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The Mowbray Chronicles #1
At the King's Command
A young knight reluctant to obey. A murderer sworn to secrecy. A dangerous truth drenched in blood.
At age eleven, Argyle dreams of chivalry and adventure. But when a most unlikely adversary kills Argyle’s master, he is forced to realise that real life is a far cry from his childhood fantasies. Reluctantly, Argyle accepts a royal command that sends him on a dangerous quest for the truth. He must succeed to untangle his family from a bloody power struggle. But the more he learns, the more he doubts what he knows. One thing is If he reveals all, a dynasty will collapse. Buy your copy today and dive head first into a medieval mystery. If you can't get enough of dark and twisted mysteries, court politics and medieval history then At the King's Command is perfect for you. The story is based on historical events and it is the first volume of the Mowbray Chronicles set in and about the medieval English court of Richard II. The sequels Court of Deadly Whispers and Web of Lies are also available for purchase
At age eleven, Argyle dreams of chivalry and adventure. But when a most unlikely adversary kills Argyle’s master, he is forced to realise that real life is a far cry from his childhood fantasies. Reluctantly, Argyle accepts a royal command that sends him on a dangerous quest for the truth. He must succeed to untangle his family from a bloody power struggle. But the more he learns, the more he doubts what he knows. One thing is If he reveals all, a dynasty will collapse. Buy your copy today and dive head first into a medieval mystery. If you can't get enough of dark and twisted mysteries, court politics and medieval history then At the King's Command is perfect for you. The story is based on historical events and it is the first volume of the Mowbray Chronicles set in and about the medieval English court of Richard II. The sequels Court of Deadly Whispers and Web of Lies are also available for purchase
- GenresHistorical Fiction
383 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2021
About the author
Mette Holm
7 books3 followersMette Holm is a writer of historical fiction focusing on last of the Plantagenet rulers beginning with Richard II. The Mowbray family caught her eye when she was first researching the age and especially Thomas Mowbray was so fascinating, she simply had to write about him and the Mowbray family. The decision led to her first book: At the King’s Command.
Mette Holm has been telling stories all her life, be it in school, at university or even in her day-job as an independent business owner and copywriter. While historical fiction holds a special place in her heart, a yet unfinished fantasy manuscript occupies her top drawer and rumour has it that it will in time be dug out and finished.
As a quirk despite her Danish heritage, she knows more about medieval England than she does about Danish medieval history.
For more information please visit: metteholmbooks.com and sign up for her newsletter or follow Mette Holm on Facebook @https://www.facebook.com/MetteHolmBooks/ and Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/authormette...
Mette Holm has been telling stories all her life, be it in school, at university or even in her day-job as an independent business owner and copywriter. While historical fiction holds a special place in her heart, a yet unfinished fantasy manuscript occupies her top drawer and rumour has it that it will in time be dug out and finished.
As a quirk despite her Danish heritage, she knows more about medieval England than she does about Danish medieval history.
For more information please visit: metteholmbooks.com and sign up for her newsletter or follow Mette Holm on Facebook @https://www.facebook.com/MetteHolmBooks/ and Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/authormette...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 2, 2020
I didn't care for this book and stopped after 20 pages
August 28, 2023
Comparison is a harsh master, but having just read two brilliant CJ Sansom books back-to-back, it was perhaps almost inevitable that, 'At the King's Command' would disappoint.
Unfortunately, although there is merit in the story itself, I struggled to get through it. It soon became apparent that the author could not be English herself – too many clumsy phrases, or inappropriate words. Initially I though perhaps she was American, but a Google search showed me that Mette Holm is actually Danish, and clearly has immersed herself in Plantagenate history.
I so wanted this to be a great book but the jumps in time, both forward and backwards, had me confused and necessitated turning back to the previous chapter multiple times to work out where we were. Right at the start, when the Mowbray siblings find themselves orphaned, I had to read a paragraph four times to try to work out which of the children we were focusing on, and even then, I got it wrong. That is so discombobulating for a reader, I almost gave up straight away.
This is essentially the story of the youngest brother who serves as a squire to a knight who is killed in a jousting tournament. Said squire – Argyle (whose name will often be used several times in the same sentence, so be sure to take a lot of deep breaths) inherits property and position, but is also commissioned by King Richard II (we eventually discover which king we're talking about, but it takes a good while), to find out whether this was quite the accident it seemed.
Political manoeuvering, corruption, blackmail and secrets galore are woven into the narrative. Who is loyal to the King, and who is out to garner power and riches for themselves? Argyle's brother, Thomas, is in the thick of it, but where do his loyalties really lie? (I'm still not sure, but maybe that's a deliberate ploy to be pursued in book #2.)
