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Somershill Manor Mystery #5
The Good Death
In the new Somershill Manor mystery, Lord Oswald de Lacy makes a devastating confession to his dying mother. But will he gain the forgiveness he seeks, or destroy his family?
England, November 1370. Oswald de Lacy, Lord of Somershill Manor, makes a devastating confession to his dying mother. But will he gain the forgiveness he seeks—or destroy his family?
In 1349, Oswald, the third son of the de Lacy family, was an eighteen-year-old novice monk at Kintham Abbey. Sent to collect herbs from the forest, Oswald comes across a terrified village girl. Frenzied with fear, she runs headlong into a swollen river. Oswald pulls her broken and bruised body from the water and returns her to the local village, only to discover that several other women have disappeared. A heinous killer is at work, but because all of the missing women come from impoverished families without influence, nobody seems to care.
Oswald vows to find this killer himself—but as plague approaches, his beloved tutor Brother Peter insists they must stay inside the monastery. He turns instead to the women of the village for help, and particularly the enigmatic and beautiful Maud Woodstock—a woman who provokes strong emotions in Oswald.
As he closes in on the killer, Oswald makes a discovery that is so utterly shocking that it threatens to destroy him and his family. Even as plague rages across England and death is at every door, Oswald must kill or be killed. And the discovery will be a secret that haunts him for the rest of his life.
England, November 1370. Oswald de Lacy, Lord of Somershill Manor, makes a devastating confession to his dying mother. But will he gain the forgiveness he seeks—or destroy his family?
In 1349, Oswald, the third son of the de Lacy family, was an eighteen-year-old novice monk at Kintham Abbey. Sent to collect herbs from the forest, Oswald comes across a terrified village girl. Frenzied with fear, she runs headlong into a swollen river. Oswald pulls her broken and bruised body from the water and returns her to the local village, only to discover that several other women have disappeared. A heinous killer is at work, but because all of the missing women come from impoverished families without influence, nobody seems to care.
Oswald vows to find this killer himself—but as plague approaches, his beloved tutor Brother Peter insists they must stay inside the monastery. He turns instead to the women of the village for help, and particularly the enigmatic and beautiful Maud Woodstock—a woman who provokes strong emotions in Oswald.
As he closes in on the killer, Oswald makes a discovery that is so utterly shocking that it threatens to destroy him and his family. Even as plague rages across England and death is at every door, Oswald must kill or be killed. And the discovery will be a secret that haunts him for the rest of his life.
364 pages, Hardcover
First published August 5, 2021
16 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
S.D. Sykes
6 books224 followersSD Sykes (Sarah) lives in Kent, but grew up in Somerset and then South London. She is a graduate from Manchester University and was inspired to finish her first novel, Plague Land, after attending the novel writing course at literary agents, Curtis Brown. She has also written for radio and has developed screenplays with Arts Council funding. She has a passion for medieval history, and her books in the Somershill Manor series, are set in 14th Century England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 6, 2021
S.D. Sykes' Somershill Manor series, set in 14th Century England, features Oswald de Lacy, a "spare" third son, originally sent to a monastery as a child, but called home to become Lord of the family manor following the death of his father and two older brothers during a plague epidemic. Sykes presented the general outlines of this backstory at the start of the series. Now, in her 5th Somershill Manor title, she shares the details behind Oswald's change in fortune.
This is a two-timeline novel: the timeline in which Oswald ultimately leaves the monastery to become Lord and the "present" day (1349), when Oswald is confessing events of his youth to his dying mother. The mystery takes place in the earlier timeline and reveals parts of Oswald's story that are new to readers. Poor women have been disappearing from a village situated between Oswald's monastery and his family home, and Oswald is determined to discover what has happened to them, given the lack of interest on the part of almost everyone else because these women are viewed as expendable. At the time Oswald begins his investigations, a plague epidemic is working its way across across Europe and then across England.
