Prayers of the Dead

Medieval Mystery #17

by Priscilla Royal

November 1283. Prioress Eleanor’s cousin, the Earl of Ness, visits with his wife, Eda. When his unloved spouse is murdered in the priory chapel with his knife, he becomes the prime suspect. Another murder follows. Eda’s quiet priest is killed in the same chapel. Eda had many enemies, so what connection could there be between a ruthless woman and a pious man who cared nothing of earthy things?
Crowner Ralf insists the crimes fall under the king’s law and that Prioress Eleanor lacks objectivity because of her cousin’s involvement. Prioress Eleanor refuses, claiming that she must determine why the crime occurred in her priory. She also believes that her cousin is more likely to tell her needed details than to an unknown crowner. But as she digs deeper, she begins to fear what she might discover. She may have thought her cousin was innocent, but she realizes he is lying to her. Having given her word that she would not be blinded by familial love, she knows that she may have to face tragedy and walk her cousin to the gallows.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Medieval

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2021

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 enjoyed 14 books from this series over the years and was happy to find this most recent publication available on Kindle Unlimited. This book finds Eleanor visiting with her cousin whilst his wife is visiting the chapel for prayers, but ends up dead by knife to her throat. The knife belonged to Eleanor's cousin. Suspicions, investigations ensue awaiting return of the Crowner.
The other major characters are all dealing with challenges both physically and spiritually.
I am not creative enough to describe events without introducing spoilers, so I will just say that if you have liked the previous books in this series you will enjoy this one.

It is worth noting that Royal has added a tribute to Sharon Kay Penman at close of book that is much appreciated by those of us who were great fans of her books.

Kindle Unlimited

[Anne Maczulak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always informative and delightful

P. Royal never fails to expose the little-known daily events of medieval life while entertaining us with clever mystery. Her characters struggle with humanity's universal fears, doubts and jealousies. Yet they often find joy that is so relatable to our current times. These are the rare books that teach history and also connect with readers' hopes as well as their personal demons. Quite a feat.

[Bruce Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prayers

Eleanor is faced with a difficult choice. Her Uncle David's wife, Eda, is murdered while praying alone in a small chapel at the Tyndale Priory. The clues point to her Cousin as the murder. Then Eda's priest is murdered too. Trying to determine why they died and who killed them is a hard task to unravel. Thomas tried to help but he is involved with his own difficult trials. A great tale is told.

[Woodstock Pickett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy author Royal's great skill in creating interesting characters. Even though they live and move in 13th century England, Prioress Eleanor and all the others who live and work with her at Tyndal seem very real, with human strengths and failings.
I couldn't summon much sympathy for the first murdered victim in this latest installment in the series, but I felt a lot of sympathy for the second.
I'll be more than ready when Royal publishes again!

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is so-so and there are lots of typos. The book is clearly self-published, which often results in a decline in quality. The author note indicates Royal planned to continue writing the series but she hasn't published anything else since this installment. I suspect this series has come to an end.

[Michael Wojciehoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anger, frustration, king or Church rules? More new family members. Who do you trust? Fantastic series, will it continue with the characters getting older? Great insights, definitely read the Author notes.

[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

With no hint of another installment to the series, I guess this is "The End". It's too bad because the series was filled with wonderful characters, excellent writing, and informative history without being too dry.

[Elizabeth Scheller Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book in the series!

Very enjoyable book with the solution not obvious until it was sprung on the reader. I await the next book with much anticipation.

[Angie Shaughnessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant!

Just when I think the author’s story/telling can’t get any better, she outdoes herself again! Set in medieval days, her books address timeless issues!

[Zosia Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!

[Lrichter]

Imported from Library History

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am unsure whether or not there are plans for this series to continue. It seems this novel and the previous have been self published. There are very clear differences in these two books and the books released under the previous publisher.

This latest installment felt overly modern. As a result some of the charm from the previous novels was gone.

[Potatoes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book as always by Royal. I really enjoyed this one. There were some grammar mistakes and I did suspect that Vincent was the murderer in the beginning but I also suspected Serena and Fithian and David so take this information how you will lol. It was satisfying seeing how my suspicions were correct.
I also liked how respectfully Fithian was handled. I was concerned so I’m glad him being intersex was treated so well by our main characters.
Some of the book repeated a lot for the details which was slightly irritating at times however, sometimes the repetition was needed. I think if some of the repetition was removed the text as a whole could have been stronger.
Finally, I LOVED seeing Durant and Thomas act like a couple. I was terrified that Durant would die, so I’m EXTREMELY happy to see him alive and getting better. I’m glad that the text showed us Thomas and Durant hugging, holding hands, etc. It was extremely sweet and adorable, especially when both characters have been through hell.
Also I liked that Megg and Thomas are getting along. That offers some really interesting dynamics and I’m eager to see more.
I liked seeing Eleanor reacting to her family and Sister Ruth. Seeing Eleanor act out because of the amount of stress she was under was done very well. It was very relatable. I’m also sad Prior Andrew died. He was one of my favorite characters but it was foreshadowed for some books so his death wasn’t a surprise. It was certainly devastating though!
Overall, this was an excellent book and I’m excited to see what happens to the characters next. I’m especially interested in seeing Serena’s potential.