The Bleak Midwinter

John Grey Historical Mystery #5

by L.C. Tyler

The fifth John Grey historical mystery

1668.

John Grey is now a Justice of the Peace and lives in the manor house he has inherited on his mother's death with his new wife, Aminta.

As the village is cut off from the rest of the world by a heavy snowfall, George Barwell is discovered dead in the woods. Grey is called to examine the horribly disfigured body amidst the rumours that the attack has been the work of the Devil as the victim had been cursed by reputed witch Alice Mardike just days before his violent death.

As Barwell's father-in-law leads the villagers into kidnapping Alice and throwing her into the millpond to see if she floats as a witch or drowns as an innocent woman, Grey agrees to investigate the murder: his main suspect is the very man leading the witch hunt.

But if Grey can't solve the mystery of George Barwell's death within a week, Mardike will be tried for witchcraft - and the sentence has already been decided . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, 17th Century, Historical Mystery, Fiction

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 27, 2018

About the author

L. C. Tyler grew up in Essex and studied geography at Jesus College Oxford University and systems analysis at City University in London. During a career with the British Council he lived in Malaysia, Sudan, Thailand and Denmark. More recently he has been based in Islington and West Sussex and is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, of which he was previously Chief Executive. He is married and has two children and one dog.

Series:
* Elsie and Ethelred Mystery
* John Grey Historical Mystery

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first read of LC Tyler's historical mystery series set in the reign of Charles II in 1668, featuring lawyer and magistrate, Sir John Grey, who has undertaken many assignments for Lord Arlington, the King's spymaster, and Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Grey's mother has recently died, leaving him griefstricken, and now living in her manor in the village of Clavershill West in North Essex. He is no longer working for Arlington, and has returned home. He has a young son and is married to the astute Aminta, a London playwright, whose father, Sir Felix Clifford, has taken up residence in their home. It is a desperately bitterly cold and snowy winter in the run up to Christmas, the village has been cut off from the outside world, when the brutally murdered body of the good looking carpenter, George Barwell, is discovered by two shepherds in the woods. His face has been disfigured beyond recognition, he is identified by his father in law, the influential William Taylor and Barwell's wife, Amy.

Barwell is the subject of numerous rumours and has a reputation of going with a number of young women and even an older married woman. He was forced to marry Amy by Taylor when he got Amy pregnant, but being married has not curtailed his activities, and one of the women he promised to marry wants revenge, hoping to enlist the services of the local witch, Alice Mardike, who declined to help her. Alice's mother was hung for being a witch, and the area had been visited by Matthew Hopkins, the Witch-Finder General, offering to find witches on payment. The villagers have relied on Alice to provide many remedies for varying illnesses and ailments. However, now led by Taylor, they now take against Alice, accusing her of cursing Barwell, denouncing her as a witch and responsible for Barwell's murder. The mood becomes increasingly belligerent and ugly as they try to force Grey into legitimising the hanging of Alice, who doesn't believe in witchcraft and is convinced Alice has nothing to do with the murder. He and his family find themselves in danger as he tries to investigate and identify a killer walking amongst them.

LC Tyler does some impressive research on witchcraft in the seventeenth century to capture the prejudice and irrational witch hunts of the period in this novel. He captures the misogyny and the social attitudes towards women in these times, the persecution, the abuse they could suffer and their inability to live the life they may want to live, whilst living under the threat of being fingered as witches with no evidence whatsoever. Clavershall West has all the features of a small place, petty feuds, rivalries, jealousies and resentments, where people are whipped up into a fervent, murderous, volatile mood where they bray for the hanging of Alice, even if she is not guilty of any crime. It soon becomes clear many have good reason to see that Alice is scapegoated, as many have secrets and motives for wanting Barwell dead themselves. This is an atmospheric and gripping historical mystery, that works reasonably well as a standalone, that I very much enjoyed reading. Those who enjoy historical fiction and mysteries are likely to like this series. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This eventful historical mystery is the 5th part of the excellent "John Grey" series by the author, L.C. Tyler.
At the end of the book within the Notes and Acknowledgments you'll find very useful historical details concerning this story, all documented and explained in a very clear fashion.
Once again this book has been written in a very entertaining style intertwined with a lot of wit, and this wonderful combination will keep the reader spellbound following the exploits of lawyer, and now also Justice of the Peace, John Grey.
This tale is set during the Reign of King Charles II, in the year AD 1668, and apart from the murder of George Barwell, there's also the art of "Witchcraft" that will play an important role in this mystery.
Now to the story itself, in which our main character, the righteous lawyer, but now Justice of the Peace, John Grey, is now handling the case of the murder of George Barwell, with the help of his sharp thinking wife Lady Aminta Grey, and the subsequent superstitions that are developing towards the so-called witch, Alice Mardike.
During his investigation, John Grey will come into some troubling and dangerous situations, but these encounters will hinder him somewhat, but these will not stop him in finding the real culprit of this dreadful murder.
And so what will get is a fast-paced suspenseful historical mystery, in which our good and righteous lawyer, John Grey, together with his formidable wife, Lady Aminta Grey, will try everything they can to save the life of the witch, Alice Mardike, while at the same time after some nice twists and turns, and ending with a very exciting and enjoyable plot, they will eventually reveal the real murderer of George Barwell.
Very much recommended, for this is a terrific series, with a great many wonderful one-liners, and what this episode is concerned, I like to call it: "Another John Grey Triumph"!

[Puzzle Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding historical mystery. Full review at classicmystery.blog

[Marc Mordey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The character keeps on growing

I’ve become hooked on John Grey - the story telling is rich and satisfying, the characterisation excellent and, Mr Grey is growing up! A joy to read.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant book, couldn’t put it down. I really love this series of books! Hope there is another one ☝️

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Grey, lawyer, recently of Lincoln Inn in London is now Sir John Grey, a title bestowed upon hm by the King’s spymaster Lord Arlington for dubious reasons, best not investigated too closely. John has now returned to his home in Clavershall West in Essex having on the death of his mother, inherited her estate. He had also acquired a wife Aminta, daughter, according to the parish records of Sir Felix Clifford, who has long been a thorn in John’s side. John is also the local magistrate,

The book opens with a maiden of the village visiting the local witch Alice Mardike seeking a method of killing her recent lover who has spurned her and married another. Alice is non too keen. It’s 1668. They hanged her mother for witchcraft and once your mother has been hanged for witchcraft there weren’t many things you could do except become a witch yourself and hope things work out better next time round.’

When the disfigured body of George Barwell is discovered in the woods, the word ‘work of the devil’ spreads like wildfire around the village and it’s a small leap to fix the blame on local witch Alice. As Ben Bowman, village innkeeper and reluctant constable says to John Gray – ‘You need to arrest Alice Mardike and give her a fair trial. Then you need to string her up by the neck.’

The leader of the pack howling for blood is Barwell's father-in-law, William Taylor, keen to try the tried and tested method of throwing Alice into the millpond to see if she floats as a witch or drowns as an innocent woman. Not much of an option in my view. John Grey is beset on all sides - by William Taylor who holds quite a sway on the villagers being rich, and by the local Rector who preaches from the bible quoting chapter and verse that ‘thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.’ John Grey doesn’t recall that particular chapter and verse as relating to witches but if the Rector doesn’t know his bible who does?

With the village snowed in John Grey needs to solve the mystery of George Barwell’s death and quickly. If he can’t its curtains for Alice. He sets out to interview each and everyone concerned to ascertain the truth, and he gets into all sorts of trouble doing so, and not only with the suspects, but with the weather so bad Aminta has decided he should stay indoors. Many secrets emerge from his enquires but will they help him unmask the killer?

This is a marvellous entry in this enthralling series. I just loved it. The characters leap off the page at you. The mystery is intriguing, and the dialogue is clever, witty and funny. Don’t miss this gem. Most highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

[Tim Chesterton · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 Book #19. Four stars out of five.

I love Len Tyler's books and especially his John Grey mysteries. They are set in the seventeenth century, and I like them for three reasons. One, his historical research is wonderful. Two, his mysteries are very entertaining and keep me guessing til the end. And three, they are also devastatingly funny.

This fifth book in the series finally finds John married to the lovely (and very strong-willed) Aminta, and lord of the manor in his Essex village (after four stories of him working as a lawyer and a spy in London). Aminta has always been vastly entertaining and many times smarter than John, as he well knows. This time it's a local murder John has to solve (in his role as local magistrate), and an accusation of witchcraft is very quickly made.

I highly recommend this book. I will say, though, that I'm very disappointed that Tyler's publisher will not make this one, or the next one in the series, available in the Canadian Kindle store. They are available in the UK and US Kindle stores, so I'm mystified as to why there's no Canadian Kindle edition available. The first four in the series were all released on Kindle..

[Jill Westerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of these books that I've read but this is clearly part of an ongoing series set in the mid 1600s with John Grey, ex-spy, lawyer, now lord of the manor solving mysteries.