I've been reading this series since it began, and this may well be my favorite volume thus far. Readers get to know Oswald as a much more complex character than he has seemed thus far. They also see a bit more of Oswald's most definitely dysfunctional family (if it's fair to use that term to describe a family in the 14th Century).
If you're familiar with this series, you'll love this addition to it. If the series is new for you, this is a great title to start with as it offers information that precedes and follows the content of the other four titles. I received an electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
This is a two-timeline novel: the timeline in which Oswald ultimately leaves the monastery to become Lord and the "present" day (1349), when Oswald is confessing events of his youth to his dying mother. The mystery takes place in the earlier timeline and reveals parts of Oswald's story that are new to readers. Poor women have been disappearing from a village situated between Oswald's monastery and his family home, and Oswald is determined to discover what has happened to them, given the lack of interest on the part of almost everyone else because these women are viewed as expendable. At the time Oswald begins his investigations, a plague epidemic is working its way across across Europe and then across England.
I've been reading this series since it began, and this may well be my favorite volume thus far. Readers get to know Oswald as a much more complex character than he has seemed thus far. They also see a bit more of Oswald's most definitely dysfunctional family (if it's fair to use that term to describe a family in the 14th Century).
If you're familiar with this series, you'll love this addition to it. If the series is new for you, this is a great title to start with as it offers information that precedes and follows the content of the other four titles. I received an electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
May 31, 2022
My favorite thing about this book is that most of the mystery comes from having an unreliable narrator who jumps to conclusions far too easily. While this trait can be irritating, this particular narrator is so sincere in his desire to help others that his mistakes, born from a desire to believe the best of people in general, are more endearing than aggravating.
September 13, 2021
This is a fantastic series and this is a very clever and involving addition to it, moving forwards in time to 1370 while, for the majority of the book, travelling back to 1349 and the disappearance of girls from the manor, coinciding with the arrival of the Pestilence. Very well done indeed. Review is now up on For Winter Nights.
October 10, 2021
Somewhat less great than the previous novels in the series, which I'm crazy for. The characters are still good, but the plot is a little weak, relative to the other books in the series. The "big reveal" was quite obvious to me from the beginning, and I thought some of the plot points were far-fetched and implausible. This is still worth reading for the characters and great historical research. I hope the next one is more suspenseful for me.
May 4, 2024
Oswald de Lacy’s mother is dying. However, she recently found an old letter from Oswald and this forces him to make a confession on her deathbed. A confession about a time when he was still in the convent and found a girl in the forest who subsequently drowned in a river. When he takes her body back to Stonebrook, he learns that several women have disappeared from the village and Oswald sets out to investigate the case together with his mentor Peter.
The good death is the most recent book in the Somershill Manor mystery series and functions as a kind of prequel to the first book ‘Plague land‘ as it takes us back to Oswald’s time before he became lord of Somershill when his father and two older brothers succumbed to the plague.
As a young lad then, he was determined to find the killer of some young poor women from Stonebrook who disappeared one for one from Stonebrook and were never seen since. At the same time, there’s a second perspective of Oswald today at his mother’s deathbed. This part of the story didn’t contribute much in my opinion but was needed to make a link with the previous books.
The mystery is well developed with many different red herrings. And it again reads super smoothly. Oswald remains a naive main character who always gets back on track. However, it isn’t the strongest part of the series and the last one published so far. I wonder if there’ll be a next book, I hope so because this is an entertaining series.
Dutch review:
Oswald de Lacy zijn moeder ligt op sterven. Ze vond echter een oude brief terug van Oswald en dat dwingt hem op haar sterfbed een bekentenis te doen. Toen hij nog in het klooster zat vond hij een meisje in het bos die daarna verdronk in een rivier. Daarna blijkt dat er meerdere vrouwen uit het dorp zijn verdwenen en Oswald gaat samen met zijn mentor Peter op onderzoek uit.
