Customer Reviews

Cruel as the Grave: A Medieval Mystery (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A 2nd episode for DeQuincy, Queen Eleanor's "man" from the mind of Sharon Penman. Her feel for the medieval England of Henry & Eleanor from her previous historical novels form the basis for this unique historical murder mystery set in England in 1193, which also serves as a nice encore for the first murder mystery "The Queen's Man".

Penman emerged long ago as one of the best historical novelists and continues to solidify her reputation with each new release. The "Queen's Man" novels are unique side trips where she plays with fictional characters based on her strong historical story lines. Penman's special genius lies in the bright and shining historical detail that she can weave into both plot and dialog (she's a very good student of history and at
times is absolutely brilliant in conveying to us the workings of medieval minds).

Penman's true genius is the broad historical scope that is painted on top of the shimmering details of brief moments. It truely does feel as if you
are living the story yourself, and it is this bringing us readers in as witnesses that stands as Penman's contribution to the art of the historical
novel.

If you prefer to read in chronological order:
1101-1154 When Christ And His Saints Slept (Vol 1 of Trilogy)
1156-1171 Time And Space (Vol 2 of Trilogy)
12th Cent Devil's Brood (Vol 3 of Trilogy)- not yet released
1192-1193 The Queen's Man
1193 Cruel As The Grave
1183-1232 Here Be Dragons (Vol 1 of Welsh Trilogy)
1231-1267 Falls The Shadow (Vol 2 of Welsh Trilogy)
1271-1283 The Reckoning (Vol 3 of Welsh Trilogy)
1459-1492 The Sunne In Splendour

But readable still. The author has got some very interesting characterisations going on and I like seeing how they interact with each other.

However other readers don't worry as Ms Penman's next book, Time and Chance, is a return to her big historical novels. It's about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and will be published next year. Then she'll follow it up with the conclusion to the trilogy, The Devil's Brood, and her next Justin de Quincy mystery, Dragon's Lair, which takes him to Wales to cross swords with the young Llewellyn Fawr of Here Be Dragons. I for one can't wait for these books!

This is another Justin de Quincy mediaeval thriller, a series which started with "The Queen's man". Justin de Quincy is a young mediaeval knight in the service of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine who solves crimes in his free time. For those who liked "The Queen's man" this is along the same lines if slightly better. Whereas I feel Penman is the queen of mediaeval historial romance, she is just a mediocre mystery writer. The characters are rounded and without depth, the plot pedestrian, the pace too slow. I do wish she did not waste her time in fictional murders and went back to do what she does better than anybody else: Historical fiction. After all she still has the "When Christ and all the Saints slept" (brilliant book) saga to complete.

Justin de Quincy, the likeable hero in CRUEL AS THE GRAVE, is the sleuth fashioned by Sharon Kay Penman in her first mystery novel THE QUEEN'S MAN. Penman has written a number of non-mystery works of historical fiction and set them in the 12th and early 13th Centuries in England. In her author's note in CRUEL AS THE GRAVE, she says she will remain happy as long as she can write about Queen Eleanor of Aquataine. And, I as the reader will be happy as long as I can read about Queen Eleanor, the grandmother of European royalty.

Justin de Quincy works for Queen Eleanor, wife of Henry II (deceased) and mother of King Richard and his brother John. CRUEL AS THE GRAVE is set in 1193. King Richard is being held hostage (for an enormous ransom) by the German Emperor, following his capture enroute home from the Holy Land and the First Crusade. In Richard's absence, brother John covets the throne to the point of entertaining thoughts of treason. Eleanor wishes to preserve the throne for son Richard, and prevent John from committing an act that will land him in the Tower. She calls on De Quincy to help her in her efforts to deal with her family problems.

In the hours when he isn't serving the Queen, De Quincy is frequently called upon to help various common folk in the Cheapside neighborhood where he keeps a room. In CRUEL AS THE GRAVE, a merchant's sons have become implicated in the death of a young woman from Wales and De Quincy is asked to help exonerate the boys.

I find the storyline in CRUEL AS THE GRAVE interesting because Penman explores the psychological effects of parental love or lack thereof with a great deal of honesty. And, she has done a credible job of contrasting Queen Eleanor's difficulties with her two conflicted offspring, with the tortured relationship of the merchant father and his two sons. In the background hovers De Quincy's own questionable relationship with his father.

I find De Quincy an incredibly likeable hero and I want to know him better. I hope Penman continues to write books in this series.

Sharon Kay Penman's "Cruel as the Grave" continues her foray into medieval murder mysteries. In "The Queen's Man," her first such novel, Penman introduced Justin de Quincy to the world. The bastard son of a bishop, Justin is a man of talent but no means until fate brought him into the confidence of England's Queen Eleanor. Through courage, wit, and loyalty, Justin rose mightily in the eyes of both the royal court and with several of his "more common" friends . . . and made a few enemies in the bargain.

