The young, beautiful Galena and her husband, the much older Ambrose are trying for a child but to no avail. When Josse d'Acquin tells her of the healing waters of Hawkenlye, she is overjoyed and sets off with her escort. But she arrives alone, and a few days after her husband joins her she dies in agony on the infirmary floor. On examination it appears she was poisoned and that she was pregnant after all. Josse and Helewise are determined to solve the riddle of her death—even if it leads them into danger as well.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
A well and gently written medieval [series]. -- Booklist
A worthy successor to Ellis Peters. -- Publishers Weekly
A worthy successor to Ellis Peters. -- Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Alys Clare is a history enthusiast who has written many novels under a different name. Alys Clare lives in Kent, where the Hawkenlye mysteries are set. You can reach her on her website www.alysclare.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Entertaining medieval Mystery,
By J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Whiter Than the Lily (Hawkenlye Mysteries 7) (Hardcover)
Sir Josse has been invited to visit his neighbour Brice's manor and while he is there Brice says that he would like Josse to meet some friends of his. Not wishing to appear impolite Sir Josse agrees to travel with him to his friends.
When they arrive Sir Josse finds that there is an ulterior motive to their visit. The elderly knight he has been brought to see has a young and beautiful wife of seventeen or eighteen who is devoted to her husband and although they have been trying since their marriage they have been unable to conceive a child. The knight Sir Ambrose has been told of Josse's involvement with Hawkenlye Abbey and the success they have had with healing the sick in mind and body. After speaking with Sir Josse, Ambrose agrees to allow his wife Galiena to go on ahead to the Abbey with her maid and groom and he will follow in a couple of days. His hope is that the nuns can help his wife with their inability to have a child. However when Galiena arrives at the Abbey she is alone and her demeanour is totally different to the happy and devoted wife the nuns had expected. A tragic death sets Sir Josse on the path of danger and intrigue. The Abbess Helewise becomes embroiled in the same dangers that face Josse and the perils reach out to the Abbey itself . . .
4.0 out of 5 stars
People aren't always who they seem,
By
This review is from: Whiter Than the Lily (Hawkenlye Mysteries 7) (Hardcover)
First Sentence: The walled garden lay as if stunned under the hot May sunshine.
Josse d'Acquin is taken to the Isle of Oxney where he meets an older man and his young wife who despair of having a child. When asked, Josse supports their idea of the wife traveling to The Abbey of Hawkenlye where Josse's friend, Abbess Helewise, and her nuns might help the young wife. Once there, the woman keep refuses examination and keeps herself sequestered. The husband arrives later, much addled and unwell. But for Josse, who comes to the Abbey, something doesn't add up, particularly when the woman dies and is found to have been pregnant. Vivid descriptions are a hallmark of Ms. Clare's writing whether it is of the area in spring, thunderstorms, or of dreams. That, along with a lovely, gentle humor to the author's voice and a touch of the paranormal to the story, although much less than in some of the previous books, are some of the reasons why I so enjoyed this book. English history is an interest of mine. Ms. Clare goes beyond providing interesting information and facts. She views those facts in terms of their impact on the lives of the people such as the strain on people to raise money for King Richard's ransom... "Although Helewise understood why such an expensive campaign had been necessary, a port of her could not help wondering whether knights, lords and kings with the passion and the thrill of holy war filling their heads ought to pause just for a moment to wonder if it was all worth it." As always, I read for interesting, realistic characters. I love that, in spite of being Abbess, Helowise had a full life prior to becoming Abbess. I appreciate Josse's uncertainties and frustration at the realization of how little he knows and how few facts he has in trying to learn what happened. However, it's the relationship between Helewise and Jose; one of friendship, respect and support but with the affection always contained, that is the central focus of the stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am pleased I've many more books ahead of me. I do recommend the series and suggest reading it in order. WHITER THAN THE LILY (Hist. Mys-Josse d'Acquin/Abbess Helewise-England-1190s) - G+ Clare, Alys - 7th in series Hodder & Stoughton, ©2004, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 0340831111
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plague among the Hawkenlyes,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Whiter Than the Lily (Hawkenlye Mysteries) (Paperback)
A good outing for Clare, who is managing to make the People of the Woods into less than supermen, and Joanna is developing into more of a real person from what my older boy dismissed as a "Mary Sue," i.e., an annoyingly perfect character. I will point out that the sickness in the novel appears to the physician to be more like Ebolavirus than Bubonic Plague, but I doubt the medievals could have told the difference.
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