The good death is het meest recente boek uit deze serie en functioneert als een soort prequel voor het eerste boek want het neemt ons mee naar Oswald's tijd voordat hij dankzij de pest lord van Somershill werd.
Als jonge knaap ging hij toen op zoek naar de moordenaar van een aantal jonge arme vrouwen uit Stonebrook. Tegelijk is er een tweede perspectief van Oswald nu aan het sterfbed van zijn moeder. Dit stuk van het verhaal vond ik zelf niet veel bijbrengen.
Het mysterie is goed uitgewerkt met veel verschillende red harrings. En het leest weer super vlot weg. Oswald blijft een naïef hoofdpersonage die wel altijd weer zelf op het juist spoor komt.
Maar toch niet het sterkste deel van de reeks. Ik ben benieuwd of er nog een volgend boek komt.
The good death is the most recent book in the Somershill Manor mystery series and functions as a kind of prequel to the first book ‘Plague land‘ as it takes us back to Oswald’s time before he became lord of Somershill when his father and two older brothers succumbed to the plague.
As a young lad then, he was determined to find the killer of some young poor women from Stonebrook who disappeared one for one from Stonebrook and were never seen since. At the same time, there’s a second perspective of Oswald today at his mother’s deathbed. This part of the story didn’t contribute much in my opinion but was needed to make a link with the previous books.
The mystery is well developed with many different red herrings. And it again reads super smoothly. Oswald remains a naive main character who always gets back on track. However, it isn’t the strongest part of the series and the last one published so far. I wonder if there’ll be a next book, I hope so because this is an entertaining series.
Dutch review:
Oswald de Lacy zijn moeder ligt op sterven. Ze vond echter een oude brief terug van Oswald en dat dwingt hem op haar sterfbed een bekentenis te doen. Toen hij nog in het klooster zat vond hij een meisje in het bos die daarna verdronk in een rivier. Daarna blijkt dat er meerdere vrouwen uit het dorp zijn verdwenen en Oswald gaat samen met zijn mentor Peter op onderzoek uit.
The good death is het meest recente boek uit deze serie en functioneert als een soort prequel voor het eerste boek want het neemt ons mee naar Oswald's tijd voordat hij dankzij de pest lord van Somershill werd.
Als jonge knaap ging hij toen op zoek naar de moordenaar van een aantal jonge arme vrouwen uit Stonebrook. Tegelijk is er een tweede perspectief van Oswald nu aan het sterfbed van zijn moeder. Dit stuk van het verhaal vond ik zelf niet veel bijbrengen.
Het mysterie is goed uitgewerkt met veel verschillende red harrings. En het leest weer super vlot weg. Oswald blijft een naïef hoofdpersonage die wel altijd weer zelf op het juist spoor komt.
Maar toch niet het sterkste deel van de reeks. Ik ben benieuwd of er nog een volgend boek komt.
May 25, 2021
A retrospective mystery, shared through Oswald’s admissions to his emotionally draining mother on her death bed. Something is deeply troubling her and this is a kind of ‘clearing of the air’ before she passes on as she hopes for a ‘Good Death’, as it were.
Through the eyes of Oswald the youth, and then Oswald the man with a family of his own, the telling of this tale really does transport you to the 14th Century with ease.
It’s an excellent insight into how his experience as a rather green eighteen year old came to affect his future, as he was catapulted in status from novice monk to Lord of Somershill during The Plague. The expansion of events that took place in his formative years let lose a few unpleasant truth arrows that will wound a few unblemished characters along the way.
The darker moments are perfectly balanced by a little ‘situational humour’ usually drawn from his mother’s obsessive personality traits. One of which is consistently rebuking enduring Oswald, even in times of unending crisis.
I’ve loved this author’s style since the beginning and found it very easy to fall into step with the residents of Somershill and beyond once again. It’s an authentic portrayal of life, death, and a reminder that spectres of the past have a nasty way of coming back to haunt you when you least expect it.
