Customer Reviews

Ashes of the Elements (Hawkenlye Mysteries)

5 star:		(3)
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3 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're looking for a mystery novel that baffles and intrigues you, with breath neck-like action, then "Ashes Of The Elements" is NOT for you. However if you're looking for a well written and captivating historical mystery novel that unfolds in a more leisurely manner, and that gives you a glimpse of life in 12th century England and with fully developed and engaging characters, then this is the book for you.

Wealden Forest is a place that is full of dark and mysterious secrets -- it is even whispered that the Forest People still meet there when the moon is full to practise their dark and strange ways! And the good people of Tonridge take great care not to be in the woods once night has fallen. Apparently the local poacher, Hamm Robinson, must not have placed much stock in these rumours, as one fine June morning, Abbess Helewise of Hawkenlye Abbey finds Hamm dead from a spear wound on a path that leads from the forest. The Sheriff of Tonridge, a man of strong convictions and little imagination, immediately blames the Forest People for Hamm's murder. And indeed the fine workmanship of the spear that was used to kill Hamm seems to backup the Sheriff's theory. However Abbess Helewise is not so sanguine. She instinctively senses that there is more to Hamm's murder, and when her good friend Josse d'Acquin pays her a visit upon his return from France, Helewise shares her misgivings about the whole affair with him.

Sharing Helewise's doubts, Josse decides to look into the matter and hopefuly without stepping on the Sheriff's toes. However he hasn't gotten very far in his investigations when another poacher is found dead. This time however the Sheriff cannot blame the Forest People for the murder as it becomes obvious that this poacher was killed with a dagger, and in what seems to have been a frenzy of violence. What exactly is going on in the forest, and for what dark reason were both poachers killed? Helewise and Josse team up again to discover exactly what dark secrets the Forest holds before more people are murdered.

While this novel is not one of those page-turning chilling historical mystery novels that boast of a murder, mayhem and a fiendishly clever plot, it is not a boring read either. Indeed this novel has a very atmospheric feel to it, esp when the story takes the reader into Wealden Forest. Alys Clare does a brilliant job of evoking the darkness and the mysteriousness of the forest. I also enjoyed the glimpses that Clare gives the reader of the day-to-day life of the nuns and monks at Hawkenlye Abbey; and of the rare and unique friendship that Josse and Helewise share.

"Ashes Of The Elements" is not a typical historical mystery novel. While the activities that take place in the forest are indeed dire, there are few red herrings or real twist and turns in the plot -- indeed the mystery unfolds in a very straight forward manner. However this book is very well written and is engaging and captivating in its own way. So if you're looking for something not quite in the Paul Doherty/Edward Marston realm, this novel should satisfy.

and so they're back.

Seeing Sir Josse and Abbess Helewise in action again was the high point of this interesting story. Building on the fondness that started in FORTUNE LIKE THE MOON, author Alys Clare introduces a heightened degree of sexual tension between these two characters.

In this story, a man is killed in the ancient forest near the Abbey. The Sheriff writes it up to the 'forest people,' mythical dwellers who still worship the goddess and have strange rites they carry out with the full moon. Helewise doesn't believe the Sheriff has properly investigated and asks for Josse's help.

Because ASHES OF THE ELEMENTS has more to do with the forest than with the medieval setting, it lacks some of the historical detail that made FORTUNE LIKE THE MOON so interesting. The larger problem, for me at least, was that Josse and Helewise really didn't do much to solve the mystery. Here, their powers of observation that proved so critical in FORTUNE barely opened the doors. They relied on luck and psychic connections to finally discover who did the killing.

ASHES OF THE ELEMENTS is a fine novel, but it lacks the punch that the earlier FORTUNE provided.

This is the second Hawkenlye novel I've read. While the writing of Alys Clare lacks the edge of Ellis Peters', Clare's settings, characters, and time period add interest to her mysteries. In Ashes, several murders occur in the immediate vicinity of Abbess Helewise's abbey. The sheriff is little more than an idiot, and she turns to her friend Sir Josse to get to the bottom of first one crime, then another and another. Are they related? Who could the murderer be? What could the motive be? The investigation, following some puzzling behavior on the part of 2 young women staying at the abbey, takes Josse and the Abbess into the woods for a very long night. The rumor that the ancient People may be back to celebrate their vile rituals brings about some tantalizing happenings.