Initially I was put off by the knowing tone and 21st century sensibilities, but got into the flow of the narrative and enjoyed the novel as a good addition to the historical detective genre. John Grey operates methodically and scientifically in a village enthralled with tales of witchcraft, assisted by his wife. It is a bit of a locked room mystery as the village is cut off by snow, so we know one of the villagers is guilty, but which one? Grey formulates a number of hypotheses, taking the reader along with him, and reaches a satisfactory conclusion with a few twists at the end.

I will look out for other books in the series. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the death of his Mother, John Grey has retired from being in the pay of spymaster Arlington and taken up residence as Lord of the Manor in his home village in Essex. Just prior to Christmas a man's body is found the village is in uproar demanding that the local 'witch' be hanged for the murder. Grey is not so sure and stalls for time. As the list of suspects grows longer and time grows short the village is cut off by snow and Grey finds that he has not travelled so far from the wily politics of his former paymaster.
I really like the John Grey stories. They're not as complex as some historical mysteries but hit a nice mid note where the plot is complex and not too absurd and the sense of time and place excellent. Here the superstitious and traditional villagers are played against the changes brought into place in Restoration England.

[Soozee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sir John Grey is now a married man, a landowner and retired from the service of Lord Arlington. However, when a villager is killed on his estate, he as Justice of the Peace, is required to deal with the death. The villagers are convinced it was caused by witchcraft, and they have a local witch handily to hand to blame for the crime. They urge John to burn her and settle the matter. John is not convinced - the man had plenty of people who disliked him - he was a philanderer of epic proportions. But this line of enquiry is not popular, and John will have to exert all his authority to pursue his enquiries and find the real killer.

As with the rest of this series, the book is told well, set in a firm historical setting and has a turn of phrase that makes reading it a pleasure. I am thoroughly enjoying this series.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth in the John Grey Mystery series and it was not a disappointment. If you've read L.C. Tyler's Herring books I would say these are less comic but still full of wit and wry comment. This one is set in 1668 and time has moved on a few years from where the last book left off. This story is more a murder mystery than the previous titles but it works well particularly as all the action takes place in the village, just before Christmas, and the heavy snowfall has cut the village off from the outside world. All the elements of the country house murder mystery with the addition of an accurate historical setting. Looking forward to the next one.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm happy I requested this ARC because I discovered this amazing series.
I expected a bleak historical mystery and I found a witty one, engrossing and entertaining.
I loved everything in this book: the well crafted plot, the fleshed out cast of characters and the well researched historical background.
I loved it so much that I got all the other novels in this series.
An excellent and fun read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Martin Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Grey has returned home to Essex with a knighthood, is married and is the Justice of the Peace. Does that make his life simpler and less dangerous? Not a bit of it.

Another glimpse of life in post restoration England that is funny and sad in pretty much equal measures. I don't know enough about life in seventeenth century villages in Essex to be sure this is close to reality, but it feels like it is.

The author draws the characters really well and I cared what happened to them.

A wonderful series and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

[Roy McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book I’ve read of this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Set in 17th century England, in a village cut off by the winter snows, the author looks at the subject of witches and witchcraft. This was the age where a kind of hysteria was sweeping much of Europe and the New World. Here, one older woman is accused of witchery and everyone jumps on the bandwagon to avoid being targeted themselves. She is defended by the local lord and magistrate, to his own peril. Very nicely done.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite skipping forward several books and about a decade, this was a fairly self contained story, not least because the village was completely snowed in.
There are red herrings a plenty, although some clues are well sign posted. The murderer was a surprise but sadly the revelation wasn't enough to save the village 'witch'...

[Ioannis Petrakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars.

I think this book was very enjoyable and interesting. My attention was focused throughout.

(Minor spoilers from here on out)

The protagonist is, I can’t lie, quite cool.
I like it when he shuts down anyone arguing with him.

The final 80 or so pages are just constant plot twists (which I loved).

Overall, a gripping book.

[Own Timis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read in the John Grey series. It felt a little parochial at times, being set over a couple of days in a small village, but a riveting story. I'm looking forward to Sir John returning to London!

[Deborah M Saw · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Gray and his family

and the other characters in an Essex village give an excellent commentary on beliefs in rural England in 1660 with humour and historical accuracy.

[Pauline Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good historical thriller covering the time of the witch hunt

[Gilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

[Chester Elwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the wit, suspense and mystery. Thought I had it all figured out, but unfortunately my conclusions were too obvious and I missed the mark.

[Mrs Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

I have enjoyed reading every single book of this series and I love the character John Grey with his dry humour. Highly recommended.