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Blog Tour/Book Review: The Monastery Murders (Stanton & Barling #2) by E. M. Powell

November 21, 2018November 17, 2018 whatcathyreadnext3 Comments

03_The Monastery Murders_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for The Monastery Murders by E. M. Powell, the second in the author’s historical mystery series featuring medieval ‘detectives’, Hugo Stanton and Aelred Barling. If, like me, you haven’t read the first book in the series, The King’s Justice, never fear. As you can see from my review below, starting with book two won’t affect your enjoyment at all although, also like me, on finishing The Monastery Murders you’ll probably immediately add The King’s Justice to your wishlist.

Visit the tour page to see the other great book bloggers taking part in the tour and to find links to other reviews, excerpts from the book and guest posts by the author.

There’s also a giveaway (open internationally) with a chance to win one of six copies of The Monastery Murders.

Enter via the Gleam form at the bottom of the tour page where you can also view the terms and conditions of the giveaway.

About the Book

Their lives are ones of quiet contemplation—and brutal murder.

Christmas Eve, 1176. Brother Maurice, monk of Fairmore Abbey, awaits the night prayer bell. But there is only silence. Cursing his fellow brother Cuthbert’s idleness, he seeks him out – and in the darkness, finds him brutally murdered.

Summoned from London to the isolated monastery on the Yorkshire Moors, Aelred Barling, clerk to the King’s justices, and his messenger Hugo Stanton, set about investigating the horrific crime. They quickly discover that this is far from a quiet monastic house. Instead, it seethes with bitter feuds, rivalries and resentments. But no sooner do they arrive than the killer strikes again – and again.

When Barling discovers a pattern to these atrocities, it becomes apparent that the murderer’s rampage is far from over. With everyone, including the investigators, now fearing for their lives, can Barling and Stanton unmask the culprit before more blood is spilled?

Format: Paperback, ebook (288 pp.) Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 27^th September 2018 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Monastery Murders (Stanton & Barling #2) on Goodreads

My Review

Take a remote monastery frequently cut off from the outside world in bad weather, an insular community where it’s not all brotherly love between the inhabitants, add a dash of frustrated ambition, a few secret vices and the harsh realities of monastic life and – as it turns out – you have all the ingredients for murder. Actually, no, you have all the ingredients for a series of murders. And quite gruesome murders they are too.

Finding the culprit is the stern task that faces King’s justice, Aelred Barling, and his assistant/messenger, Hugo Stanton. Their arrival at Fairmore Abbey is definitely not greeted with enthusiasm and they find just about everyone reluctant to help them with their investigation. Barling and Stanton are a sort of medieval Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Barling is all application of method and logic (most of the time) whereas Stanton is better at dealing with people and judging character (most of the time). Together they form an effective, if at times slightly discontented, partnership – albeit one in which Barling is definitely in charge.

Coming in at the second book in a series can sometimes be a problem but not in this case. Although there are hints about events in the first book and little insights into the past histories of Barling and Stanton, there’s not much given away. In fact, just the opposite. The few enticing nuggets the author does give certainly piqued this reader’s interest in reading the first book, The King’s Justice.

The harsh, remote atmosphere of the monastery is really well conveyed. As a reader, you can almost hear the wind whistling round the Abbey walls and feel yourself shivering along with the monks in their draughty dormitories as they reluctantly rouse themselves from sleep to perform the religious offices. As a pattern to the murders starts to emerge (echoes of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose here), can you blame the monks for wondering who’ll be the next victim or indeed whether the Devil himself stalks the Abbey?

The Monastery Murders is a well-crafted, engaging historical mystery with plenty of twists and turns and a wealth of possible suspects that kept me guessing right to the end.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Thomas & Mercer, and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.

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In three words: Suspenseful, atmospheric, mystery

Try something similar…A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland (read my review here)

About the Author

E.M. Powell’s historical thriller ‘The Fifth Knight’ novels have been #1 Amazon and Bild bestsellers. The King’s Justice is the first novel in her new Stanton and Barling medieval murder mystery series. She is a contributing editor to International Thriller Writers’ The Big Thrill magazine, blogs for English Historical Fiction Authors and is the social media manager for the Historical Novel Society.

Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the family of Michael Collins (the legendary revolutionary and founder of the Irish Free State), she now lives in North-West England with her husband, daughter and a Facebook-friendly dog.

Connect with Elaine

Website ǀ Facebook ǀ Twitter ǀ Goodreads

WWW Wednesdays – 21st November ‘18

November 21, 2018November 21, 2018 whatcathyreadnext11 Comments

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too? Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

Song of Praise for a Flower: One Woman’s Journey through China’s Tumultuous 20th Century by Fengxian Chu with Charlene Chu (ebook, courtesy of the authors)

For nearly two decades, this manuscript lay hidden in a Chinese bank vault until a long-lost cousin from America inspired 92-year-old author Fengxian Chu to unearth it.

Song of Praise for a Flower traces a century of Chinese history through the experiences of one woman and her family, from the dark years of World War II and China’s civil war to the tragic Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and beyond. It is a window into a faraway world, a sweeping epic about China’s tumultuous transformation and a harrowing yet ultimately uplifting story of a remarkable woman who survives it all and finally finds peace and tranquility.

Memory Hold-the-Door by John Buchan (hardcover)

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875-1940) completed his autobiography not long before his death. A highly accomplished man, his was a life of note. Although now known by many chiefly as an author, he was also an historian, Unionist politician and Governor General of Canada.

Although he stated that it was not strictly an autobiography, Memory Hold-the-Door provides a reflective, personal account of his childhood in Scotland, his literary work from his time at Oxford University to the famous Hannay and Leithen stories and his extensive public service in South Africa, Scotland, France in the Great War, and Canada. Of great interest are his accounts of key contemporary figures, including Lord Grey, Lord Haldane, Earl Balfour, Lord Haig, T.E. Lawrence and King George V.

Recently finished (click on title for review)

The Monastery Murders (Stanton & Barling #2) by E. M. Powell (ebook, courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours)

Their lives are ones of quiet contemplation—and brutal murder.

Christmas Eve, 1176 – Brother Maurice, monk of Fairmore Abbey, awaits the night prayer bell. But there is only silence. Cursing his fellow brother Cuthbert’s idleness, he seeks him out – and in the darkness, finds him brutally murdered.

Summoned from London to the isolated monastery on the Yorkshire Moors, Aelred Barling, clerk to the King’s justices, and his messenger, Hugo Stanton, set about investigating the horrific crime. They quickly discover that this is far from a quiet monastic house. Instead, it seethes with bitter feuds, rivalries and resentments. But no sooner do they arrive than the killer strikes again – and again.

None So Blind (The Teifi Valley Coroner) by Alis Hawkins (ARC, courtesy of The Dome Press)

West Wales, 1850 – When an old tree root is dug up, the remains of a young woman are found. Harry Probert-Lloyd, a young barrister forced home from London by encroaching blindness, has been dreading this discovery.

He knows exactly whose bones they are.

Working with his clerk, John Davies, Harry is determined to expose the guilty, but the investigation turns up more questions than answers.

The search for the truth will prove costly. Will Harry and John be the ones to pay the highest price? (Review to follow 22^nd November)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

So Much Life Left Over by Louis de Bernières (hardcover)

A sweeping, heartbreaking novel following Daniel in his troubled marriage with Rosie as they navigate the unsettled time between the World Wars.

Rosie and Daniel have moved to Ceylon with their little daughter to start a new life at the dawn of the 1920s, attempting to put the trauma of the First World War behind them, and to rekindle a marriage that gets colder every day. However, even in the lush plantation hills it is hard for them to escape the ties of home and the yearning for fulfilment that threatens their marriage.

Back in England, Rosie’s three sisters are dealing with different challenges in their searches for family, purpose and happiness. These are precarious times, and they find themselves using unconventional means to achieve their desires. Around them the world is changing, and when Daniel finds himself in Germany he witnesses events taking a dark and forbidding turn.

By turns humorous and tragic, gripping and touching, So Much Life Left Over follows a cast of unique and captivating characters as they navigate the extraordinary interwar years both in England and abroad.

A Light of Her Own by Carrie Callaghan (ebook, courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours)

In Holland 1633, a woman’s ambition has no place.

Judith is a painter, dodging the law and whispers of murder to try to become the first woman admitted to the Haarlem painters guild. Maria is a Catholic in a country where the faith is banned, hoping to absolve her sins by recovering a lost saint’s relic.

Both women’s destinies will be shaped by their ambitions, running counter to the city’s most powerful men, whose own plans spell disaster. A vivid portrait of a remarkable artist, A Light of Her Own is a richly-woven story of grit against the backdrop of Rembrandt and an uncompromising religion.