Richard himself.
It seems the son of one of his sister's (Margaret of York, now the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy) favorite ladies has been murdered and he wishes the crime to be solved before Margaret must go back to Burgundy. Fulk Quantrell was just eighteen but much wiser than his years, having learned to charm the ladies, including his aunt who changed her will for him, leaving him not only her home, but the embroidery shop she'd inherited from her husband. Supposedly coshed on the head by a footpad and robbed, Roger discovers that death scenario for Fulk unlikely as the killer left his purse and jewels on him--they were taken, but by two beggars who moved his body from in front of their patch after they found him dead. Despite all the women Fulk came into contact with singing his praises, Roger soon discovers that he wasn't such a charming young man underneath it all, and that there are plenty of people who were not sorry he was dead. Roger's astute powers of observation and refusal to give up eventually have him solving the crime.
I really enjoyed this installment in the series--the easy-reading style of writing, the historical detail and sense of place, and the interesting characters, including plenty of real historical people as well.
It seems the son of one of his sister's (Margaret of York, now the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy) favorite ladies has been murdered and he wishes the crime to be solved before Margaret must go back to Burgundy. Fulk Quantrell was just eighteen but much wiser than his years, having learned to charm the ladies, including his aunt who changed her will for him, leaving him not only her home, but the embroidery shop she'd inherited from her husband. Supposedly coshed on the head by a footpad and robbed, Roger discovers that death scenario for Fulk unlikely as the killer left his purse and jewels on him--they were taken, but by two beggars who moved his body from in front of their patch after they found him dead. Despite all the women Fulk came into contact with singing his praises, Roger soon discovers that he wasn't such a charming young man underneath it all, and that there are plenty of people who were not sorry he was dead. Roger's astute powers of observation and refusal to give up eventually have him solving the crime.
I really enjoyed this installment in the series--the easy-reading style of writing, the historical detail and sense of place, and the interesting characters, including plenty of real historical people as well.