Definitely a "cozy", Ashes brings little suspense to the story line. Generally speaking, life in the middle ages is accurately represented, but there are errors (people back then did not wear undergarments, for instance.) Comportment for the most part is oh so proper, and Helewise is the epitome of wisdom and saintliness. Still, interesting conundrums are brought to the surface along the way, and make for a pleasant, engaging read.

Alys Clare's novels are like a breath of fresh air. I love medieval murder mysteries and there are certainly a lot of them about (thank goodness), but the authors books breathe new life into the period and her will they won't they situation that started with a strong friendship between Helewise and Sir Josse, holds the reader's attention as well. Don't be swayed into thinking that these books are written with the female reader in mind. They are for everybody, young and old, male or female. Alys Clare lives in Kent where the Hawkenlye mysteries are set.

A grove of oaks has been felled in the Wealden forest, but the man who felled them has met a violent end. People think back to the old ways and the days of the druids, when the oak was the one tree in all England that was sacred. Had the tree feller been cursed by the old magic of the Forest People.

Josse and Helewise enter the forest and are witness to strange events , but will these happening bring them any closer to solving the murder. Christianity is now the religion of England, but there are many who have not left the old ways behind.

This is the second outing for Abbess Helewise and Sir Josse Acquin set in 1191. When the Abbess goes out for a walk, she nearly stumbles over a dead body. The local sheriff decides to write the murder off as the work of the Forest People, but the Abbess is not so sure. When Sir Josse shows up for a visit, she confides her doubts to him and he agrees. They decide to investigate the murder. What happens after that is a mystery with twists and turns and another murder in the forest.

Clare continues to develop the characters who occupy the Abby as well as Sir Josse. Thus far, both books have been chock full of atmosphere, Clare allows few, if any, of the 21st century to seep into her books. And she manages to keep the reader guessing even though there mystery seems shallow enough - it has hidden depths.

Luckily, this book did not suffer the second-book-doldrums that so many second books do. Clare raised the bar for her self and wrote a books that was as good as if not better than her first.

If you like your mysteries cozy, then this is a historical for you. If you like historicals, this book is also for you.

The story continues, and delves into a world that sweeps us up and carries us into that past.

This book came with some decent reviews and so I expected much more than was delivered by the author. Used to reading medieval mysteries that have a real sense of time and place this book failed to come close to making the characters a part of the world in which the author had placed them. In general the sentiments of the characters were far too modern; the story was weak and rapidly became boring.
This is not a book that I could recommend. There are far better books set in the same period that one should read.

Murder raises its ugly head once again at Hawkenlye Abbey and soon those 12th Century sleuths Abbess Helewise and Josse d'Acquin are on the case. Fans of the first book will enjoy this leisurely paced outing which is set against the forbidding menace of the great Wealden Forest where creatures really do go bump in the night.

The appeal of this series lies not in large body counts or frenetic action but in the evolving friendship of the two main characters. Helewise and Josse are, in many ways, two of a kind and their slow dance around each other is appealing. In this case, the two eventually venture into the dark reaches of the forest to uncover the mystery which has broadened to include a second murder and the increasingly odd behavior of two young female wards of the abbey.

All in all, a nicely done, straightforward murder mystery with characters that linger in the memory.

Abess Helewise discovers a dead body by nearly stepping on it. The man had been killed by a spear with a highly decorative point. Although the Sheriff is willing to blame the murder on the "Forest People," a group who live and wander through the forest practicing pagan ceremonies, Helewise doesn't accept this. Enlisting the help of her friend Josse d'Acquin, they find poachers who've uncovered ancient treasure, pagan rituals, a link to two of the Abby's residents, a couple with ties to Queen Eleanor and death.

While I like the characters of Helewise and Josse, the story left something to be desired. The anachronistic language was a bit disconcerting and there was one, I thought interesting, plot element that was dropped. The scene of the pagan ritual was perhaps more graphic than I needed, but did serve its purpose to the story. I did like that the author included both the new Christian and old Pagan beliefs without condemning either.

THE ALYS CLARE SERIES OF HAWKENEYE MEDIEVAL MYSTERIES CONTINUES TO IMPROVE. ONE LEADS TO ANOTHER, BUT CAN EASILY BE READ ON IT'S OWN. THE LIFE OF AN ABBESS AND HER NUNS AND MONKS WAS NEW TO ME AND FASCINATING. I'VE ORDERED THE NEW ONE. HER MALE CHARACTERS ARE AS WELL DRAWN AS THE WOMEN. THE HISTORY INVOLVED IS ANOTHER PLUS FOR THIS SERIES.