Rating: 4 / 5
(I received a digital copy of this title courtesy of the publisher with my thanks, which it was my pleasure to voluntarily read and review.)
Through the eyes of Oswald the youth, and then Oswald the man with a family of his own, the telling of this tale really does transport you to the 14th Century with ease.
It’s an excellent insight into how his experience as a rather green eighteen year old came to affect his future, as he was catapulted in status from novice monk to Lord of Somershill during The Plague. The expansion of events that took place in his formative years let lose a few unpleasant truth arrows that will wound a few unblemished characters along the way.
The darker moments are perfectly balanced by a little ‘situational humour’ usually drawn from his mother’s obsessive personality traits. One of which is consistently rebuking enduring Oswald, even in times of unending crisis.
I’ve loved this author’s style since the beginning and found it very easy to fall into step with the residents of Somershill and beyond once again. It’s an authentic portrayal of life, death, and a reminder that spectres of the past have a nasty way of coming back to haunt you when you least expect it.
Rating: 4 / 5
(I received a digital copy of this title courtesy of the publisher with my thanks, which it was my pleasure to voluntarily read and review.)
September 11, 2023
‘The Good Death’ is fifth in the Oswald de Lacy historical mystery series by SD Sykes and it feels like the last. That is only my guess but there is a ‘rounding of the circle’ to the story, answering questions raised in the first novel. I read it quickly, and sort of guessed the mystery but not quite.
The story is told in two timelines as Oswald in 1370 sits at the bedside of his mother, who is dying. She clutches to her breast a letter which she will not show him. Instead she demands he tell her the truth of what happened in 1349 when Oswald was an eighteen-year-old novice monk, prior to where ‘Plague Land,’ first novel in this series, begins. Sent by his mentor in the infirmary, Brother Peter, to gather herbs in the woods, Oswald meets a terrified girl who runs from him into a fast-flowing river where she drowns. Oswald carries her body to the village and discovers that other young girls have disappeared, never seen again, but no one in authority will investigate. Plague is reported in neighbouring villages and everyone wants to stay close to home. Only the beautiful widow Maud Woodstock listens to Oswald’s concerns and, flattered by her attention, he decides to investigate.
Brief passages are spent at Somerhill Manor in 1370 – Oswald’s mother is dying but still manipulative, his wife is bored, a house guest is irritating and his sister is jealous of the time he spends with their mother – but the bulk of the story takes place in 1349. Oswald is forced to remember an incident in his past that he would rather forget, when as a teenager he becomes an enthusiastic investigator. He jumps to conclusions based on prejudice, generalisations and gossip, putting himself in danger, but finding each possible suspect is innocent. As his list of potential murderers gets shorter, the danger to Oswald – from the murder, and also from the approaching plague – increases. But what if the murderer is someone he doesn’t know or doesn’t consider a likely suspect.
This series has got better with every book and if this is the last, it will be a loss. Sykes tells Oswald’s story in a fast-moving engaging way that is rooted in its medieval time of violence, patriarchy, misogyny and forbidden passions.
Excellent.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
The story is told in two timelines as Oswald in 1370 sits at the bedside of his mother, who is dying. She clutches to her breast a letter which she will not show him. Instead she demands he tell her the truth of what happened in 1349 when Oswald was an eighteen-year-old novice monk, prior to where ‘Plague Land,’ first novel in this series, begins. Sent by his mentor in the infirmary, Brother Peter, to gather herbs in the woods, Oswald meets a terrified girl who runs from him into a fast-flowing river where she drowns. Oswald carries her body to the village and discovers that other young girls have disappeared, never seen again, but no one in authority will investigate. Plague is reported in neighbouring villages and everyone wants to stay close to home. Only the beautiful widow Maud Woodstock listens to Oswald’s concerns and, flattered by her attention, he decides to investigate.