There are leaps in the plot as well as in time – for example, Argyle loses a horse and the next minute, he's back with his horse (say, what now?). The love interest is a massive leap which definitely didn't work for me. It's two-dimensional, too fast and too superficial. It sucked much of my sympathy for the protagonist who showed himself to be rather foolish; all very tedious.
The book is left on a supposed cliff-hanger, presumably to induce you to read the sequel, but I'm going to give that a hearty miss, myself.
Feel free to give it a go if you enjoy this historical period. I feel horrible that I disliked it so much. Sure, I could have put it to one side, but unless I find a book morally repugnant, I have very seldom done that, as I will it with all my heart to get better. In this case sadly, it didn't.
Unfortunately, although there is merit in the story itself, I struggled to get through it. It soon became apparent that the author could not be English herself – too many clumsy phrases, or inappropriate words. Initially I though perhaps she was American, but a Google search showed me that Mette Holm is actually Danish, and clearly has immersed herself in Plantagenate history.
I so wanted this to be a great book but the jumps in time, both forward and backwards, had me confused and necessitated turning back to the previous chapter multiple times to work out where we were. Right at the start, when the Mowbray siblings find themselves orphaned, I had to read a paragraph four times to try to work out which of the children we were focusing on, and even then, I got it wrong. That is so discombobulating for a reader, I almost gave up straight away.
This is essentially the story of the youngest brother who serves as a squire to a knight who is killed in a jousting tournament. Said squire – Argyle (whose name will often be used several times in the same sentence, so be sure to take a lot of deep breaths) inherits property and position, but is also commissioned by King Richard II (we eventually discover which king we're talking about, but it takes a good while), to find out whether this was quite the accident it seemed.
Political manoeuvering, corruption, blackmail and secrets galore are woven into the narrative. Who is loyal to the King, and who is out to garner power and riches for themselves? Argyle's brother, Thomas, is in the thick of it, but where do his loyalties really lie? (I'm still not sure, but maybe that's a deliberate ploy to be pursued in book #2.)
There are leaps in the plot as well as in time – for example, Argyle loses a horse and the next minute, he's back with his horse (say, what now?). The love interest is a massive leap which definitely didn't work for me. It's two-dimensional, too fast and too superficial. It sucked much of my sympathy for the protagonist who showed himself to be rather foolish; all very tedious.
The book is left on a supposed cliff-hanger, presumably to induce you to read the sequel, but I'm going to give that a hearty miss, myself.
Feel free to give it a go if you enjoy this historical period. I feel horrible that I disliked it so much. Sure, I could have put it to one side, but unless I find a book morally repugnant, I have very seldom done that, as I will it with all my heart to get better. In this case sadly, it didn't.
February 21, 2025
I enjoyed the story. Kudos to the author for writing in a second language. Unfortunately, there were lots and lots of mistakes that should have been edited out. Most often, it seemed like the author changed her mind in the middle of a sentence about how to say something and did not go back and clean up the sentence but just added the new idea and kept going. I'm sorry she didn't have the help of an editor because it was a good story.
November 25, 2023
Great read! An amazing story surrounding Richard the II!
November 12, 2022
The King's Command: The Mowbray Chronicles - Book 1
by Mette Holm
Based around the reign of Richard 11 - with his uncle and cousin vying to take over the throne. The lords and the earls are not happy with the favourites Richard 11 has around him the factions work against him and around him and one of the favourites is killed.
Argyle is the youngest of the Mowbray family (a fictional addition to the family) he is taken on by one of the king's favourite knights (another fictional Character) who is killed in a tourney. The king is devastated and instructs Argyle to find out who did it.
Argyles family the real Mowbray's have seen their share of death, their father dies in the war in france and the mother dies whilst in childbirth. Taken in by their Aunt Blanch they grow up in a wealthy family and John the eldest inherits the estate till his death when Thomas takes over, Thomas is a player at court in on all the intrigue and plots.
I love reading novels that include facts along with the fiction bearing in mind I like to be able to tell which is which so a note at the end to sort out who is who is essential, and Mette Holm does just that.
by Mette Holm
Based around the reign of Richard 11 - with his uncle and cousin vying to take over the throne. The lords and the earls are not happy with the favourites Richard 11 has around him the factions work against him and around him and one of the favourites is killed.
Argyle is the youngest of the Mowbray family (a fictional addition to the family) he is taken on by one of the king's favourite knights (another fictional Character) who is killed in a tourney. The king is devastated and instructs Argyle to find out who did it.
Argyles family the real Mowbray's have seen their share of death, their father dies in the war in france and the mother dies whilst in childbirth. Taken in by their Aunt Blanch they grow up in a wealthy family and John the eldest inherits the estate till his death when Thomas takes over, Thomas is a player at court in on all the intrigue and plots.
I love reading novels that include facts along with the fiction bearing in mind I like to be able to tell which is which so a note at the end to sort out who is who is essential, and Mette Holm does just that.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews