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A Brother Walter Mystery #4
MONK'S CURSE
December 1211. After thirty years as abbot of Saint Edmund's, Samson is dying. Before he takes his last breath, however, he calls Brother Walter to his bedside in order to recite the tale of the Green Children of Woolpit. This is a well-known local legend about two children who were found wandering in a Suffolk field half a century earlier.
Samson also reveals he has recently been visited by a mysterious woman who claims a murder is about to take place. But Walter cannot find out who the woman is or anyone else who has seen her. Did she really exist or was she, like the green children, just another product of a dying man's imagination?
Walter is reluctant to get involved but as he starts to investigate he realises there is more to both tales than first appears and eventually unmasks a tale of abuse and corruption going to the very heart of government.
Can Walter finally solve the mystery of the Green Children of Woolpit and prevent a murder being committed, or is he already too late?
Samson also reveals he has recently been visited by a mysterious woman who claims a murder is about to take place. But Walter cannot find out who the woman is or anyone else who has seen her. Did she really exist or was she, like the green children, just another product of a dying man's imagination?
Walter is reluctant to get involved but as he starts to investigate he realises there is more to both tales than first appears and eventually unmasks a tale of abuse and corruption going to the very heart of government.
Can Walter finally solve the mystery of the Green Children of Woolpit and prevent a murder being committed, or is he already too late?
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 30, 2015
54 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 28, 2025
A New Take on an Old Legend
As the book opens, Abbot Samson is dying. He sends for Brother Walter to set him on a last mystery. Samson spins an unlikely tale of feral green children discovered nearby, many years previously. Reluctantly, Walter takes up the challenge to solve the story. But someone is prepared to kill in order to cover up what really happened. Walter must think fast on his feet to avoid becoming a victim before obtaining resolution for Abbot Samson. Will Walter succeed, or will he die before his abbot? It’s close!
As the book opens, Abbot Samson is dying. He sends for Brother Walter to set him on a last mystery. Samson spins an unlikely tale of feral green children discovered nearby, many years previously. Reluctantly, Walter takes up the challenge to solve the story. But someone is prepared to kill in order to cover up what really happened. Walter must think fast on his feet to avoid becoming a victim before obtaining resolution for Abbot Samson. Will Walter succeed, or will he die before his abbot? It’s close!
November 17, 2016
Decent, although the end is bizarre. I liked Walter, the kvetching, not especially clever monk, and the host of other characters that inhabit this series. This is the second Walter I've read. Unholy Innocence, the first [they aren't numbered so a bit of guess work involved] also had a strange and violent plot. They're a good enough read, and Kindle Unlimited if you are so inclined.
October 15, 2023
A great story as always
You can never go wrong reading of Walter’s mysteries and adventures. The plot is always different to the usual murder mystery and is based on fact every time. Well-researched and there’s always some interesting new facts to learn!
You can never go wrong reading of Walter’s mysteries and adventures. The plot is always different to the usual murder mystery and is based on fact every time. Well-researched and there’s always some interesting new facts to learn!
December 9, 2017
Marvellous
Again the author takes one on a merry ride with so many twists and turns. A great and interesting book.
Again the author takes one on a merry ride with so many twists and turns. A great and interesting book.
March 8, 2018
We learn more about the Cistercians, a branch of Benedictines which tried to get back to the original Rules ofmSt. Benedict. Lots of good local color and culture set in a multiple murder mystery.
June 29, 2016
One of the best of its kind of mystery
Made from real people and some fictional, a Monk who is also a physician and a sleuth takes on the last wish of his dying Abbott, to discover a murder before it takes place.
Written in the first person, it's funny, fast paced, and certainly a mystery that is worth reading.
I'm on to the next book in this series.
Made from real people and some fictional, a Monk who is also a physician and a sleuth takes on the last wish of his dying Abbott, to discover a murder before it takes place.
Written in the first person, it's funny, fast paced, and certainly a mystery that is worth reading.
I'm on to the next book in this series.
August 29, 2016
This is available through kindle unlimited on Amazon, so I tried it out considering I am a fan of historical fiction. I will go ahead and read the next one to give it a fair chance. I don't mind the "comic" approach to this period, but it is rather different from most I read as it includes modern sensibilities toward women as well as out of sync with the times terms such as "gaga."
January 2, 2017
Brother Walter is a monk in England in the 1200's. King John is in power. He of the Magna Carta. His abbot is dying and sends Brother Walter on a quest to find out the story of the green children. Brother Walter is a physican. He gets himself into predicaments. There is an element of humor. His mother is an intelligent forcefull woman. I may read more when I am in the mood for an light read.
May 17, 2016
Beautifully written
This was a great story, involving mystery children, treason, murder & humour. The characters were so well fleshed out that I would recognize them on the street. And to your mother you are always a child getting into messes.
This was a great story, involving mystery children, treason, murder & humour. The characters were so well fleshed out that I would recognize them on the street. And to your mother you are always a child getting into messes.
May 26, 2016
Good read
Really enjoyed the author's straightforward writing style. I enjoyed Brother Walter and will likely read more in the series. Overall, an interesting historical mystery with page-turning elements.
Really enjoyed the author's straightforward writing style. I enjoyed Brother Walter and will likely read more in the series. Overall, an interesting historical mystery with page-turning elements.
April 24, 2017
Green children
A good story .supposedly there were indeed two green children found in the woods who were unable to speak the language of the day . The real truth of it obviously lost in the mists of time.
A good story .supposedly there were indeed two green children found in the woods who were unable to speak the language of the day . The real truth of it obviously lost in the mists of time.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews