Paladin

The Welsh Guard Mysteries #3

by Sarah Woodbury

Catrin and Rhys travel to Windsor Castle for their third medieval mystery together…

August 1284. On the heels of King Edward's triumph over Wales, the high point of his reign thus far, he receives the worst news his eldest living son and heir to the throne of England has died. Concerned that his victories in Wales, and even more the means by which he came by them, have brought the wrath of the Almighty down upon his house, King Edward sends Catrin and Rhys to Windsor Castle to investigate.

But although they find victims and villains aplenty, their far greater test—of friendship, loyalty, and allegiance—is managing the expectations of a grieving king, who fears his son was murdered—and fears even more that he wasn't.

Paladin is the third book in The Welsh Guard Mysteries.

Series so far : Crouchback, Chevalier, Paladin

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Medieval, Historical

357 pages, Hardcover

First published January 8, 2022

About the author

With over a million books sold to date, Sarah Woodbury is the author of more than forty novels, all set in medieval Wales. Although an anthropologist by training, and then a full-time homeschooling mom for twenty years, she began writing fiction when the stories in her head overflowed and demanded that she let them out. While her ancestry is Welsh, she only visited Wales for the first time at university. She has been in love with the country, language, and people ever since. She even convinced her husband to give all four of their children Welsh names.

Sarah is a member of the Historical Authors Fiction Cooperative (HFAC), the Historical Novel Society, and Novelists, Inc. (NINC).


She makes her home in Oregon.

Reviews

[PR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love her books...wish there were more right now! Hard to wait for the next ones..

So many books! Have read all the books in each of the series and find it so hard to wait for the next one! This book was a well crafted book in the series that furthers my interest in the main characters and their times.The secondary and 'third art' (hahaha) characters are also there dimensional and I want to know more about them. This story was based on real facts and real people and though fictional, is z plausible explanation for the deaths of King Edwards children in a very fraught time in English history. I love that Ms. Woodbury is so adept at using real events and history related to Wales and England and the peop!e who fought against one another and then for one another and back and forth til this very day! I feel smarter after reading her novels. For me, that is a good thing! I recommend her books for adults and young adults and even Middle readers who are interested in the Middle Ages and knights and warfare and real feeling relationships that include some very exceptional and fascinating characters and situations. I cannot wait for her next forays into the times and the regions , countries and conflicts, people real and fictional, problems and solutions she writes about and her take on what might have happened then and there. Worth reading...or devouring as I do!

[Robert Nansel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but, man alive, this book suffers from a severe case of the Attack of the Preposterous Plot. A smuggling ring in Windsor castle? That's not a problem to me; it wouldn't be my choice, but it's not my book. The plan for one of the Good Guys to pretend to be a Bad Guy in the same prison cell with another low-level Bad Guy so he can escape with said low-level Bad Guy in hopes of tracking down the smuggling network ... well, you are stretching things, but I might let it ride.

But then the Chief Bad Guy knifes the low-level Bad Guy, and offers the Good-Guy-pretending-to-be-a-Bad-Guy the choice of being knifed himself or drinking poison... Why? So the pretend Bad Guy stands a chance of surviving because he can barf the poisoned drink out after the Chief Bad Guy leaves? Huh?

Then the Bad Guy poisoning himself and his henchmen -- but only after tiresomely monologuing about how cleverly his villainy will destroy King Edward because Reasons ... OK, now it's just silly. To cap things off, Rhys' whole thing is he does not lie, but now he will have to lie to the King, not about a little thing but a very big thing because Reasons. And five other people know all this. Jeeze, when more than three people know a secret, it stays a secret only if two of them are dead.

[Lizette · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent mystery with beautifully depicted characters and their interactions

I highly recommend reading Books 1 and 2 before reading this one. They lay the groundwork for Book 3 in terms of the history and social mores of the time and place.

This book is a wonderful follow-up and wrap-up to the first two books in the Welsh Guard Mysteries series. Like the first two, this book kept me entranced and up too late, reading, reading, reading. It kept me rooting for Rhys and Catrin, and eventually rooting for their unwanted assistants as the story unfolded.

The plot is full of complications, pleasant and unpleasant surprises, and fascinating people from varied work positions and life experiences, with varied temperaments, alliances, and agendas.

The investigating characters surprise each other with unexpected revelations of their values, sentiments, and thoughts throughout the investgative process, gradually building genuine frienships.

During their painstaking, thorough investigation, many questions are raised, theories are posited, and careful plans are made and enacted.

Trusting each other and their own gut feelings, improvising when needed, coordinating and collaborating, eventually keeps them all alive and reveals the truths they seek.

[Dick Thies · Rating 5 out of 5]

5*. Mysterious Death of a Child
King Edward’s ten-year old heir was always healthy but died of a supposed illness. Rhys and Catrin are sent to Windsor Castle investigate. Something is wrong and they recruit a select group of men to help investigate. They find some smuggling and some hidden villains. It is a very engaging mystery.

NOTE: I read this as an audio book from the Corvallis library. I do not usually choose audio books but I gave this one a try after reading #1 and #2 as ebooks. I had kept a list of characters which I could use with the audio book which helped a lot since many names would have been challenging from just hearing them. The reader spoke very clearly and was fine to listen to. Unlike a Kobo ebook, there was no way at the end do a review on the audio book. Thus I am putting one here.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still enjoyed it and it has qualities I liked but I found it the weakest of the series so far and I was disappointed with several things.
Firstly, while I liked the expansion to include Miles & Vincent in the investigation and the reigniting of the friendships between them & Rhys they seemed to get over the many years of hatred and all the complex feelings with very little problem or complications which just doesn't ring true and is not in tune with the quality of the series to date. Secondly there was the crime itself and the outcome which I found very disappointing and undermines the foundation of Rhys whole character. I would have liked it better if Alfonso had not been poisoned, or had been accidentally poisoned as part of the smuggling ring rather than it being a long conspiracy. And Rhys would just NOT lie to the King about it.

[Bron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catrin and Rhys are now married. When King Edward receives some disturbing news about the death of his elder son, they are sent to Windsor Castle to investigate where they encounter a barrier of misinformation. Is it because they are Welsh, or us there some deep underlying problem? There's a long lead up to any action in this story, but it's not boring, especially if you are interested in details of Medieval life. You also learn more about Rhys and his time as a crusader. When the action does come, for me at least, it felt pretty exciting! All the main characters get into dangerous situations and plans go awry when a trusted notable turns out to be a traitor.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

There has been a long period of time between my having read book 2 and my reading this book. I couldn’t recall all the previous stories as well as if I had read this one immediately after reading book 2. However, I enjoyed the stories and the characters. I look forward to reading more in the series.

[Voirrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

How good to see Rhys and Catrin again, and to see Rhys developing working relationships with Justin, Miles and Vincent.

An interesting case - was the young prince poisoned or did he die of natural causes? And the ending perhaps the only possible outcome.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think there is a Sarah Woodbury book I have not read, and I love most of them. While I found a few of the characters and their motivations a bit confusing, the book was another good mystery. I continue to be impressed with the way Woodbury has tried to humanize ruthless historical figures.

[Page · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't buy it. The reason for the prince's death was far fetched. There were too many people pretending to be something other than what they were. And spoiler..... If Rhys lies now, how can I ever trust him?

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhys and Catrin are sent to Windsor Castle to investigate the death of King Edward’s eldest surviving son Alfonso. Here, they find that the boy preferred to be called Astolfo, who was one of the paladins of Charlemagne. They also find a conspiracy of proportions that rather stretch credibility.

[Gary and Sandra Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

Was the death of the young healthy Prince God's will or by the hand of man and if so who did it and why? Thus starts a story that will keep you entertained until the end.

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but rather inauthentic. But then, if authenticity is desired, these are not the books for you.

[Rhiannon Magor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series and the characters but this was a little over complicated

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know why I keep reading stories with Welsh names! But, once you give up on trying to pronounce them it’s a great story. Really brings 13th century Britain to life.

[Patricia Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting mystery

I enjoyed this sojourn into England’s history. Good character development and a nice little mystery. Sarah Woodbury writes some interesting stories

[Ari Maayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Sarah’s writing. Tremendous character development.

[BookAddict · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brain teaser and a great mystery surrounding the death of Kong Edward I eldest son and heir, Alfonso's death at age 10. Was it illness or was he murdered? Onward!

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

1 The series is growing on me but it is still more historical facts and the plot is an afterthought.

[Maya Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Linda K · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I read in this series the more loved it becomes!!!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting twist on what could have happened. Love the interchanges between people.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Woodbury's writing improves with every volume, and her earliest writing was very good. One of the ways her books get better is her characters are more human and more vulnerable. Her books are free of politics and social justice baloney.