Cruel as the Grave [Mass Market Paperback]

Sharon Kay Penman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2001

April 1193. England’s King Richard Lionheart languishes in a German prison, and treason scents the air. Richard’s younger brother, John, seizes Windsor Castle, and Dowager Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine summons her trusted personal “queen’s man,” Justin de Quincy, to do the impossible– mediate a truce with her rebel son. Amid such fateful events, the murder of a Welsh peddler’s daughter seems small. But the cruel demise of the beautiful Melangell so troubles Justin that not even a threatened French invasion can keep him from investigating her death. Yet can he bring Melangell’s craven killer to justice?

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

April 1193. England?s King Richard Lionheart languishes in a German prison, and treason scents the air. Richard?s younger brother, John, seizes Windsor Castle, and Dowager Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine summons her trusted personal ?queen?s man,? Justin de Quincy, to do the impossible? mediate a truce with her rebel son. Amid such fateful events, the murder of a Welsh peddler?s daughter seems small. But the cruel demise of the beautiful Melangell so troubles Justin that not even a threatened French invasion can keep him from investigating her death. Yet can he bring Melangell?s craven killer to justice?

From the Back Cover

“Penman writes about the medieval world and its people with vigor, compassion, and clarity.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“Penman’s lively, articulate prose brings to life history as it could have happened–high praise for a historical mystery.”
–Houston Chronicle

“Sharon Kay Penman tells her stories with passion and a strong sense of time and place.”
–MARGARET FRAZER
Author of the Sister Frevisse Novels

“Once you enter Penman’s world, you’re hooked.”
–Seattle Post-Intelligencer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345441443
• ISBN-13: 978-0345441447
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The other reviews are unfair, April 2, 2004

By 

S. E. Kennedy "ocinnedeagh" (Minnesota, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cruel as the Grave (Mass Market Paperback)

No this is not the same quality of novel as Penman's brilliant historical fiction. But this is also 200 pages and a mystery. I think the other reviewers are comparing apples and oranges and unfairly judging this book. This is remarkably better than The Queen's Man. I must admit I did not solve that mystery, but neither did the author. The ending of that book was a cheap way out of a knot into which the story had been wound. This book was much more logical. The clues where there and although I had early suspiscions of the ultimate culprit, it kept me intersted to the end. The mystery in this case evolves separately from the intrigue at court - so there are really two simultaneous situations for Justin to juggle. It is NOT 1000 pages of brilliant fiction - but it is a fun, quick-read mystery set in 1193. Take it for what it is and you'll enjoy it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is not the Penman quality I've come to expect., February 3, 2002

By 

Pam Dunninton (Kansas City, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cruel as the Grave (Mass Market Paperback)

The first novel I read of Sharon Kay Penman took me less than a week to complete. It was well over a thousand pages and I had finals in graduate school, but I couldn't put it down. Cruel of the Grave is not the same caliber of book. Penman's gift of developing characters and a storyline that readers feel intimately involved with is not established in this text. I have read all of her historical novels. After reading each novel I anxiously waited for the next to be published. Penman's talent clearly lies within her ability to write amazing medieval novels, not medieval mysteries.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not her best, but enjoyable, November 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Cruel as the Grave (Mass Market Paperback)

Although the Justin de Quincy series does not equal Penman's supurb historical novels (especially Here be Dragons, Falls the Shadow, and The Reckoning) and The Queen's Man is the better mystery of the two that have appeared so far, Cruel As the Grave is nevertheless enjoyable and Penman's gift for characterization is strongly evident here, as in all her novels.