Customer Reviews

The Lady Chapel (An Owen Archer Mystery)

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Politics and money drive a gruesome murder mystery in medieval England. It captures most of the elements of a first rate mystery with an added dimension of describing life in the Middle ages in England. The portraits of all the characters are very well drawn - each one has their own flaws and weaknesses. Owen Archer and his wife work through the reasons for the murders and the book does not try to tie up everything neatly but leaves the reader hungry for the next book

Number 2 in the Owen Archer series of medieval mysteries, there is much here for men and women readers alike. In pursuing the grisly deaths of a string of wool merchants in York in 1365, the love between Owen and his new wife Lucie vacillates and grows as they strive to protect the innocent and pursue the conspirators at the behest of their Archbishop. This is a "snowball" novel: a story in which the circle of suspects widens and expands with each murder, rather than narrowing. As the author says, for mystery writers "innocence [is] little more than lack of opportunity." While the male characters appear to be concerned with the wider world, the female characters are the strongest and most interesting ones, for good...or evil. The writing style is somehat dense; it neither leaps off the page nor draws me in.

Except for one character's "thee- and thou-ing," and a few odd terms (see glossary), Robb makes little attempt to render the sounds or cadences of middle English, to differentiate classes of people, or to fill in the religion of the day. In more outward respects the sense of small town England comes across pretty well: tight and narrow towns, remote manors, the pageantry, diverse hand crafts, medicinals, the chill of winter, and the dangers of the night. The plot is somewhat intricate; you may eventually know who is at fault but have a hard time knowing how Owen will prove it. The stories usually evolve into more widely significant political spheres. In The Lady Chapel, we get unusual glimpses of the primitive economics of the time, and a remarkable excursis (for a novel) into the weak understanding of wool supply and taxation underpinning the government and court of King Edward III--and not irrelevant to the plot, either. The Archbishop's moral concern with the "purety" of monetary donations to building his Lady's Chapel (and tomb) is a thin excuse for the book's title. The pb fabric itself is nothing special.

The Lady Chapel, the second Owen Archer mystery, is an enjoyable read. For me, the best part of the mystery is seeing how Owen puts together all the pieces of the puzzle to solve the crime; for the reader the mystery isn't that difficult to solve. Detective work is still new to Archer, and he is a reluctant sleuth. How he develops the skills to solve the crimes is part of the enjoyment of the series.

Candace Robb does a good job of conveying the atmosphere of medieval York, and she is very good at avoiding psychological anachronisms. Her characters don't psychoanalyze each other, and feelings and motivations are described metaphorically not analytically.

The Lady Chapel continues to develop the working relationship between Owen and Thoresby, Archbishop of York. Owen and Lucie are adapting to married life with some difficulties. This book introduces us to Jasper, a young boy, who witnesses the first murder and then must go into hiding, fending for himself. He is such a sweet, yet tough, kid; I cheered for him throughout the entire book. The Lady Chapel should be read after The Apothecary Rose in order to understand the relationships of the characters. Readers of Rose will enjoy this second installment of the series.

Candace Robb has one of the best medieval mystery series I've ran into so far--her only comparison is Ellis Peters--and I think I like Robb better! (And that is high praise!) Her charactorization is very convincing, weather the charactor is a reoccuring one, or just someone encountered in passing. The mysteries are well-constructed and difficult to solve before the end--I may like the middle ages, but if I've figured out the who-done-it before the end, it's still a disappointment. Robb's series has yet to let me down.

Candace Robb has read and researched medieval history for many years, having studied for a Ph.D. in Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Literature. She divides her time between Seattle and the UK, frequently spending time in Scotland and York to research her books.

York is very close to my own home and many of the places mentioned in the Owen Archer books are still there to be seen and of course Archbishop John Thorseby is mentioned in the records of York Minster. All this adds spice for me and helps me to picture the time and events that took place. This is the second novel in what is proving to be a captivating series.

It is the year of our Lord 1365, Owen Archer is called to the Minster Close by Archbishop Thoresby. The Archbishop is well aware that Owen has many skills to add to his expertise with the long bow. The Welsh archer also has a rare talent for detective work. While the city of York has been celebrating Corpus Christi, a man has been murdered. The man's severed hand has been delivered to Gilbert Ridley, a merchant and Owen is sent to investigate.

Candace Robb has read and researched medieval history for many years, having studied for a Ph.D. in Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Literature. She divides her time between Seattle and the UK, frequently spending time in Scotland and York to research her books.

