6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great fifteenth century thriller, December 6, 2011
This review is from: A Play of Heresy (A Joliffe Mystery) (Paperback)
In 1438, Joliffe completed his espionage mission for Cardinal Bishop Beaufort of Winchester. He travels from Warwickshire to Coventry to join his troupe of six led by Basset who are in Coventry to perform at Festival of Corpus Christi.
Just outside of Coventry, Joliffe meets his mentor, undercover agent Sebastian. The latter tells Joliffe that he searches for missing mercer merchant Master Robyn Kydwa of Coventry who was to meet him in Bristol with information on the evil Lollards, but failed to show up. Sebastian asks Joliffe to help him locate Kydwa. Since Basset has no role for him, Joliffe performs with former troupe member Sendell presenting the Harrowing of Hell; while in his quest to find the vanished mercer he uncovers a dangerous heretic cult who plans to destroy the Church.
The latest Joliffe medieval "Play" (see A Play of Piety and A Play of Treachery) is a great fifteenth century thriller in which the suspense comes late. The story line brings vividly to life Coventry during a religious festive period through the cast of players. Joliffe holds the entertaining story line together as he escorts readers on a tour of medieval England while performing in a play and unraveling an ugly conspiracy.
Harriet Klausner
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written and enjoyable, December 20, 2011
This review is from: A Play of Heresy (A Joliffe Mystery) (Paperback)
"A Play of Heresy" is a historical mystery set in 1438 in England. This is the seventh book in this series, but you can understand it without needing to read the previous books, and it doesn't spoil the mysteries in the previous novels.
While the mystery was enjoyable, I found the historical information extremely interesting. The author clearly did her research, but I never felt like I was being lectured to or given information not relevant to the story. The rich historical detail brought the story alive in my imagination and included how plays were run, how official murder investigations were done, and information about the Lollard's beliefs.
The "whodunit" element was guessable, though there weren't many clues. It's more like how a real murder would be solved than a clever puzzle-mystery. The characters were varied and had just enough of a human element to make them interesting even though we didn't get to deeply know them. The suspense was created by the mystery of whodunit and wondering if they'd be able to pull off a play that was poorly written and had few good or experienced players in it.
Though Lollards were viewed as suspect, Joliffe was not highly critical of their beliefs. (As in, people who share some of the Lollard's views aren't going to feel alienated by the storyline though it stays true to the beliefs of the time.) There was no sex. There was a very minor amount of explicit bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting and enjoyable novel.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good mystery, good history!, December 9, 2011
This review is from: A Play of Heresy (A Joliffe Mystery) (Paperback)
"A Play of Heresy" is one of the stronger entries in the Joliffe mystery series. The author uses medieval Coventry and its play cycle -- or what is known about it -- as the backdrop for Joliffe's sleuthing. Pageant wagons, Lollards, and intrigue combine into a great read. Highly recommend!!!
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