On the whole, an interesting mystery that moved right along. Unfortunately, for me the history doesn't quite ring true in details here and there. I'm not an expert, but I read widely in medieval history, and this just felt...light on authenticity.

I also found the main character to be frustratingly ineffective -- I understand that this is his callow youth, but while he is sympathetic, I did not find him likable or clever, both traits that I enjoy in my sleuths. I suppose it is a high demand to ask for extremely detailed realism in the setting, and more idealism in the main character, but that's my opinion.

I have a feeling I will quite like thus character once he gets his feet under him; I only wonder how far along in the series that will be.

Advanced readers copy provided by edelweiss. ( )

Fascinating window into 14th century England through the mystery of a mysterious bird -- the butcher bird -- having killed an infant, child of one of Lord Oswald de Lacy's tenants. He sets out to find the murderer and give sanctuary to a man who his tenants feel is the culprit. The man appears to be mad. Oswald's two nieces disappear and he travels to London to find them. His nephew disappears and another infant is killed. Who or what is the butcher-bird? The story moved along at a good clip; only the ending was a bit convoluted for my taste. I will read others in this series. Oswald was an appealing hero. ( )

In the years following the plague the landscape of Kent is changing. The numbers of people available to work the land is decreasing and free men are able to travel to work for employers who will pay the best wages. The King has determined that wages should be kept at pre-Plague levels and pressure is being brought to bear on those who might be considering increasing the wages they pay. Oswald is caught in the middle of this. The tenants at Somershill are restless and looking for more but his overlord, the Earl, is making sure Oswald complies with the law. Then, in the middle of this, a baby is found dead, impaled on the thorns of a bush and the village is full of tales about a giant 'Butcher Bird'. Dealing with his overbearing mother and sister plus the needs of his estate tries Oswald as he attempts to solve the mystery.

This is a second outing from SD Sykes and it is a better tale than the first. In the initial book a lot of scene-setting took place and the plot felt overly complex. Here the plot is simpler and links in neatly with the time and place. The language used is descriptive of life at the time and the level of research is excellent. It's not really a complicated book but it bounces along at a good pace and entertains well. ( )

The Butcher Bird is the sequel to Sarah Sykes' Plague Land. In this installment of the new Somershill Manor series Oswald de Lacy has to solve the murders of infants Margaret Beard and Catherine Tulley. The villagers of Somershill believe that they were killed by a butcher bird but Oswald knows that no such bird exists. In addition, he has to deal with the people who farm his fields who want an increase in wages. They are all doing twice as much work since the Plague killed half of them in the previous 2 years. However, the Ordinance of Labourers prohibits raising wages above what they were before the Plague. Oswald does not want to increase wages but he certainly does not want to get caught by the local earl if he decides in the future to raise them. As usual, Oswald has to deal with his contrary mother and sister who know how to manipulate him well.

Oswald is a loveable character. However, I think I like his spiteful mother and sister Clemence better. Clemence knows how to push Oswald to his limits in order to get what she wants, a trait that I share. The de Lacy family interacts with each other like my own family does so I find this humorous.

It goes without saying that the author knows her medieval history well. The era is depicted as it was and many terms of the time period are used. I have had to get out an old English medieval language dictionary that I bought at a travel store years ago to understand everything. If you do not have such a dictionary you should be fine with the glossary at the end of the book. ( )

It's September, 1351, and young English lord Oswald Somerville is trying to balance a somewhat senile mother, a harridan of a pregnant sister, and a raft of grumpy and intransigent fiefs against a mere nineteen years of life and experience. With no one to really depend on – since the last person he leaned on turned out to be a bit obsessive and murderous and his current right hand is lazy and disrespectful – he has quite a job of work in front of him, and it is all suddenly made more difficult when news reaches him that a baby has been stolen and murdered by a butcher bird – a gigantic bird supposedly sired by one of Oswald's tenants on his dead wife. Now that tenant, driven mad by grief and trouble, is being hunted by the rest of the village who wants his blood, because of course it's all his fault, and Oswald is trying very hard to convince people he's just crazy, not sorcerous. Oh, and then there's also the fact that though the plague – sorry, the Plague – has literally decimated (or more) the population, and so fewer people have to work harder to get the same crops in et cetera, the King has forbidden his lords to raise wages. Which makes no sense at all from a modern perspective, nor from a tenant's perspective, nor even from Oswald's perspective … so just about everyone is on the verge of either leaving or rebelling.

Basically, Oswald's life is no fun at all.

And you know, after a certain point it's not fun to read about either. Oswald's okay; I don't mind him. He legitimately does his best. But my lord does everyone around him start to get to me after a minute. And he stands out so drastically as someone who is good-hearted, earnest, trying to do what's right for everyone around him … when everyone around him (everyone) is either out for himself or acting in a superstitious frenzy. But his sister is vicious, his mother is useless. The tenants want a) more money and b) to kill that guy they think is responsible for the baby's death. Oswald wants to give them more money, but he will be in huge trouble with the powers that be if he does; he does not want to give them the madman, but it gets harder and harder to keep him out of their clutches.

It's an intriguing setting – the secret of Oswald's history, which is revealed in a solid manner to someone who didn't read the first book in the series, leads to some very interesting dynamics with his family and within his own heart. It is all very much couched in a setting of medieval ignorance and superstition which I find I need to take in small doses; after a while I just find myself wanting to shake everyone till their brains rattle, because it might do them some good. I liked it; I don't think I liked Oswald enough to go back and tolerate his female kinsfolk in the first book or in books to come.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. ( )