The Hunter's Tale (Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries) [Paperback]

Margaret Frazer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries | Publication Date: December 7, 2004

When the vicious Sir Ralph Woderove is found murdered near his estate, Dame Frevisse finds that the evil that men do sometimes does live after them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two-time Edgar nominee Frazer (The Servant's Tale, etc.) immerses the reader into the lives and social mores of the minor English gentry-their dress, food, feelings and motivations-in her latest historical to feature Dame Frevisse, a Benedictine nun of St. Frideswide's priory and granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer. In the summer of 1448, Dame Frevisse accompanies 11-year-old Ursula, a student at St. Frideswide's, home to attend the funeral of Ursula's father, Sir Ralph Woderove. The brutal and selfish Sir Ralph, despised by even his own family members, has been murdered, possibly by a poacher while Sir Ralph was hunting in the woods. In the end, only Dame Frevisse really cares who did in Sir Ralph, and in solving the crime she happens to do more good than simply bringing a killer to justice. The book's charm lies in the author's meticulous research, notably on hounds and the changes in breeds of dogs over the centuries and on the intricacies of medieval wills and property rights. The plot moves at a stately pace appropriate to its time and setting.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Frazer's thirteenth Dame Frevisse mystery again takes readers back to Medieval England. Tom, Hugh, and Miles are sons of Sir Ralph and Lady Anneys. Sir Ralph is an abusive man who shows no mercy for his wife and children or for his peasants. When he turns up dead during a hunting expedition, no one mourns. Lady Anneys and her daughter, Ursula, repair to Dame Frevisse's convent while the surviving sons deal with the estate. With stringent conditions set out in his will, the evil Sir Ralph seems to have found a way to control his family from beyond the grave. When Tom, the eldest son, and Sir William, Sir Ralph's coconspirator, also die, Dame Frevisse and the women return to the castle to put an end to the family hostilities. With the author's usual attention to historical detail and keen psychological insight--but with more action than in previous entries-- Fraser's latest will please both Frevisse aficionados and historical mystery readers new to the series. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Reprint, 1st as such edition (December 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425199428
• ISBN-13: 978-0425199428
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Frazer is a full-time writer. She has twice been a finalist for the Edgar(r) in the paperback original category. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent read, January 13, 2004

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hunter's Tale (Dame Frevisse Medieval Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Once again Dame Frevisse of St. Frideswide's finds herself venturing away from the safe and peaceful confines of the nunnery and thrown into another situation involving murder, greed and family secrets. This is the thirteenth installment in the Dame Frevisse medieval mysteries, and it certainly lives up to expectations.

Sir Ralph Woderove was not a well liked man at all: deeply obsessed with hunting, his casual indifference and petty cruelty towards his family and retainers earned him no accolades. So that when he's found murdered one day (by a presumed poacher), no one is too surprised that his family shows almost no concern that there is little likelihood of his murderer ever being apprehended. Unfortunately even though Sir Ralph is no more, he still manages to maintain a stranglehold on his family because of the terms of his will. But it is when Sir Ralph's unfortunate widow, the Lady Anneys, finds herself being harassed by the unwanted attentions of a suitor that Dame Frevisse finds herself becoming deeply embroiled in the affairs of the Woderoves. And what she observes leads her to believe that Sir Ralph's murderer is not some unknown assailant but someone close at hand -- possibly even a family member. Unable to let things go, Dame Frevisse decides to do some investigating of her own, and finds herself becoming obsessed in her need to unmask a murderer...

Unlike previous Dame Frevisse mystery novels, this particular installment does not feature a cunning plot full of surprising twists and turns and intrigue. However, because Margaret Frazer is one of the few mystery novelists who treats the historical element as something more than mere wall papering, "The Hunter's Tale" turned out to be quite the engrossing read. The authour has a real talent for making 15th century England interesting and accessible (all those vivid imagery and details on what life in a nunnery and at the manor would have been like), and for portraying characters so that they were realistic and believable. I enjoyed Ms Frazer's thoughtful portrayal of Dame Frevisse -- especially the manner in which she showed us how the need to know was affecting Dame Frevisse's sense of balance and serenity -- and her portrayal of the young nun, Sister Johanne (and the interchanges between the two), who accompanies her to the Woderove manor. Also nicely done was the manner in which she imbued the Woderoves with a sense of bleakness, fear and despair at what has befallen them. So that all in all, even if "The Hunter's Tale" was not the kind of 'edge-of-your-seat' mystery novel that I had come to expect from Margaret Frazer, it still was an excellent 5 star read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner in this series, August 21, 2004

By 

readforteens "readforteens" (Winchester, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hunter's Tale (Dame Frevisse Medieval Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Start at the beginning, with this series, but definitely start. It is a worthwhile trip! The characterization is believable, the plot, too, and every time, hands down, the villain of the piece ends up being the one I did not want it to be! How does she do it? They are thought-provoking and entertaining at the same time. A terrific series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hunting, Hounds, and Homicide, February 17, 2006

By 

L. Kelly (Lakewood, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hunter's Tale (Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries) (Paperback)

"The Hunter's Tale" is another superbly written entry in Margaret Frazer's series of medieval mysteries featuring the crime-solving nun Dame Frevisse. The year is 1434, and the reader is immersed into life on the small manor of Woodrim, where the master of the manor Sir Ralph Woderove has been brutally beaten to death while hunting on his own land. At first, even Sir Ralph's family is not too distressed by his death, as the reader quickly learns that Sir Ralph was a dispicable person who cared more for his hunting dogs than for his family. One of the key plots of the story is how Sir Ralph tries to control his family from beyond the grave by the terribly restrictive terms of his will. When a second death occurs, Sister Frevisse and another nun, Sister Johane, accompany Lady Anneys, Sir Ralph's widow and her daughter Ursula back to their manor, in order to provide some comfort to the family. Even though several weeks have passed since Sir Ralph's murder, Dame Frevisse can't help but get involved in trying to identify the murderer. The plot is well-written, and I was quite surprised by the ending of the story.

In addition to the intriguing mystery, I enjoyed the meticulous details provided on everyday life in 15th century England. The theme of this story, as indicated by the title, focuses on the English hunt and there is a lot of information given on the breeding and training of the hunting dogs. This story is an extremely enjoyable read.