Brief passages are spent at Somerhill Manor in 1370 – Oswald’s mother is dying but still manipulative, his wife is bored, a house guest is irritating and his sister is jealous of the time he spends with their mother – but the bulk of the story takes place in 1349. Oswald is forced to remember an incident in his past that he would rather forget, when as a teenager he becomes an enthusiastic investigator. He jumps to conclusions based on prejudice, generalisations and gossip, putting himself in danger, but finding each possible suspect is innocent. As his list of potential murderers gets shorter, the danger to Oswald – from the murder, and also from the approaching plague – increases. But what if the murderer is someone he doesn’t know or doesn’t consider a likely suspect.
This series has got better with every book and if this is the last, it will be a loss. Sykes tells Oswald’s story in a fast-moving engaging way that is rooted in its medieval time of violence, patriarchy, misogyny and forbidden passions.
Excellent.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
August 26, 2021
Sooooo good! On realising this was a 5th book of a series and a subject and era of which I am an avid reader I quickly bought the 1st one, to get a feeling of context and character; but then followed it with the 2nd and 4th (I still have the joy of reading the 3rd, based in Venice, to come). I LOVE the character of Oswald de Lacy, from the gawky youth to the grown man. In this book, he has returned from Venice with his second wife, Filomena and his (first wife's) son.
This book is centred around Oswald's mother's deathbed. Always a difficult woman, she holds a letter close to her chest which Oswald is anxious to obtain, and destroy. We dont' know what the letter contains. He wants her forgiveness for his sins and actions past, before she passes away and so begins a long confession of events which occurred back in his youth when he was a novice monk at Kintham. This centres around his first investigation of 5 missing young women from a nearby village; swiftly followed by a missing monk. Lots of twists and turns, forbidden love, and arrogant and violent acts. Brother Peter of course is there to protect Oswald at every turn - or is he?
I highly recommend not just this book but the whole series of books by SD Sykes. And as a huge fan of CJ Sansom's Shardlake series (an investigator around the Tudor period with a very similar down to earth attitude and sense of dry humour) - I strongly think these two authors need to get together to plot the family tree as I'm convinced Oswald is a forbear of Shardlake! I'm going straight to buy Book 3 right now!
This book is centred around Oswald's mother's deathbed. Always a difficult woman, she holds a letter close to her chest which Oswald is anxious to obtain, and destroy. We dont' know what the letter contains. He wants her forgiveness for his sins and actions past, before she passes away and so begins a long confession of events which occurred back in his youth when he was a novice monk at Kintham. This centres around his first investigation of 5 missing young women from a nearby village; swiftly followed by a missing monk. Lots of twists and turns, forbidden love, and arrogant and violent acts. Brother Peter of course is there to protect Oswald at every turn - or is he?
I highly recommend not just this book but the whole series of books by SD Sykes. And as a huge fan of CJ Sansom's Shardlake series (an investigator around the Tudor period with a very similar down to earth attitude and sense of dry humour) - I strongly think these two authors need to get together to plot the family tree as I'm convinced Oswald is a forbear of Shardlake! I'm going straight to buy Book 3 right now!
July 29, 2021
The Good Death by S D Sykes is the 5th book in the Oswald de Lacy series but can be read as a standalone.
In short, you are transported straight into the 14th century for a good old medieval whodunnit. At the tender age of 18, Oswald de Lacey now Lord Somershill after the death of his father and two brothers, is forced to confront the secret that has haunted him since those days in the monastery. He recounts his confession to his dying mother on her death bed, which begins with the upsetting death of a young village girl and Oswald’s vow to find her killer which threatens to destroy him and his family.
It’s a great piece of storytelling…well rounded characters and an absorbing entangled plot all played out in a vivid sense of time and place. It was interesting to read how important it was that medieval people had a ‘good death’, as they believed it would hasten the passage through Purgatory, and ensure the gates of Heaven would be open on arrival…as Oswald’s mother said to him, ‘Thank you for your honesty. This was not a story I wanted to hear. But it was right for me to hear it, before I die.’
I’ve not read many novels from this era, however, I did enjoy ‘The Good Death’, it was a delicious blend of history and thriller.
Big thanks to S D Sykes, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.
In short, you are transported straight into the 14th century for a good old medieval whodunnit. At the tender age of 18, Oswald de Lacey now Lord Somershill after the death of his father and two brothers, is forced to confront the secret that has haunted him since those days in the monastery. He recounts his confession to his dying mother on her death bed, which begins with the upsetting death of a young village girl and Oswald’s vow to find her killer which threatens to destroy him and his family.
It’s a great piece of storytelling…well rounded characters and an absorbing entangled plot all played out in a vivid sense of time and place. It was interesting to read how important it was that medieval people had a ‘good death’, as they believed it would hasten the passage through Purgatory, and ensure the gates of Heaven would be open on arrival…as Oswald’s mother said to him, ‘Thank you for your honesty. This was not a story I wanted to hear. But it was right for me to hear it, before I die.’
I’ve not read many novels from this era, however, I did enjoy ‘The Good Death’, it was a delicious blend of history and thriller.
Big thanks to S D Sykes, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.
February 11, 2025
This was an excellent read. Truly took me to another time and place. I've liked all in this series, but this one the most. She is a good writer. I would call them cozy but there is much sickness, mayhem, in this period in England. Here we have two periods which switch but hold the same narrator eyes, Oswald. They are about 20 plus years apart during the mid-14th century. Country forest land with Somershill Manor being one of the locale central features.
The era of serfdom and monasteries. And the first period is in one of the prime Black Plague years. Oswald being a young monk in training period with his mentor Brother Peter.
The Good Death is Oswald's mother's death in the latter period of 1370. I will tell you no more.
It's a trifle overlong with a couple of huge twists. Neither did I guess at all. Even with all the repetition, I thought it was nearly a 5 star in the plotting.
Good intent is core to Oswald, never forget that. Other reviews say the plot points were far fetched or not surprising. I didn't think that at all. Oswald was in HIS time period and only knows what he sees and experienced. So he just doesn't context to the extreme all at once. It isn't any semblence to the more modern eras.
This one I do recommend. Shades of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitane? Fine, fine nuance of under characters is saying it mildly.
The era of serfdom and monasteries. And the first period is in one of the prime Black Plague years. Oswald being a young monk in training period with his mentor Brother Peter.
The Good Death is Oswald's mother's death in the latter period of 1370. I will tell you no more.
It's a trifle overlong with a couple of huge twists. Neither did I guess at all. Even with all the repetition, I thought it was nearly a 5 star in the plotting.
Good intent is core to Oswald, never forget that. Other reviews say the plot points were far fetched or not surprising. I didn't think that at all. Oswald was in HIS time period and only knows what he sees and experienced. So he just doesn't context to the extreme all at once. It isn't any semblence to the more modern eras.
This one I do recommend. Shades of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitane? Fine, fine nuance of under characters is saying it mildly.
December 6, 2021
I haven’t read the other books in this series, but this stands alone well. The characters are mostly nuanced and fully formed (and I appreciated the author’s note about the challenge of keeping them true to the time period but still sympathetic to a modern reader), and the plot is engaging (if a bit slow to develop). One thought: the way the mystery is presented—as a deathbed conversation between Oswald and his mother—perhaps is a bit of a spoiler (I’ll tick the spoiler box on here too). Also, interesting parallels to be drawn with the plague and the current pandemic as well. Although I usually prefer a more contemporary time period, I will look for the others in this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2022
1370 and Oswald de Lacy is pulled to his mother's deathbed as she insists that he recounts the events of 20 years ago, clutching a document that Oswald wants. 1349 and young Oswald is a novice in the Abbey his family endows but, when a young village girl dies, Oswald finds he is involved in something very nasty and with ramifications for his future.
