Customer Reviews

Remedy for Treason (Chronicles of Issac of Girona)

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

 

 

Remedy for Treason manages to combine an engrossing plot and sympathetic characters with a fascinating historical setting. Roe definitely succeeded in making me want to learn more about medieval Spain and the complexities of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish coexistence there. To my mind, the book had only two weaknesses. First, like another reviewer, I was somewhat puzzled by the religious infractions committed by ostensibly pious Jewish characters, who (for example) not only consume non-kosher food and wine with gusto, but also violate the Sabbath day by writing. Second, I agree with other reviewers that the sinister villain was a little dorky. Still, I greatly enjoyed Roe's first Isaac of Girona novel, and I definitely plan to read more of her medieval mysteries.

A thoroughly engrossing page-turner, richly atmospheric, with dimensional characters ranging from a runaway Muslim boy to an old bishop. Each of her characters possesses a unique intelligence; as a group, and brought together by Isaac the physician, they unravel the mystery. I disagree with the deus ex machina comment of an earlier reviewer.

This debut is set in 1353 Girona, Spain, and feature Isaac, a blind Jewish physician. Isaac is trying to save his patients from the plague as the story opens. When a nun is found dead in the public baths, the Bishop of Girona calls on Isaac to investigate the death. The Bishop trusts Isaac's discretion, intelligence, and ability to move among Girona's populace. What Isaac discovers is that nothing is as it seems.

This debut by Roe is an excellent entry into the historical mystery genre. Isaac is a believable and likable character, Roe's characterizations of even the minor chararacters are well drawn. Roe does not overwhelm her readers with historical minutiae that impedes her story, but gives enough history to satisfy those of us who prefer our history wrapped in a mystery. This PBO is only the first in a planned series. It and the series deserve a wide audience.

I am a big fan of historical mysteries, especially medieval ones. So I was excited when I found REMEDY FOR TREASON in the bookstore. I liked it, but I would not reread it. The plot is a bit thin, and there are several loose ends not tied up at the end of the book. The characters, however, are engaging but not particularly realistic. I have read the second in the series (CURE FOR A CHARLATAN), which is better.

I enjoyed this book. Some of the reviewers seem to be upset that the author portrays some of the complexity of Jewish life (conversion, intermarriage, etc.). Sorry, folks. These issues have always been part of Jewish reality.

I was very disappointed. As a big fan of historical mysteries, I expected more. More detecting at the least. Isaac doesn't do much of anything; just sort of wanders around asking vague questions. Even worse, the story wanders too. No more in the series for me!

It might not be the most historically accurate mystery there is, and it might assume its perspective through rose colored glasses, but it is a page turner that keeps you interested in a fairly complicated story. The characters are human, and therefore imperfect, though sympathetic.

And they do observe Sabbath towards the end of the book.

This book has a great story and classic characters with many small details that capture the time setting. Great read for rainy days!

She has created a medieval Jewish hero who doesn't pray,desecrates the Sabbath, reads Greek philosophers in preference toJewish texts, has no Jewish friends or community, a shrewish wife who's faulted for being against her daughter marrying a Christian and so on.

This book never seems to get a flow going. Admittedly historical mysteries are not my preference, however I can appreciate a good book no matter what the context. I have read a couple of Brother Cadfael books and this is not in the same league at all. I almost always finish a book, especially with a book that I bought. With this one however, I put it down permanently about halfway in.

The primary problem of this book, is that it is extremely tedious to read due to the author's writing style. She continually switches from one scene to the next. That's a common practice in books, however she never really catches in a scene before she switches to the next one. Nor do all the scenes really apply to the overall story (I didn't finish the book, but discussed it with others in a book group, and they confirmed this thought). Rather than creating a page turner, wondering whats happening in a parallel storyline, you find yourself disinterested.

The other issue I have with this book, is both the number of characters that are extraneous, and the multiple names that the author uses for an individual character. She'll refer to a character by their first name, then their last name, and later by their title. With the skipping from scene to scene this process makes it hard to follow who a given character is.

This may seem overcritical, but I think the flow of the story plays a large part in whether you like a book or not. The story itself isn't awful, but I couldn't hold on due to the tedious nature of the book.

This being the first book of her series, Caroline Roe may have worked these issues out with her later novels, but I would definitely pass on this one.