Historical Mystery
From Goodreads:
Halfdan and his master, Winston the
Illuminator, are guests in a monastery when they’re awakened in the middle of
the night and asked to solve a crime. A monk praying in the church has been
brutally murdered, and his severed hand offers the first clue of a motive. As
they investigate who could have committed such a heinous atrocity—and
why—Halfdan and Winston must negotiate bitter rivalries within the monastery’s
hierarchy, a sensitive class structure, and the tension between the new laws
King Cnut has sworn to uphold and the codes of honor that precede them. With
peace in England on shaky ground and the king’s favor of paramount importance,
Halfdan and Winston follow a precarious path toward answers that no one is sure
they want.
Martin Jenson has chosen a time
period I knew little about as the setting for his historical mystery
series. Oathbreaker is a
translation from the Danish and Jenson uses 1018, a time when the Danes ruled
England, as the setting for his mystery.
I do not know much about this time so as well as being a great mystery
story it is also a history lesson.
The story is based on an actual incident
Jensen found when on a research trip to England. From there he uses several historical sites. Once again Halfdan and Winston are on a
mission for King Cnut. He needs to
know if one of his men is really loyal.
On the journey they have to solve the murder of one of the monks in the
church where they are staying.
That murder leads back to a broken oath, thus the title.
Oathbreaker has some interesting new
characters that add to the spice in the story. Once again Halfdan is at the center of everything and
Winston helps guide the investigation.
I really like this series. Tara Chance did a great job with the
translation and the story moves very smoothly. I loved how actual history and places are shown. It gives a very real feeling to both
the characters and the setting.
Amazon Crossing published
Oathbreaker by Martin Jensen in 2014.
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