The Owls of Gloucester (The Domesday Books, Vol. 10) [Hardcover]

Edward Marston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 2003

The ordered calm of Gloucester Abbey is shattered by the disappearance of one of the resident monks. Two novices, Elaf and Kenelm, show little concern for the missing Brother Nicholas. Rebelling against monastic discipline, they indulge in secret midnight adventures. Fearing discovery during their latest exploit, they hide in the Bell Tower, certain that they won’t be found. Elaf, stumbling in the dark, trips over something and realizes, to his horror, that it is a dead body. Brother Nicholas has been found, his throat slit from ear to ear.

The Abbey becomes paralyzed with fear. The Abbot is ill-equipped to deal with such a heinous crime and is still reeling from his conversation with the sheriff, who is convinced that one of the other brothers must be a killer. After all, who else would have access to the Abbey Church? Domesday commissioners Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive, sent to resolve a land dispute. The vicious murder takes immediate priority, however, and they doubt the local sheriff’s ability to solve the baffling case. Before long, Ralph and Gervase realize that the killing is just a symptom of a sinister presence that threatens the whole community and must be stopped at any cost. Inspired by real entries in the historic Domesday Book, The Owls of Gloucester is the tenth mystery in Edward Marston’s spellbinding and richly drawn eleventh-century crime series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stock characters and labored prose dampen the otherwise solid historical The Owls of Gloucester, the 10th in Edward Marston's Domesday series to feature 11th-century royal commissioners Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, who here investigate the murder of Brother Nicholas, rent collector for the Abbey of St. Peter. Still, old pro Marston provides a surprising plot twist or two, involving more than a few suspicious characters, a mysterious bag of gold and some skullduggery.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Marston continues his excellent Domesday series with another stellar whodunit set in the England of William the Conqueror. Although weary from his travels and anxious to settle down with his new Saxon wife, Norman lord and royal commissioner Ralph Delchard reluctantly resumes his mission to resolve the glaring property and tax disputes generated by years of strife and warfare. When Ralph and his able assistant, legal ace Gervase Brett, arrive in Gloucester, they are startled to learn that a Benedictine monk has been found murdered in the belfry of the local abbey. Although the pompous resident sheriff believes it must be an inside job, Ralph and Gervase exonerate the beleaguered religious community when they uncover a sinister motive and expose a thriving white slavery ring. Another authentically detailed medieval mystery featuring an entertaining cast of familiar characters engaged in an often-perplexing pursuit of justice. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (April 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312285426
• ISBN-13: 978-0312285425
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,522,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, December 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Owls of Gloucester (The Domesday Books, Vol. 10) (Hardcover)

I picked this book out of the new books section of the local public library. Several aspects of the book were a disappointment. First of all, it was too long. The story could have easily been told as a short story, instead of a rather painfully protracted novella. Secondly, I had rather expected the author to teach me something new about the era in which the historical novel took place. That didn't happen; Having read the book I now know absolutely nothing that I didn't already know about Norman England. Thirdly, the characters were superficial, wooden, and rather remarkably peevish, most of them flying off the handle on the spur of the moment for no clear reason. Lastly, the dialogue sounded contrived and unbelieveable, even supposing it to be a representation of people speaking a thousand years ago. Sorry, but I found the book to be a tedious bore.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great summer read, May 26, 2003

By 

Jack Lifton (Birmingham, Mi USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Owls of Gloucester (The Domesday Books, Vol. 10) (Hardcover)

The ideal novel is a perfect confluence of plot and characterization. Usually it starts with an attention getting scene or a section of character development that gets your attention and keeps it, because you want to unravel a theme, an event, or a mystery that has intrigued you.

Historical novels have an additional dimension of interest for aficionados: one wants to revel in the recreation of a time or a place or, better yet, to find anachronisms, so that one can criticize the author's historical scholarship while conveniently overlooking their writing skills in general.

Having said all of the above I want to say that I find "the Owls of Gloucester" an interesting well written summer read, but please, Mr. Marston, don't think that I believe that the 50 monks of Gloucester Abbey drink their ale from glasses! This precious fragile material so rare in 11th century England would hardly be used for holding a monk's ale. I think you mean bowls or mugs of wood or fired clay. Perhaps the abbot drank from a pewter cup, but otherwise.... I might note in praise that my knowledge of the prescribed times of monastic prayer has been increased through reading this novel. I had known of Vespers, Compline, and Nones, but her for the first time I was made aware of Sext.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder in the abbey., September 9, 2003

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Owls of Gloucester (The Domesday Books, Vol. 10) (Hardcover)

Two young novices stumble upon the corpse of Brother Nicholas, a Benedictine monk, in the bell tower at the Gloucester Abbey. The sheriff is convinced that the killer wears the black habit of the Order and will not look for the culprit outside the abbey walls.

Domesday commissioners Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret are sent to Gloucester to resolve a land dispute. Unable to let such a hideous crime go unsolved, they begin their own investigation. Soon it becomes apparent that Brother Nicholas was not as innocent in life as everyone thought. Worse, his death is connected to an even greater crime that threatens the entire area and must be stopped, at the source, quickly. To complicate matters, King William show up and a plot to assassinate the King is in the works.

**** Here is a great mystery that is set during an unstable part of history. Even though this is the tenth book in the series, you do not have to read the previous books to enjoy it. This book is able to stand alone. At no time will a new reader feel lost or confused. Only a sharp reader will be able to figure THIS mystery out before the main characters do! Recommended for all mystery fans. ****