York is very close to my own home and many of the places mentioned in the Owen Archer books are still there to be seen and of course Archbishop John Thorseby is mentioned in the records of York Minster. All this adds spice for me and helps me to picture the time and events that took place. This is the second novel in what is proving to be a captivating series.

It is the year of our Lord 1365, Owen Archer is called to the Minster Close by Archbishop Thoresby. The Archbishop is well aware that Owen has many skills to add to his expertise with the long bow. The Welsh archer also has a rare talent for detective work. While the city of York has been celebrating Corpus Christi, a man has been murdered. The man's severed hand has been delivered to Gilbert Ridley, a merchant and Owen is sent to investigate.

Wow! Candace Robb is a marvel. Many compare her to Ellis Peters (the Brother Cadfael series), but I'd put her well before Ms Peters. Although I thoroughly enjoy Brother Cadfael and feel comfortable with his author's competence, Ms Robb is not only formally trained in historical studies/research, she's also an excellent teller of tales and a wonderful teacher as well.

Ms Robb is apparently just shy by a dissertation of her PhD, and one can see by the quality of the historical detail in the Lady Chapel and her other books, that she probably had gotten well into her paper before abandoning the project. (I've worked through MA level and know exactly how much work goes into completing the coursework, let alone the research for papers.)

She also has, if not formal training in writing, at least a very clearly defined concept of what it takes. In her "Author's Notes" at the back of Lady Chapel, she writes an excellent exposition on what it means to be an author, especially an author of historical fiction. THOSE OF YOU WRITING PAPERS for English lit, journalism, history, etc. or for those writing historical fiction themselves, TAKE NOTE: She makes some eminently quotable statements about these subjects in that chapter. For instance on the subject of character: "Many people think of history as mighty figures, epic events, and statistics. But at their best, historians bring the past to life by suggesting the motivations of the mighty....Historical novelists or dramatists go further by reducing the mighty to human scale. Shakespeare put a human face on Richard III in his fatal battle by using the fact noted by one historian, that the turning point for Richard was when he was unhorsed. The Bard lets us witness Richard's tragic awareness as he cries, 'A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse (p. 283)!'" She notes too, that it is the simple, every day character and his/her believability that brings a story to life (p. 283). Later, on the subject of motive and event, she writes, "A key element in any study in character is motive. Motive traces the trajectory of an action....What fascinates both the historian and the novelist is that any one event seen through the eyes of different participants suggests completely different motives, and it's the sum of the motives that culminates in the epic events. For a mystery writer, there is an additional fascination in how many people have motives for any crime, innocence being at times little more than a lack of opportunity (p 283)."

The engaging tales the author creates by using historical characters and detail are an artful way of encouraging the reader to find out more. Although my area of historical interest has always been the ancient world, particularly the Near East, I found myself browsing lists for books on the age of Edward III and of the so-called Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, his son. I wanted to find out more information about the period. Now that's a teacher!

The Lady Chapel is a very complex tale of murder, court intrigue, passion and deceit in the city of York. The author's descriptions of the environment create a vivid picture of life in the 14th Century. Well worth it.

The Lady Chapel is the second in Cadace Robb's series featuring Owen Archer--Welsh bowman and apprentice apothecary--and his wife, Lucie Wilton. Here, it is 1365, and a wool merchant is murdered near York Minster, his throat slit and the only witness an eight-year-old boy. The solution to the problem which doesn't come easily for our unusual hero, involves the international wool trade, as well as King Edward III himself and his mistress, the wily Alive Perrers.

The writing style of this novel is a little dense, especially when talking about the politics of the time period. I also got the feeling that the speech patterns of the characters were a little anachronistic. The strength of the Owen Archer books lies in their plots, usually centering around something much larger than would appear at first, and The Lady Chapel is no exception. Robb does a great job intertwining the historical places and figures with the fictional. The best part of this series is, however, the characters; Owen and Lucie are compelling enough that they're worth staying with for future novels.

I read at least one book a week in many genres - historical fiction, fiction, mystery, thriller, action, fantasy - and I loved this second book in the Owen Archer series.
Lady Chapel is even better than the first! I can't wait to read the next one. Characterization is superb, you grow to know these people and care about them. The story is based on real historical facts, but honestly I couldn't care less because I get so wrapped up in the characters. My only wish in this book was that the author had put her loyalties with the reader in regard to Alice Perrer and let her fall from grace and give us some juicy vengeance. I cannot believe there aren't more reviews of Ms. Robb's Owen Archer series, they should be hugely popular! I will be recommending them to every reader I know.