Customer Reviews

Midsummer Crown, The (Roger the Chapman Mysteries)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Roger the Chapman is once again wrenched away from his beloved family in Bristol and called to London to solve a baffling murder and abduction. A young lord has vanished, and his tutor's body has been discovered within a locked chamber.

London is in a fever of excitement awaiting the coronation of Edward V, and Roger can find little help in unraveling the mystery. Still, he persists, all the while aware of a growing uneasiness as to who will actually wear the crown: young Edward, or his uncle Richard.

Sedley's book creates a fine sense of this era, as well as delves into some ancient pagan customs that persist despite the condemnation of Church and King.
My only criticism is that Roger, despite previous experiences, remains somewhat too trusting and naive. But he is as endearing as ever, and this story a compelling read!

The Roger the Chapman series was, for a long time, my favorite historical mystery series. However, the last 3-4 books have been big letdowns. Perhaps that's the inevitable fate of almost all long-running series.

This one "jumped the shark" for me when Roger started getting involved in Royal affairs. I found the stories so much more interesting when they involved the average people of medieval England rather than the machinations of Dukes and Kings and such.

This particular book -- the Medsummer Crown -- has several major flaws which go beyond simply my personal preference for normal folk: for the majority of the book, nothing of interest happens. Rogers walks around confused and inept, continually losing the people he's following, missing clues and moaning about the case. Then there are the totally incredible coincidences, like having the major suspects just happen to sit at the table behind him in an obscure London inn and discuss the entire case and their plans for him. I can't go into more details without revealing spoiling, but suffice it to say that it strains the reader's credulity to the breaking point.

Finally, the plot is extremely similar in many ways to the Green Man (again, I can't give details but many of the plot contrivances are EXACTLY the same and Roger even aludes to them in the book!) The ending is unsatisfying and implausible.

Sorry, Ms. Sedley. Your first dozen books were great and for them, I'll always be thankful. But here's where Roger Chapman and I part company.

An excellent, well-written series. The characters are vivid. The background information for the time period is interesting and accurate. The plots are interesting. This series is worth reading for anyone interested in historical mysteries.