Customer Reviews

Brothers of Glastonbury

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During the reign of King Edward IV, tinker Roger Chapman could have gone very far in the Duke of Gloucester's household because he saved the future monarch's life. Roger rejected all honors preferring to remain his own master and wander where he wants when he wants. Only the coldest of wintry weather ever binds Roger to his home shared with his mother-in-law and daughter.

Roger is returning home after a season of wandering but is waylaid by the Duke of Clarence. He wants Roger to escort Cecily to her aunt's house in Glastonbury because her betrothed, Peter failed to arrive to do just that. When Roger arrives at Peter's home, it is to find Peter missing. His aunt and others fear that someone, perhaps the devil, abducted the missing Peter. Roger, unable to resist the lure of a mystery, agrees to look for leads. A few days after Peter vanished, his brother disappear too, leaving a bewildered Roger seeking a logical solution when none seems forthcoming.

Talented storyteller Kate Sedley shows an expertise in medieval history with her in depth look at the culture, beliefs, and interests of the times. That historical mien serves as a backdrop to the mystery starring congenial yet fathomable characters. The seventh novel in the series, THE BROTHER OF GLASTONBURY, is a wonderfully executed mystery that fans of the sub-genre and readers of historical novels and mysteries in general will thoroughly appreciate.

Harriet Klausner

All `Brothers' Are Not Created Equal!

Roger the Chapmancannot sit still! This traveling medieval peddler, romantic, and private detective cannot stand to be cooped up at home, where he should be attending to his daughter and mother-in-law, but he can't. Sometimes on his own volition, sometimes at God's beck (or so he claims!), Roger is always "on the road again."

In Kate Sedley's sixth episode is this rather delightful series, we find our Roger on an errand by the Duke of Clarence: deliver a young girl to the home of her finance. It seems that the groom-to-be hasn't shown up to fetch her himself and the Duke hasn't the time to take her either. Enter Roger.

Alas, it turns out that the intended, one Peter Gildersleeve, seems to have disappeared as if by magic, or more ominously, taken by the Devil, or so some folks in this 15th century story want to believe. Not two days after Roger has delivered the comely Cicely to her betrothed's home, but the groom's brother, too, disappears. What follows is Roger's dedication to solving the mystery, which seems to hinge around an ancient parchment that appears to give clues to an long-lost treasure (Could it actually be the Holy Grail?). Before its conclusion, murder and mayhem--but not much mystery-- prevail and before you know it, Roger is once again the winner.

In "The Brothers of Glastonbury," however, Sedley becomes all too predictable and her mystery almost fizzles out. Her Roger's character, as always, is enough to keep us reading--he's more complex than he wants you to believe, he's less naive than he seems, he's quite clever, especially with riddles, and he's a man after our own hearts: a free spirited individual, one who genuinely wants to do Good and is adamantly opposed to Evil. [...] "The Brothers of Glastonbury" is a good read--perhaps not a great read, but worth the effort. It lacks the intensity, the thrill of "The Wicked Winter," but still a good bet!

(Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

THIS IS A ROGER THE CHAPMAN MEDIEVAL MYSTERY [ MY FAVORITE KIND OF BOOK]. MY FRIEND KATE SEDLEY HAS ABOUT 7 OR 8 OTHER GREAT BOOKS OUT THAT ARE WORTH TRACKING DOWN. THIS MYSTERY TAKES US BACK TO AUGUST 1476 [JUST BEFORE MY BIRTH]. MS SEDLEY IS A STUDENT OF ANGLO-SAXON AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY. ROGER THE CHAPMAN [TRAVELING SALESMEN] IS IN MOST, IF NOT ALL HER BOOKS. HEREIN ROGER IS ASKED TO ESCORT A YOUNG BRIDE TO MEET HER BETROTHED. BUT THEY FIND THE BRIDEGROOM HAS VANISHED [THE BRIDE TO BE IS NOT IN THE LEAST PUT OUT]. THEN TWO DAYS LATER, THE BRIDEGROOMS BROTHER ALSO DISAPPEARS. [STRANGE FAMILY]. GOSSIP OF BLACK MAGIC ABOUND. THE PERIOD DETAIL IS RIGHT ON. A REAL DELIGHT TO SHARE A WEEKEND WITH. ROGER FINDS AN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT WRITTEN IN A STRANGE LANGUAGE, WHICH HE LINKS TO THE DISAPPEARANCES. THIS BOOK IS HARD TO PUT DOWN, IF YOU GO OUT TO DINNER, YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF GETTING IN A LINE OR TWO WHILE WAITING FOR YOUR MEAL. [MY WIFE WAS NOT TO PLEASED WITH THAT]. DO NOT READ THE LAST CHAPTER IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. GIVE THIS DELIGHTFUL SERIES A CHANCE, YOU'LL BE PLEASED YOU DID.

Just when you think the last Roger the Chapman book was the best one written so far, Sedley out-does herself and writes an even better book. "The Brothers of Glastonbury" is the best book so far (I used to think that of "The Wicked Winter" until I read this book). Warning: Don't read this book when you have an overwhelming amount of things to do, you won't be able to put it down until your finished with it! Read this book and you won't be disappointed.

I used to read a lot of historical mysteries. Alas, something happened and I rarely find the one I enjoy. Most of them are written by scholars of certain historical period. Being experts for that certain period they give as a plethora of details and explanations of the era they write about. The trouble starts with the story, plot or even worse a puzzle, the necessary ingredient of any decent mystery. That is when most of this fine scholars fail miserably.

Unfortunately, Kate Sedley is not an exception to this grim rule. She knows her period, but the rest is at best average.

Seventh in the Roger the Chapman medieval mystery series, this one set in and around Glastonbury. Roger is asked by the Duke of Clarence to escort a young girl--the daughter of one of his knights--to the home of her betrothed in Glastonbury when her fiancée doesn't show up to escort her as planned. Upon arriving at the family home, it's discovered that the betrothed, Peter Gildersleeve, has disappeared--vanished, quite literally, into thin air. With the household in an uproar, Roger has one of his dreams/visions that entice him into staying and trying to solve the mystery of Peter's disappearance. When his brother Mark also vanishes a few days later, Roger steps his efforts into high gear and of course later solves the case. One of my very favorite series, though the mysteries are usually fairly easy to figure out. The period detail and Roger's "voice" make this series special for me.