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The Chronicles of Brother Hermitage #11
A Murder for Master Wat
COMEDY; MEDIEVAL,CRIME. File under Howard of Warwick. (He invented the genre and must be held accountable).
When weavers in the 11th century went out to play there was usually trouble. In this case it's death, which Brother Hermitage, the King's Investigator, always finds very troublesome indeed.
Wat the Weaver doesn't want to go to the weavers' Grand Moot in the first place and no one can make him. Except Mistress Cwen, of course. When they get there it all starts so well, but it only takes the blink of a bat's ear for murder to rear its ugly head and stare straight at Hermitage. He's starting to think that being King's Investigator is actually a cause of death in its own right.
But this time, the perpetrators seem quite proud of their actions and have a lot more planned. Is this a race to stop a murder, rather than deal with all the mess afterwards? Hermitage certainly hopes so, although, as usual, he'd rather the whole thing just went away.
A Grand Moot of weavers should be a time of joy, celebration and cameraderie, not greed, violence and a generous serving of just plain stupidity.
Howard of Warwick invented Medieval Crime Comedy and doesn't know any better;
5* Hilarious
5* Laugh out Loud
5* Very silly
1* Silly (apparently "very" is worth 4*)
When weavers in the 11th century went out to play there was usually trouble. In this case it's death, which Brother Hermitage, the King's Investigator, always finds very troublesome indeed.
Wat the Weaver doesn't want to go to the weavers' Grand Moot in the first place and no one can make him. Except Mistress Cwen, of course. When they get there it all starts so well, but it only takes the blink of a bat's ear for murder to rear its ugly head and stare straight at Hermitage. He's starting to think that being King's Investigator is actually a cause of death in its own right.
But this time, the perpetrators seem quite proud of their actions and have a lot more planned. Is this a race to stop a murder, rather than deal with all the mess afterwards? Hermitage certainly hopes so, although, as usual, he'd rather the whole thing just went away.
A Grand Moot of weavers should be a time of joy, celebration and cameraderie, not greed, violence and a generous serving of just plain stupidity.
Howard of Warwick invented Medieval Crime Comedy and doesn't know any better;
5* Hilarious
5* Laugh out Loud
5* Very silly
1* Silly (apparently "very" is worth 4*)
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 26, 2018
About the author
Howard of Warwick
56 books92 followersHoward of Warwick is but a humble chronicler with the blind luck to stumble upon manuscripts which describe the goings-on of Brother Hermitage and his companion Wat the weaver.
His work has been heard, seen and read, most of it accompanied by laughter and some of it by money. His peers have even seen fit to recognize his unworthy efforts with a prize for making up stories.
There are now eighteen - make that twenty - novels of Brother Hermitage, the most medieval of detectives, loose on the world and they have found considerable success with the buying public.
The most recent outpouring from the scriptorium is The King's Investigator Part II.
Tales of Hermitage continue to flow forth with few checks for accuracy. There are even short stories available for free.
There is a dedicated web page, HowardofWarwick.com.
Messages can be left care of Howard@howardofwarwick.com and Howardofwarwick can be followed on Twitter
There is even tweeting @HowardofWarwick
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 5, 2018
Poor Brother Hermitage. Medieval life can be brutal and immoral at the best of times, but with his presence alone life becomes extremely hazardous. At least that’s the impression he gets from the corpses he meets.
Yes, Hermitage is the equivalent of an 11th century Jessica Fletcher, in-so-much-as someone manages to expire at every function they attend. Oh, and they both like the written word, of course.
Murder, corruption, and a curious rebellion are just a few of the trials that await this harmless Monk, Wat the Weaver, and feisty Mistress Cwen during their innocent excursion to a Weaver’s Moot in Nottingham.
They involuntarily challenge the hierarchy of their craft and endeavour to get to the bottom of a most unlikely cause of death, which anyone with any kind of authority regards as an utter inconvenience. To be honest, Brother Hermitage agrees with them as he would much prefer to visit places without a suspicious death casting a cloud over his otherwise contented, parchment filled days.
Perhaps not as preposterous as their previous antics, but enormously entertaining with a rewarding conclusion. Looking forward to the next one already!
Yes, Hermitage is the equivalent of an 11th century Jessica Fletcher, in-so-much-as someone manages to expire at every function they attend. Oh, and they both like the written word, of course.
Murder, corruption, and a curious rebellion are just a few of the trials that await this harmless Monk, Wat the Weaver, and feisty Mistress Cwen during their innocent excursion to a Weaver’s Moot in Nottingham.
They involuntarily challenge the hierarchy of their craft and endeavour to get to the bottom of a most unlikely cause of death, which anyone with any kind of authority regards as an utter inconvenience. To be honest, Brother Hermitage agrees with them as he would much prefer to visit places without a suspicious death casting a cloud over his otherwise contented, parchment filled days.
Perhaps not as preposterous as their previous antics, but enormously entertaining with a rewarding conclusion. Looking forward to the next one already!
December 28, 2021
The initial setup of the murder is a bit wonky, and by around page 170 it slows down a lot as Wat, Cwen and Hermitage wander all over medieval Nottingham looking for suspects, but it's still a fun read, with less emphasis on comedy and more on setting up a good mystery (which it is, despite the initial crime scene) and even some character building which is pretty good if you like that sort of thing—and which doesn't get in the way of the story.
The conclusion works to a kind of pun and is not as neat as readers of the series will have come to expect, which is why I've only given it three stars. In summation, then, flawed beginning, unsatisfying ending, but the bits in the middle are good. (I could've done the research, I suppose, to make a nice tapestry metaphor there, but I couldn't be arsed.)
The conclusion works to a kind of pun and is not as neat as readers of the series will have come to expect, which is why I've only given it three stars. In summation, then, flawed beginning, unsatisfying ending, but the bits in the middle are good. (I could've done the research, I suppose, to make a nice tapestry metaphor there, but I couldn't be arsed.)
April 11, 2018
She's back!
Another cracking tale from our favourite monastic sleuth. Plus a welcome return for Cwen. Barely a mention of the Norman nut jobs plaguing poor Hermitage. More please, ASAP!
Another cracking tale from our favourite monastic sleuth. Plus a welcome return for Cwen. Barely a mention of the Norman nut jobs plaguing poor Hermitage. More please, ASAP!
June 3, 2018
Another good tale
Yes, Howard pulled one out this time. Though it did tend to ramble at times, the story was neatly brought together in a more surprising way than normal. And Hartle, nice addition to the team.
Yes, Howard pulled one out this time. Though it did tend to ramble at times, the story was neatly brought together in a more surprising way than normal. And Hartle, nice addition to the team.
April 15, 2018
Ah Hermitage
Another great outing with our favorite monk and his friends! Oh and plenty of dead bodies! And Wat is the object of a guild's inspiration!! Do not miss this one!!
Another great outing with our favorite monk and his friends! Oh and plenty of dead bodies! And Wat is the object of a guild's inspiration!! Do not miss this one!!
May 1, 2018
Brilliant
Very funny and good plot kept you guessing to the very end really enjoyed reading this book would recommend xxx
Very funny and good plot kept you guessing to the very end really enjoyed reading this book would recommend xxx
November 30, 2020
All of the Brother Hermitage books are wonderful!
June 4, 2021
A different ending...
Surprising ending. Good story. As enjoyable as they all are. A lot of fun though bits of interesting knowledge scattered here and there.
Surprising ending. Good story. As enjoyable as they all are. A lot of fun though bits of interesting knowledge scattered here and there.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews