Theresa Tomlinson

It took me a while to get comfortable with this one because of my unfamiliarity with the names of the historical figures who appear within (Elfled, Eanfleda, Alchfrid/Alchfrith, Ecfrid/Egfrith), so I had to keep reminding myself, "Wait, who is this one again?" but once I got accustomed to the names, the rest was cake. Possibly on purpose, this historical mystery puts me in mind of the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, and I think anyone who enjoys Cadfael will enjoy this. The monastic setting, the religious rituals, the political intrigue, the herbalist--this has much in common with Peters's series, indeed, and since I've already read and enjoyed all the Cadfaels, I'm happy I found this series. Just don't ask me to sing the "Name Game" song for any of these characters, please. Then again, I suppose I could do it if I tried...

Ecfrid, Ecfrid,
Bo-bec-frid,
bo-na-na fanna Fo-fec-rid.
fee fi mo-mec-rid, Ecfrid!

I'm guessing you just sang that in your head!… (mere)

This is a follow up to the author's historical murder mystery A Swarming of Bees, featuring Fridgyth the herb-wife gently sleuthing in the monastic community of both monks and nuns presided over by the historical Abbess Hild in 7th century Whitby. Like its predecessor, it is well written and engaging, though quite slow to get going, with the drama mostly packed into the last quarter or so, centring around murders committed for revenge as part of a blood feud, one of many such vendettas that scarred the lives of generations of many Anglo Saxons. Interestingly, I found out recently that this author has written several series of books for young adults, some set in the same time period, and this explains her fairly detailed descriptions of Anglo Saxon customs and life, that add educational colour to the plots.… (mere)

This is an engaging murder mystery novel set during the early days of medieval history in the 7th century when the English church was deciding whether to follow Celtic or Roman practice and at the same time a lot of people still worshipped pagan gods. It features real historical characters such as Abbess Hild who presided over a monastic community of both monks and nuns in Northumbria. The characters, both real and fictional, are engaging, and while the plot is a little slow to gather pace, it then takes off against a background of plague and intrigue about visitors to Hild's community who are not what they seem. I liked this and would read more by this author.… (mere)