Customer Reviews

The Tarnished Chalice (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles)

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

 

 

In the world of medieval mysteries, Ms. Gregory is right up there with the revered Ellis Peters and the prolific Mr. Doherty. Ms. Gregory's research that she puts into each book is remarkable, and each book is based on actual historical happenings as well as real historical people and places in England. This book is the 12 the Matthew Bartholomew series and is set in the town of Lincoln in December of 1356. As with most Ms. Gregory novels, this one is long (although it doesn't seem that way when you're reading), and there are a lot of murders and dead bodies scattered throughout. The mystery is gripping and the characters are real and vibrant. Matt and Brother Michael find themselves in the town of Lincoln in the middle of a bitterly cold winter. They are there because Michael is going to be canonized in the Lincoln Minster, and Bartholomew is there with him to try to find Mathilde who left Cambridge mysteriously 18 months before. They find the town of Lincoln is an unholy place. Not only is there a heartless serial killer on the loose, but there is a lot of civic unrest between the two merchant factions of the town that could erupt into a deadly civil war. Michael and Matt find themselves the target of an assassin or a group of assassins. The tension builds, and the book is a page-turner. I look forward to these books very much, and now can't wait for the next one.

I just finished the 12th novel of the Gregory series. I love the characters and I love Gregory's writing.

There was just something about this last novel which made it harder to read than the others. I usually devour these stories which are nice little walks through the time,stepping over ever increasing body count as the mystery is inevitably solved.

I can't say the lovelorn Matthew was one of my favorite parts, especially considering he had been looking for the elusive Mathilde for almost two years. Frankly by that time she probably could have married and had her first child. While she was an interesting character, Gregory's characters all are in their ways, I was never so enamoured of her that I would miss her if she Never reappeared. The only good thing about Matthew's search is that he learned a thing or two about protecting himself. And Cynric, the Welshman, how did his wife feel about all these never ending wanderings to find Mathilde.

While the actual solving of these mysteries is not as enjoyable most times as the journey to get there I began to find all these particular characters tedious. And there was less "humor" -the intellectual cat fighting which I enjoy-than the others.

Gregory is a wonderful entertaining writer and I can not wait for the new one To Kill or To Cure which I guess is coming out this summer-in England at least. She is one of those authors and this series are one fo the few that I seek out as soon as they come out. I guess in the meantime I will have to seek out the other series she writes. They are not carried for the most part in my area -virtually all had to be ordered on line but Gregory is an author worthy of the search. It almost makes me want to take a trip to the UK to get it.

While Susanna Gregory cannot write the Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles fast enough to suit me, I found myself slightly disappointed with this edition. I feel that her other mysteries were more tightly written, and "The Tarnished Chalice" was too wordy and too strung out. I found myself going back to check about some of the characters and their relationship to each other. As for Matthew searching for Matilda, this was just more words I needed to get through before I discovered the "who dunnit". The good news is that Susanna Gregory prevented me from guessing the real killer in advance which is good if one likes surprise endings.

Susanna Gregory writes wonderful, well researched books. She manages to bring medieval Cambridge to life and paints a fascinating picture in her books. On top of that, the mysteries are great and well devised. Truly one of the most enjoyable series I have ever read.

Susanna Gregory is not as prolific a writer as many of the authors who write this style of book and the anticipation of waiting for a new title can be quite frustrating for the reader. However the wait is always worthwhile.

Her choice of Cambridge as the main backdrop to her books is inspired. It seems to lull the reader into a world of spires and colleges inhabited by the students and academics who teach there. There is also always the underground rumblings of the inhabitants of the city who are constantly at loggerheads with the colleges and hate the students intensley, thinking of them as nothing more than thugs and bully boys.

Now to a little background from the book, which of course to make a complete liar of me takes place in Lincoln.

It is a cold and blustery evening in the year of our Lord 1356, Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael have journeyed to Lincoln. The cathedral are to honour Brother Michael and Bartholomew is determined to look for and find the woman he loves and is determined to marry.

Both men soon find out that the religious lodgings in which they are staying is not the safe place it is depicted to be. It is revealed that a guest has already been murdered under mysterious circumstances. It emerges that when the victim was found he was holding a chalice, a well known relic of Lincoln and one that had a bloody past. Why? what significance does it have to the death of the man . . .

Matthew and Brother Michael are soon drawn into the web of murder and deceit, but they are far from home, this is not Cambridge and neither man is sure who can be trusted and who cannot.

I have never hidden my admiration for Susanna Gregory's writing and this one is a joy to read.

Once again, an economy of words is something that this author has a difficult time dealing with. You keep going because you want to know what will happen in the good doctors life.

If you like medieval mysteries that are well researched, you will love this book. Susanna Gregory's books are filled with detail and characters-- they are not fast or superficial reads. This is a great edition to the series. If you have never read any of the Matthew Bartholomew series, you might be a little lost, but you could go back to volume one and start from the beginning.