Elegy to Murder

Medieval Mystery #16

by Priscilla Royal

May 1283. The roads near Tyndal Priory are filled with happy pilgrims returning from St. Walstan’s feast day. But all is not joyful. Prioress Eleanor’s loved ones are suffering. Signy, the local innkeeper, is quarelling with her suddenly rebellious foster son. Gytha, Crowner Ralf’s wife, suffers failing health while her husband hunts smugglers on the remote North Sea coast. Brother Thomas remains moody and aloof. She longs to help them all, but disaster strikes. An itinerant carpenter is badly beaten. A pilgrim is murdered near the priory walls. Are the two crimes connected? Prioress Eleanor has no right to intervene in crimes outside the Church’s authority, but any delay will allow the killer to escape into the crowds of pilgrims. Until the crowner can return, she must act. Is it too late? Will this be the first murderer she cannot bring to justice?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Medieval

250 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Priscilla has a degree in world literature from San Francisco State University, where she discovered the beauty of medieval literature. She is a theater fan as well as reader of history, mysteries, and fiction of lesser violence. She lives in Northern California and belongs to the California Writers Club and Sisters in Crime.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read 15 of these books over the years...possibly missing one along the way. I was happy to find this available through Kindle Unlimited, a rare treat. Not only that, but I was able to read it whilst watching the Chicago Bears win a game. The reading of this book requires familiarity with the main characters of the series and should not be tried as a stand alone.
A solemn tale of life in England under Edward I portraying strict adherence to religious and royal edicts during medieval times. There is strife in the country as the king requires money (for the cost of his wars) wherever he can gather it, causing some to turn to smuggling, a focus in this book.
Beyond crime and the pursuit of criminals, the overall solemnity of this book comes from contemplation by several characters over what was considered as sin.

Kindle Unlimited

[Judith Starkston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crises of Conscience and Criminality

Priscilla Royal's latest medieval mystery, Elegy to Murder, shows a master crafter of historical fiction in her prime. This review previously appeared as an Editors' Choice in the February 2021 Historical Novels Review.

Elegy to Murder is the latest medieval mystery featuring Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas. Royal succeeds in creating sympathy for her characters and drawing us deep into the medieval way of thinking. She accomplishes this feat, even though, if not for Royal’s skillful writing and the total immersion of her reader, her characters’ moral crises might feel distant, occasionally even offensive to modern audiences. Royal’s compelling novel gives readers the gift of seeing the world through another’s eyes and listening with open hearts.

The novel begins with Crowner Ralf attempting to intercept smugglers who are avoiding King Edward’s taxes, levied to fund his unpopular wars and castle-building. All Ralf really wants to do is get home to his ailing wife—the source of her ill health is one of the aspects where Royal gives us both insight and compassion into less easily accepted parts of medieval life. Back at Eleanor’s priory, multiple problems disrupt life, from the lasting effects of guilt over sexual sins to mother-son conflict. Then a well-liked newcomer to the village is beaten and only narrowly saved from death. Before anyone can solve that crime, a merchant on pilgrimage is murdered just outside the priory gates. Eleanor sends for Ralf, desperate to avoid offending the king by interfering in a secular crime, but she and Thomas are on their own for far longer than they expected as Ralf’s progress mires to a halt. He suspects a spy. The threads tying together the various crises of conscience and criminal activities resonate richly and offer surprising twists. Priscilla Royal has given us a highly recommended addition to this long-running marvel of a series.

[Eileen Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that the characters seem to act and speak like people who really lived at the time would act and speak . The characters are not modern people dressed up in costumes.

[Susan McAdams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another welcomed addition to the series! I hope the author continues to transport us back to that time with more books. I enjoy these as much as the Cadfael series!

[Potatoes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book! I read the entire thing in a little over a day as I could not put it down. I think anyone who is invested in the lives of the reoccurring characters (Brother Thomas, Prioress Eleanor, Ralf, Signy, Nute, Gytha, and Durant) will find this extremely satisfying.

