Customer Reviews

To Kill or Cure (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles)

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I know that the general consensus is that there is no one out there that is able to take the crown of the best Medeival mystery author since the death of the estimable Ms. Ellis Peters. I have to agree that she left big shoes to fill, but my opinion is that Susanna Gregory has slipped into those shoes while no one was paying attention. Her books are much longer than Ms. Peters' and there is a lot more murder and mayhem in them, but they are wonderful. I am a long term lover of her Matthew Bartholomew series, and this latest in this collection is another winner. This is the thirteenth book in this series, and I highly recommend that anyone thinking of reading these books should start at the beginning and work their way through. This is the only way to get the full benefit of Ms. Gregory's wonderful writing. She uses true historical figures and happenings, and builds her stories around these. In this book, set in Cambridge in the spring of 1357, someone appears to be going around killing academics, and Brother Michael and Matthew are trying to unravel the mysteries. At the same time the city of Cambridge is under great unrest and the division between "Town and Gown" is very apparent. The situation in the streets is explosive. These books are authentic, and the characters are real. It feels like you're right there in the middle of the action as you read.

'tis always pleasant to come back to 14th century Cambridge to imagine the streets and colleges at that time. The main characters have not changed much since the previous volume, even if Brother Michael is a bit shallower than usual. The most interesting core of the book is academic competition for a position as a Fellow, a most contemporary problem!, as well as the resentment from "town" created by the special status of "gown", in particular about rents... However, I find the political plot a bit too dull and unrealistic, while the criminal part is clearly very unrealistic and the (usual) recovery of the main characters and the unmasking of the villeins rather poor. This is certainly not the best in the series!

I have read some of her other works and the first I tried her mysteries. Very good and accurate depictions of life in a college town at that period. Worth it for diversionary fun.