Tag: historical mystery

#BookReview River of Sins by Sarah Hawkswood @AllisonandBusby

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9780749026196About the Book

July, 1144. The body of a woman is found butchered on an island a few miles upriver from Worcester – how did she get there, who killed her, and why?

Uncovering the details of Ricolde’s life and her past reveal a woman with hidden depths and hidden miseries which are fundamental to the answers, but time has cast a thick veil over the killer’s identity. The lord sheriff’s men have a trail that went cold over two decades ago, and evidence that contradicts itself.

Undersheriff Bradecote and Serjeant Catchpoll will need all their wits to solve this mystery.

Format: ebook (352 pages)                        Publisher: Allison & Busby
Publication date: 19th November 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Mystery

Find River of Sins (Bradecote and Catchpoll Mystery #7) on Goodreads

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My Review

As a huge fan of historical crime mysteries, I’m surprised it’s taken me so long to discover Sarah Hawkswood’s ‘Bradcote and Catchpoll’ series set in medieval Worcester. However, better late than never!  It also allows me to reassure readers that, despite being the seventh in the series, River of Sins can definitely be enjoyed without having read any of the previous books. There are a few references to earlier events and to the back stories of the leading characters, including some personal tragedies and longstanding enmities, but this in no way spoiled the book for me.

Hugh Bradcote, Undersheriff of Worcestershire and Serjeant Catchpoll make a great team. I get the impression that initial reservations they may have had about working together have been replaced by mutual respect and trust. Catchpoll has the street level knowledge of their patch, the keen eye of a detective and a reputation for taking no nonsense. Bradecote, on the other hand, may not have the detective nous of his sergeant but he has a keen sense of justice and can command the respect his status brings. In fact, they often deploy not so much a ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy as a ‘toff cop, common cop’ approach with advantageous results. Walkelin, Catchpoll’s apprentice, brings youthful energy and some keen observational skills to the mix.

River of Sins has all the features of a police procedural but transported to medieval Worcester: securing the crime scene, gathering physical evidence, interviewing witnesses and identifying possible suspects.  There are plenty of the latter but the one thing missing, especially as events take an unexpected turn, is motive.  As Catchpoll observes to Bradcote, “There is no ‘why’, my lord, and that worries me. Until we have the ‘why’, I do not see my way clear to the ‘who'”.

As the investigation progresses, secrets from the past and hidden agenda are revealed along with tantalizing clues and false trails all enveloped in the atmosphere of medieval Worcester.  The author keeps the tension building with some dramatic scenes as Bradcote and Catchpoll close in on the culprit.

I really enjoyed River of Sins.  It’s a skillfully crafted mystery with plenty of period detail and two likeable leading characters. The good news is not only have I found a new historical crime series to follow but I have the six previous books to catch up on while I await the next investigation for Bradecote and Catchpoll, promised for 2021.

I received a review copy courtesy of Allison & Busby via NetGalley.

In three words: Assured, suspenseful, engaging

Try something similar: The Monastery Murders by E. M. Powell

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About the Author

Sarah Hawkswood describes herself as a ‘wordsmith’ who is only really happy when writing. She read Modern History at Oxford and first published a non-fiction book on the Royal Marines in the First World War before moving on to medieval mysteries set in Worcestershire.

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#BookReview The Stasi Game (Karin Müller #6) by David Young @ZaffreBooks

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About the Book The Stasi Game

A man’s body is found buried in concrete at a building site in the new town district. When People’s Police homicide captain Karin Müller arrives at the scene, she discovers that all of the body’s identifiable features have been removed – including its fingertips.

The deeper Müller digs, the more the Stasi begin to hamper her investigations. She soon realises that this crime is just one part of a clandestine battle between two secret services – the Stasi of East Germany and Britain’s MI6 – to control the truth behind one of the deadliest events of World War II.

Format: ebook (281 pages) Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 12th November 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Thriller

Find The Stasi Game (Karin Müller #6) on Goodreads

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My Review

I discovered David Young’s ‘Stasi’ series back in February when I read Stasi Winter, the fifth book featuring Karin Müller of the East German People’s Police. I enjoyed it so much that I made a plan – unfortunately as yet unfulfilled – to go back and read the earlier books ready for the next book in the series. Imagine my dismay therefore to read that The Stasi Game may be the last book in the series. Luckily for those of us who’ve not yet read the whole series, The Stasi Game has been designed as a standalone although there are brief references to events in previous books.

Opening in 1982 and set largely in Dresden, The Stasi Game begins with a dramatic prologue and then transports the reader back to events in the months leading up to it. There are occasional forays further back in time, to the period of the Second World War and a friendship between two young people the full relevance of which will only gradually be revealed. Central to these sections of the book is the still controversial firebombing of Dresden by the Allies in February 1945 which killed thousands and destroyed much of the city. The vivid first-hand account of the raids is one of the standout parts of the book.

From the very start of their investigation into the death of the man they refer to as ‘Concrete Man’, Karin Müller and her team find themselves playing a cat and mouse game with the Ministry of State Security, better known as the Stasi. No prizes for guessing which is the cat and which the mouse. In addition, Müller finds herself coming face to face with an old adversary and begins to wonder if, in fact, she has been set up to fail from the beginning.

As the case progresses, amongst all the twists and turns, some very dirty wartime secrets – as well as more recent ones – are unearthed. The book’s final climatic scenes continue where the prologue left off, leaving the reader to wonder what the future holds for Müller and her colleagues. If this is indeed the end of the series, then The Stasi Game is a lesson in how to go out on a high and leave the reader wanting more.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Zaffre via NetGalley.

In three words: Gripping, compelling, assured

Try something similar: Hitler’s Secret by Rory Clements

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David YoungAbout the Author

David Young was born near Hull and, after dropping out of a Bristol University science degree, studied Humanities at Bristol Polytechnic. Temporary jobs cleaning ferry toilets and driving a butcher’s van were followed by a career in journalism on provincial newspapers, a London news agency, and international radio and TV newsrooms. He now divides his time between Twickenham and a writing base on Syros in Greece, and in his spare time supports Hull City AFC. (Photo bio/ credit: author website)

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