The Midsummer Rose (Severn House Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Kate Sedley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Severn House Large Print | Publication Date: February 1, 2005

The thirteenth in the Roger the Chapman series??Roger the Chapman is not a superstitious man. He hears stories of murders and haunted houses around the market town of Bristol, and chooses to believe the more prosaic explanation every time. But when Roger is attacked in the very house where a woman murdered her violent husband thirty years previously, he is forced to admit that something strange is going on . . .

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kate Sedley, a student of Anglo-Saxon and medieval history, lives in England. She is married and has a son, a daughter, and three grandchildren. "The Saint John's Fern" is the ninth novel in her critically acclaimed series featuring Roger the Chapman.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727874195
• ISBN-13: 978-0727874191
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,381,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting entry in a wonderful historical series, August 16, 2010

By 

Cheryl A. Reynolds "Spuddie" (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Midsummer Rose (Severn House Large Print) (Hardcover)

#13 Roger the Chapman medieval mystery. Mid-summer is approaching and Roger the Chapman is on the road, peddling his wares across rural England. Just a few miles from home, he's crossing the river with a ferryman and realizes he is near an abandoned home that his first wife had told him about--a strange murder had taken place there fifty years before and was haunted. He decides to take a look in before heading home, and ends up witnessing a stabbing, and is then clonked on the head and thrown in the river--rescued only because his leather jerkin kept him afloat so he didn't drown before the ferryman could pull him out.

At first people believe he was hallucinating, his overactive mind making up things related to the old murder. But when a body turns up in the river a week later, Roger is vindicated, although it's awhile before he knows who it was who committed that murder. When another man related to the case turns up dead and a friend of Roger's is implicated, he redoubles his efforts to meddle in the law's affairs and do their job for the lazy Sheriff. And what is Timothy Plummer, spymaster to the royal family, doing in town in disguise? Is there another political plot afoot?

I really enjoy this series. Roger is one of my favorite fictional historical characters and his well-fleshed secondary characters are great, too. Very atmospheric writing that puts you in the time and place with the descriptions of sounds, smells and attitudes, too. Excellent visit as usual, although these do become a bit predictable after awhile.