Jerelyn H. (I-F-Letty) -
Helpful Score: 2
I finished The Unquite Bones today, and I enjoyed it very much. It takes place in England in the 14th century. Hugh de Singleton is a student at Oxford and through some soul searching, and the death of a dear friend of the plague he goes to Paris to study to become a surgeon. On his return he hangs out his shingle so to speak in Oxford. This is where he meets his destiny and his patron. He moves to the village of Bampton and in the course of his duties a skeleton of a young woman is found in the cesspit, which is mucked out regularly, so they know the girls was recently dumped there but long enough ago to strip her identity from her. Lord Gilbert charges Hugh with finding the identity of the girl and the killer. Hugh just hopes he is up to the task. This is written about a remarkable time in feudal England when the population had been decimated by the plague, the ruling class actually valued the peasantry, after all who would they get to muck out the cesspit. Melvin Starr has a masters knowledge of the culture and customs, and history of the time period and relates it so well, that you wish he had been your history teacher.
Cheryl R. (Spuddie) -
Helpful Score: 1
First in a historical series set in and around Bampton, UK in the 1360's. The country is still feeling the effects of the devastation left by the Black Death that coursed its way through two decades previously. Surgeon Hugh de Singleton is trying to make ends meet in Oxford but finding the going difficult when he is offered a position in Bampton by the Lord of the castle there.
Not long after his arrival, a set of bones are found when the serfs are cleaning out the privy pit, first believed to be pig bones, and then believed to be the bones of a nobleman who had visited Lord Gilbert a few months previously and vanished. It turns out to be neither, as Hugh determines from observing the bones that they had belonged to a young woman. Lord Gilbert soon has Hugh working not only as the town's surgeon, but asks him to be his bailiff at the castle, and wants to know who those bones belonged to--as well as to discover what happened to his guest who disappeared. Hugh is a bit dismayed at the request, but is grateful for his position so does his best to solve both mysteries.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. This is about my favorite time period in history to read about, and this author is a historian and graces us with lots of wonderful detail that brings you right into the time period. That said, he's also a good writer--not dry and scholarly sounding like some attempts at fiction by historical experts can be--and tells an engaging tale featuring an interesting man in Hugh de Singleton.
The mystery itself wasn't too hard to figure out, although I did follow a couple of wandering paths away from the solution briefly. A thoroughly enjoyable foray--and I especially appreciated the author's glossary of terms. I read a lot of books set in the time period so knew most of them, but did learn a few new ones. Awesome!
Not long after his arrival, a set of bones are found when the serfs are cleaning out the privy pit, first believed to be pig bones, and then believed to be the bones of a nobleman who had visited Lord Gilbert a few months previously and vanished. It turns out to be neither, as Hugh determines from observing the bones that they had belonged to a young woman. Lord Gilbert soon has Hugh working not only as the town's surgeon, but asks him to be his bailiff at the castle, and wants to know who those bones belonged to--as well as to discover what happened to his guest who disappeared. Hugh is a bit dismayed at the request, but is grateful for his position so does his best to solve both mysteries.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. This is about my favorite time period in history to read about, and this author is a historian and graces us with lots of wonderful detail that brings you right into the time period. That said, he's also a good writer--not dry and scholarly sounding like some attempts at fiction by historical experts can be--and tells an engaging tale featuring an interesting man in Hugh de Singleton.
The mystery itself wasn't too hard to figure out, although I did follow a couple of wandering paths away from the solution briefly. A thoroughly enjoyable foray--and I especially appreciated the author's glossary of terms. I read a lot of books set in the time period so knew most of them, but did learn a few new ones. Awesome!
Helpful Score: 1
Really nice first book in the series. Well written. I especially like the main character Hugh, very interesting and pragamatic. Time period is interesting and discussion of medievil medicine is fascinating to me. Look foward to book two.
Love this series - it is light but engaging, and all the medieval trappings are fascinating.
Loved it and am looking forward to thennext in the next in the series
Amy B. (BaileysBooks) reviewed The Unquiet Bones (Hugh de Singleton, Bk 1) on + 491 more book reviews
This is the First Chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon.
It is the first book written by history-professor-turned-author Mel Starr. I felt like The Unquiet Bones read like a first novel due to the relative simplicity of the plot and the effort by the author to use period naming for everything. (Let's just say that a forest is not a forest unless it is a recently 'coppiced' forest.)
It is fortunate that a glossary is provided at the start of the book. Otherwise I might have been lost among all of the church holidays, job descriptions, and period vocabulary. Perhaps this choice of wording was used in order to make the book more realistic or true to its time, but for me it actually detracted from the work. The effort, I assume, was to make the work seem authentic. In my opinion it simply made it seem contrived.
The murder mystery is relatively simple although it does contain one rather interesting twist. The main character is moderately likable although he is a little slow on the uptake. I was also expecting to learn more about Medieval surgery, but very little (or far less than I expected) was actually described.
In all, this is a relatively simple book but a pleasant read. It is not bad, but it is also not among the best offerings of Medieval forensics that I have come across in the past. It seemed to lack a richness and a depth that would separate it from similar works. In all, it was worth reading even though it was somewhat forgettable. I would recommend it, but not with much enthusiasm.
It is the first book written by history-professor-turned-author Mel Starr. I felt like The Unquiet Bones read like a first novel due to the relative simplicity of the plot and the effort by the author to use period naming for everything. (Let's just say that a forest is not a forest unless it is a recently 'coppiced' forest.)
It is fortunate that a glossary is provided at the start of the book. Otherwise I might have been lost among all of the church holidays, job descriptions, and period vocabulary. Perhaps this choice of wording was used in order to make the book more realistic or true to its time, but for me it actually detracted from the work. The effort, I assume, was to make the work seem authentic. In my opinion it simply made it seem contrived.
The murder mystery is relatively simple although it does contain one rather interesting twist. The main character is moderately likable although he is a little slow on the uptake. I was also expecting to learn more about Medieval surgery, but very little (or far less than I expected) was actually described.
In all, this is a relatively simple book but a pleasant read. It is not bad, but it is also not among the best offerings of Medieval forensics that I have come across in the past. It seemed to lack a richness and a depth that would separate it from similar works. In all, it was worth reading even though it was somewhat forgettable. I would recommend it, but not with much enthusiasm.