In "Cruel as the Grave," set in the early spring of 1193, immediately after "The Queen's Man" ends, Justin reaps the fruit of his success. Now an honored and trusted member of the Queen's inner circle, Justin must undertake several risky ventures to help Eleanor ransom her beloved kidnapped son, Richard Lionheart, king of England -- held in an Austrian prison cell. He must also help Eleanor in a high-stakes chess match --with the throne of England as the prize -- with her cunning younger son, John (dubbed by many, "the Prince of Darkness," and deservedly so). Since John is one of the enemies Justin made in "The Queen's Man," Justin's life is in considerable peril.

Justin must also cope with his new-found fame as a crime solver par excellence with his less-royal but no less demanding friends. A beautiful young woman is found murdered in a local churchyard, and the sons of a local merchant are implicated. Justin is forced to look into the murder, and soon learns that suspects and motives abound in this grisly affair.

Penman balances these two plot lines expertly, and the action sweeps from the streets of London to the courtroom of the palace to the siege of Windsor Castle. Penman writes with her trademark clarity, equally at home with a battle scene as with friends bantering over drinks in the alehouse. (Although fans of carnage would be better suited reading Bernard Cornwell's various works - Penman does not linger long over the violence.)

True to her last murder mystery, Penman injects "Cruel as the Grave" with more humor than her historical epics, and the novel is much shorter, as well (230-odd pages). While these novels are (almost) entirely fictional, they are fantastic opportunities to delve deeper into Penman's captivating treatment of Queen Eleanor's England. Check it out!

Note -- while some "sequels" can be read without reading earlier novels in the series, "Cruel as the Grave" will be much more enjoyable for those who have already read "The Queen's Man." (I would also recommend reading "While Christ and His Saints Slept" and "Time and Chance" first, so the reader can learn the back-story of Queen Eleanor before reading these murder mysteries, which are set in the twilight of her reign -- but reading those two novels is not as essential as reading "The Queen's Man," because Justin de Quincy does not play a role in the other works.)

I really enjoy reading mysteries set in the fairly distant past, and this series about Justin de Quincy, the "Queen's Man" of Eleanor of Aquitaine is uniformly excellent. The writing is crisp, the dialogue appears authentic, and the little touches concerning everyday life give the books that perfect ring of truth that is important when writing about so long ago. If the author can't make you believe in the scenario, nothing is going to help the work to be successful. This one is, and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first book in the series. Now I will wait (as patiently as possible) for the next book in the series to appear, for I'm sure that I will enjoy it also.

This is the first novel I've read by Ms. Penman. I have to admit, I was intruiged by the cover, as well as the title. I do enjoy historical fiction, and this novel did not disappoint. Only after beginning to read this novel did I discover that it was second in a series, the first being The Queen's Man. The story is set in England of 1193, truly the 'Dark Ages'. Young Justin de Quincy, who happens to have Queen Eleanor's (the mother of the infamous John and the famous Richard the Lionhearted) ear is thrust into the center of courtly politics. Richard is missing, captured somewhere off in the Crusades, and Prince John is making dangerous a bid for power.

This is not the only trouble Quincy is involved in, however. A poor young woman was brutally murdered in a graveyard late at night. Two well-to-do brothers are suspected of the crime, one who was romantically linked to the girl, and the other who wished he could have her favors. Quincy is called upon to help solve the murder and bring the killer to justice. Quincy must be a resourceful man, they don't call him 'The Queen's Man' for nothing, but can he solve this complicated crime? One of the most intriguing parts of the novel is just how law enforcement solves a murder in 1193 without fingerprints or crime-scene forensics.

I greatly enjoyed the second adventure of Justin de Quincy, the "spyman" of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The story is well-plotted and suspenseful. The characters seem to step right out of the Middle Ages in believability. The pacing of the plot is superbly handled--I found myself wanting to get back to reading the story every time I put it down and I found myself mentally cursing any distraction that interrupted my reading. I can hardly wait until another Justin de Quincey mystery is published.

Justin de Quincy, a young man in the service of Eleanor of Aquitaine, is helping his queen discover what her son John is planning as he tries to usurp the throne while his brother Richard Lionheart is in a German prison. At the same time he is asked by a friend to investigate the murder of a teenage girl. The suspects are two teenage boys, one who was sleeping with her and the other who was truly in love with her. There is a quote at the beginning about the emotion of jealousy being cruel as the grave and their is a great amount of it at the center of both story lines. Cruel as the Grave is a quick and enjoyable read. The techniques used to investigate in the 12th century were interesting as we are now so used to fingerprints and DNA evidence. Some of the details about life in the middle ages were also fascinating. The central mystery however was facile and no surprise in the end. The characters also had little depth. It's a pleasant book but not challenging in any way.

Books by Sharon Kay Penman remind me that reading is one of life's finest pleasures. Her stories are full of exciting adventures, great romance, vivid history all wrapped up in a bright ribbon of excellant writing style. CRUEL AS THE GRAVE is the second book of what will prove to be another wonderful series for Penman. Murder, mayhem, honour and lack thereof battle with lust, laughter, and ambition. There are too many great things to say about it. A pure delight !!!