I've really enjoyed the de Lacy stories and this one works well, taking the reader back to the start and explaining quite a lot of backstory. Oswald's family remains as unpleasant as ever and the setting at the start of the Black Death is poignant. Fabulous research as ever and a real insight into life in 14th Century England.
I've really enjoyed the de Lacy stories and this one works well, taking the reader back to the start and explaining quite a lot of backstory. Oswald's family remains as unpleasant as ever and the setting at the start of the Black Death is poignant. Fabulous research as ever and a real insight into life in 14th Century England.
October 16, 2021
Somehow I missed #4 in this series, and twenty years have passed since the beginning of the series. Oswald relates a story about what happened twenty years before in the time of the plague and at the time he left the monastery. As is often true in this series, modern day concerns dominate the plot. In this case the disappearance of young and poor women from a nearby village raises no concern from the authorities. Oswald tries to investigate but the approaching plague and demands from his family intervene.
December 1, 2021
This was the first book I read in this series and it won't be the last as I thoroughly enjoyed.
A mix of historical mystery and historical fiction told in a dual timeline with an interesting cast of characters and a well researched and vivid historical background.
The author is a good storyteller and the story kept me hooked and guessing.
Even if it's the 5th book in this series it can be read as a stand alone.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
A mix of historical mystery and historical fiction told in a dual timeline with an interesting cast of characters and a well researched and vivid historical background.
The author is a good storyteller and the story kept me hooked and guessing.
Even if it's the 5th book in this series it can be read as a stand alone.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
February 13, 2025
I thought this was a standalone book, but there were things I definitely could have benefitted from reading the previous books that perhaps would have made the dual timeline perspective make more sense.
As it was, reading only this book, it was a good, slow-burn medieval whodunnit, but the 'present' portions I found dull and took away from the mystery aspects. Any time I was in the 'present,' I struggled to keep reading.
As it was, reading only this book, it was a good, slow-burn medieval whodunnit, but the 'present' portions I found dull and took away from the mystery aspects. Any time I was in the 'present,' I struggled to keep reading.
December 16, 2021
A semi-prequel to this enjoyable series wherein Oswald tells his mother, on her deathbed, the real story of what took place back in 1349, the year of the plague, when his father and brothers died putting an end to Oswald’s life as a monk when he became heir to the estate. Much back and forth in time. The backstory was interesting and unexpected.
January 27, 2022
As a huge fan of S.D. Sykes books, I found this most recent the weakest of the five. The antagonists were obvious as soon as their characters were introduced. For me, the reveal was not a surprise. With only a few main characters in this book, it’s not that difficult to hint at who the culprits are.
January 31, 2022
Lately I have been thinking that many of the mysteries I have been reading were about 100 pages too long. I got bogged down in the middle and rushed through to the end. It did give a very vivid picture of life in the 14th century.
September 28, 2022
I guess I wasn't as much in the mood for this one as I hoped I would be when I grabbed it at the library; Oswald and his mother were so very annoying and the mystery not too captivating. As always though I enjoyed living in the medieval world for a bit!
October 1, 2021
Clever plot around the 1348-50 plague. A page turner
April 20, 2022
Sykes excellent series never fails to deliver.
September 20, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed this- the last of the series published in 2021. Hopeful for another one!
July 15, 2023
Last book in the series and it was also very good. I would recommend the whole series if you like medieval mysteries.
March 30, 2024
I’ve enjoyed all of these novels. I also enjoyed hearing the author interviewed on A Slice of Medieval podcast, disappointed to hear that won’t be anymore in the immediate future.
April 25, 2024
Last (so far of the Oswald De Lacy series. Couldn't put it down. Really good read. Atmospheric, suspenseful. Loved it.
May 1, 2024
Once again Sykes does not disappoint, fantastic read and a great twist at the end.
November 24, 2024
Solid ending, I assume, to the series. I did enjoy them as they were light and quick reads in an era that interests me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews