The Way Between the Worlds

Aelf Fen #4

by Alys Clare

Come to me! I need you! These words bring apprentice healer Lassair awake one morning in the spring of 1092, trembling with terror. Soon Lassair is certain that one of her loved ones is in terrible danger . . . and when the news comes that a nun at Chatteris Abbey – where her beloved sister Elfritha lives – has been murdered, Lassair fears the worst. She sets off immediately, but the danger she will have to face may be greater than she is ready for . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Paranormal, Crime

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Alys Clare is the pen name used by Elizabeth Harris for the Hawkenlye series of historical mysteries.

Alys Clare is the pseudonym of a novelist with some 20 published works to her name. Brought up in the countryside close to where the Hawkenlye Novels are set, she went to school in Tonbridge and later studied archaeology at the University of Kent. She lives for part of the year in Brittany, in a remote cottage deep in an ancient landscape where many past inhabitants have left their mark; on her doorstep are relics that date from the stone circles and dolmens of the Neolithic to the commanderies, chapels and ancient tracks of those infamous warrior monks, the Knights Templar. In England, Alys's study overlooks a stretch of parkland which includes a valley with a little spring. The waters of this spring are similar in colour and taste to Tunbridge Wells's famous Chalybeat Spring, and it was this that prompted Alys's setting of her fictional Hawkenlye Abbey in the very spot where her own house now stands.

Reviews

[Andrea Engle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another medieval murder mystery from the pen of Alys Clare … in this volume, the Norman King of England, William Rufus, is forced to fight on two fronts in the late winter/early spring of 1092 … His brother’s Normandy and the northern Scots are both threatening … Back in the fen country, the Saxon apprentice healer, Lassair, is plagued with terrifying dreams in which she is summoned by a loved one in the face of horrifying evil forces … What could be their meaning? … What danger lurks?

The Norman Aelf Fen Series
by Alys Clare
by Alys Clare
by Alys Clare

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise. King William II's navy is wiped out by a storm enroute to Scotland. Rumor has it that it was a storm call up by a strong evil magician. In the meantime, Lassair travels to Chatteris Abbey to make certain her sister is OK when the family learns a nun was killed there. All of these story lines merge eventually but the novel is not that well plotted. Lots of holes in the story and several typos as well.

[Rachel Roberson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aha! Clare hit her stride with this one. Less telegraphing, more plot twists, the return of the Romantic Lead TM, as well as a closer look at religious and monastic life in medieval East Anglia. There was more mysticism, but also more actual mystery. Lassair's social standing as a peasant continues to help drive the plot, even as she encounters a range of people across the class hierarchy. I appreciate her competence and increasing access to opportunity without it having to be (so far) in the service of one day becoming rich/power/noble or have that status be something she covets. I don't know if this kind of social commentary is intentional, or just meant to show what a great person Lassair is, but it's refreshing. Onto book #5 (eventually)

[Groucho42 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Took a while off from the last book. Should have never continued. In my period mystery readings Iike a realistic picture of the time. If I want to read fantasy, there are other books to read. This book continues what annoyed me in the last one, a focus on fantasy that is too jarring.

If Clare wanted to cover the real issues between Christianity and other faiths, that's one thing. If she wanted to talk about herbalism and women having more power in some older faiths, that's one thing. However, I'm not interested in fantasy nonsense about dreams, prognostication and other nonsense rather than different ways of learning.

The plot was simplistic, the fantasy was annoying. I'm done.

[Patrick Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Aelf Fen series and a good one. The book starts with the heroine healer Lassair being summoned by a voice, but who is summoning will take a while to figure out. Then news comes that a nun in the abbey her sister is in has been murdered in a manner similar to a man whose body was found in the fen. Complicating matters is the arrival of a charismatic priest unfriendly toward the old ways and a resident in the abbey, and the continued absence of Lassair's would be lover.

Another nice tale in the series.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through my enjoying this series set in the transitional time of England between the Anglo Saxons and the Normans. The protagonist is a young girl, Lassair, who is learning how to be a healer. But she mixes herself up in problems each time.

[Kelly Callaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lassair, our heroine, is in Cambridge learning from Gurdyman. She is having terrible nightmares and through them a voice is calling for her help. Gurdyman eventually helps her interpret them and she sets off. She has supernatural help on her quest as well as human, Rolla and Hrpe.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rollo is back!

[Silky Pitterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and this series. The right balance of historical novel with sword and sorcery tossed in. All my favorite genres.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

a bit juvenile

[MaureenAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I was initially attracted to it in my local library by the cover showing an atmospheric ruin and a flock of birds overhead in a stormy sky.

It didn't disappoint as it was an easy read with interesting characters. I especially enjoyed the blend of historical fiction with mystical elements as Lassair is a healer with psychic talents that connect her with her ancestors.

I will be looking for other books by Alys Clare in both the Aelf Fen series and the Hawkenlye series.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story, though I found the juxtaposition of three different points of view, one in first person and the other two in third person, with nothing to distinguish them except extra space in the text, to be somewhat disconcerting. I also could wish that a map had been included, since I wasn't always clear where different places were in relation to one another.

[Abra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of pagan/Wiccan 11th century wish-fulfillment historical mysteries is growing on me. Ordinarily a lot of the elements would annoy me, but somehow, in this book, the specificity of the link to Roman legionary Mithras' worship and much later peat bog sacrificial "threefold deaths" gave the series some rootedness. Now I am more willing to enjoy it and less swift to critique.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alys Clare does a very nice job of taking a few pieces of known fact and weaving a story around them. If you like early Medieval English history mixed with a bit of the old religion or magic, this book might be for you.

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seemed to be lacking something, still good, but feels off or maybe hurried towards the end. Overall, a great series.

[Margareth8537 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Managed to get a few of these from the Library at the same time, so am probably overdosing on them!

[Ruby Nazaruk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book even thou i haven't read the books before it.
Well, written and very enjoyable.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the relationship between Lisare and the young man - but it seems the spiritual rules the world rather than the practical to a large extent.

[Jes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good