While the culprit was a bit predictable Royal did an excellent job of making us figure out how Warin was involved in the entire mystery. (I knew he was involved somehow, but could not figure out which part.) However, I like being able to solve the mystery with the main characters.

I also really like how Brother Thomas’s ongoing story was handled and how understanding Brother John was. As someone who studies medieval monasteries, I can definitely see Brother John’s compassionate response to Brother Thomas’s sexuality happening in reality. (Though I will note that I do mostly study Anglo Saxon monasteries!) And as a queer person myself I definitely can relate to Brother Thomas’s struggles.

I was definitely shocked to discover Durant’s castration. I really hope Durant survives and lives for a long time at the monastery with Brother Thomas. I really enjoy their relationship and hope the trope Bury Your Gays doesn’t happen in this series. I also wish we would see more of their relationship rather than just being told it. However, if Durant is moving to the monastery and Brother Thomas is taking care of him, then hopefully this will happen in the next book!

Over all, this was a great book and I eagerly await the next one!

[Sigrid A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read the previous novels in this series, so I know that I was coming into this community late. Nevertheless, the setting is well established, and the prioress who helps solve mysteries is a complex and thoughtful character. As in other medieval mysteries I've read, there is a lot of meditation on the nature of sin and humanity, and the prioress advances her own readings of the gospel.

The setting and characters are the strengths of this novel. The mystery is ok, but there are a LOT of coincidences that bring together two seemingly totally separate crimes. I know that's pretty standard in this genre, but it still felt like a stretch.

[Bruce Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elegy

Eleanor has a new challenge. Ralf is out hunting wool smugglers. Young Nute is at odds with his mother, Signy. A humble carpenter is beaten and another man is murdered. Who attacked the carpenter, who is the dead man and why was he killed? Is the carpenter hiding past sins? Can Brother Thomas confess his sins and find peace? I enjoyed this book and all the surprises. Wool was taxed by King Edward I and to avoid the tax wool was smuggled out of the Country. This is why Ralf was hunting them. This story involved many events and morals of that time period. I gained a better insight into medieval life.

[Lisa Sturm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great medieval murder mystery from Priscilla Royal. This one involves Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas, along with Ralf, Signy, and her foster son Nute in the search for the killer of a wool merchant, and the possible connection to smuggling going on in the area. At the same time, they are all dealing with their own struggles and worries, while this is going on. As always, I was hoping for some well deserved happiness for these characters that I’ve become so fond of, and I’m very much looking forward to the next book in this very enjoyable series, to see how they are all faring.

[Nance Roepke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize when I started reading this book that the preceding three books are not available on Audible. So as a result, the beginning of the book was extremely confusing to me. Once I got a handle on what I had missed, the book really took off for me. It was exceptional mix of sexual confusion, mother son conflicts, birth control issues and much more. Royal does an excellent job of blending it all together.

[Papri · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a mystery tale, it is not bad. There are clues which are followed up, analyzed and the eventual solution is satisfying enough. However, the heavy spiritual atmosphere, laced with sexual connotations of the tale ,sometimes becomes a little too much. Maybe it cannot be helped. After all, the chief protagonists lead a strict monastic life, that too, in a gone by era but sometimes I felt that the personal life stories of the protagonists ,was taking precedence over the actual mystery that needed to be solved. Also, I was a little disappointed in the way the final confession and denouncement of the villain took place. It was a little too dramatic and showy. I would have preferred a more analytical solving of the problem than the intimidation tactic employed here.

I am not giving up on the author yet but I am in no hurry to read everything written by the author right away.

[Michael Wojciehoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helping old friends, life decisions for right or wrong. Conspiracies. Another interesting book! Enjoyable. Can’t figure out why they set this as another start of the series. 15 books and this is set (16) as #1. It’s all a continuation, no stand alone.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrated by Silas Watkins. An enjoyable and well researched mystery set in medieval Britain.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional

Every bit as good as the earlier books in the series. I love the arc of the ongoing characters as much as the individual plots.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is OK but very predictable.

[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending is near, and I'm going to have to say goodbye to good friends. I appreciate the way the characters have grown.