Tyrant of the Mind

Medieval Mystery #2

by Priscilla Royal

A nun and a monk defy death and dishonor at her family's Welsh fortress... In the winter of 1271, Death stalks the corridors of Wynethorpe Castle on the Welsh border. When the Grim Reaper touches the beloved grandson of the castle lord, Baron Adam sends for his daughter, Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal, and her sub-infirmarian, Sister Anne, to save the child with prayers and healing talents. Escorting them to the remote fortress is Brother Thomas, an unwilling monk fighting his private demons. Death may be denied once in his quest for souls but never twice. Soon after the trio arrives, an important guest is murdered. The prioress's brother, bloody dagger in hand, stands over the corpse. All others may believe in his guilt, but Eleanor is convinced her brother is innocent. Outside her priory, in a world of armed men, Eleanor may have little authority, but she is determined to untangle the Gordian knot of thwarted passions and old resentments even if it means defying her father, a man with whom she longs to make peace. As passions rise with the winter wind and time runs short, Eleanor, Anne and Thomas struggle to find the real killer.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Crime

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

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

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adored Priscilla Royal's first Medieval Mystery, Wine of Violence. The multifaceted creation of Prioress Eleanor and the monk, Thomas, was captivating and well written. Therefore, I was all the more disappointed when this installment fell flat.

In Tyrant of the Mind, Eleanor and Thomas are back, but are far from their abbey. Travelling to Eleanor's ancestral home to care for her ill nephew, they find themselves once again in the center of a murder investigation.

Since death follows these two like Angela Lansbury, they quickly take charge of the hunt for a murderer, uncovering a wide variety of family secrets along the way. As the killer struggles to cover their tracks with more violence, the need to discover the truth becomes essential.

Unfortunately, each of these new characters was bland and unlikable. Even Eleanor and Thomas failed to capture my attention the way they did in the first mystery. And, call me a prude, but I simply grew tired of hearing the details of each character's sexual issues.

Here's hoping for more from the next in this series, Sorrow Without End.

[Gintautas Ivanickas · Rating 3 out of 5]

1271-ieji. Wynethorpe’o pilyje susirenka dvi šeimos – barono Adamo ir jo kaimyno, seno kovų bičiulio. Atvyksta ir Adamo duktė Eleonora, Tyndalo vienuolyno priorė, lydima sesers Anos ir brolio Tomo. Netrukus nužudomas vienas iš svečių, o prie jo kūno aptinkamas Eleonoros brolis kruvinose rankose laikantis durklą.Vos tik nurims pūga, teks siųsti pasiuntinį pas šerifą ir atiduoti jaunuolį į teisingumo rankas, bet iki tol Eleonora ir jos pagalbininkai dar turi laiko įrodyti, kad šis nekaltas. Bet reikia skubėto, o lengva nebus, nes, regis, čia kiekvienas savo spintoje turi po skeletą. Ir gal net ne po vieną.
Labai neskubrus detektyvas, kuriame daugiau dėmesio skiriama žmonių santykiams, nei pačiam tyrimui.
Toks vidutiniokas. Trys iš penkių.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series and it was not nearly as good as the first book. This book follows Prioress Eleanor, Brother Thomas and Sister Anne to Eleanor's castle home to care for her sick nephew. Another wealthy, titled family is visiting the castle as they try to figure out a deal for Eleanor's brother to marry the family's daughter when several murders occur. The problem with this book is that it's dense, hard to read and the characters all seem so bitter, angry and miserable that you don't like any of them and finally end up not caring what happens to them. In addition, several plot points don't make sense and don't come to satisfactory conclusions. Doubtful that I will continue to read any more books in this series.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prioress Eleanor, Brother Thomas and Sister Anne travel to Eleanor's childhood home to care for her sick nephew. Her brother is supposed to become betrothed to her childhood friend Juliana, who refuses, as she wants a religious life. Juliana's obnoxious brother is killed and Eleanor's brother is the main suspect. Naturally everything works out OK. The best part was being introduced to one of the most interesting continuing characters. I've read three of the books in this series and I still can't figure out how the titles relate to the stories.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I did the first one of the series (which I still did enjoy). I think that Prioress Eleanor is coming into her own. I appreciated the complexity and intelligence of this character, and that she showed real backbone in this book, even in her complicated relationship with her father. Similarly, I found that the two sidekicks, Brother Thomas and Sister Anne, gained depth in this book, which was interesting to read.

The plot line in this book has a few twists and turns meant to keep the reader guessing. Because it was set in Prioress Eleanor's childhood home, the reader is also able to learn more about this character's background.

Overall, a solid read. I will look up the next one in this series.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK. I was really hoping to find a new medieval mystery series somewhat comparable to the Brother Cadfael books. This is not it. The first one was also OK, and I wanted to give the series one more book to improve. The characters seem a bit too modern for their time period, and I never got a good feel for the time and place.

[Abcdarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing after the first book in this series. Too many murders/attempted murders and too much focus on sexual interests.

[Megan]

A slow-moving mystery. I liked the historical details, but the reason I returned to this series was because I found the main characters compelling: Prioress Eleanor, set up to fail as a young and unlikely authority figure but who keeps herself empathetic at all times; Brother Thomas with the traumatic backstory, who was not called to his vocation but who is finding depths in himself; and Sister Anne, who was not called to her vocation either but who chose it for reasons of love and healing. The prose was quite good on occasion, the mystery itself was average, and the plot's characters were too overly dramatic for my taste, but I'm interested in reading further in this series, in hopes that the three main characters find peace. (I mean, it's a long-running mysteries series, so I'm pretty sure they're going to mainly find lots of corpses, but I hope there's some peace, too.)

[Asterope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. Perhaps because I haven't read many of the other historical/clerical mysteries that other reviewers have and seem to compare this series against? I didn't think it was overly boring. It's not a WOW! sort of book, but I felt for what it was, it presented fine enough. I also find Thomas to be an interesting character and look forward to seeing how he progresses in his life as a monk, with his past and other issues. I also learned some things about Medieval life and their thought/beliefs that I did not know before.

Time reference - takes place just over 1 year from book #1

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This claustrophobic mystery is set in the 13th century in a castle on the Welsh border. The really nasty Henry is stabbed and all the evidence points to Prioress Eleanor’s brother Robert. Eleanor is motivated to investigate to exonerate her brother, one of the few likeable characters in the story. However, there is little reason to actually care which of the small circle of family members was the actual murderer. The author ascribes a great deal more rationality to medieval judiciary procedures than was actually the case.

[Nance Roepke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book in the series. Prioress Eleanor, Sister Anne and Brother Thomas leave The Priory to go to Eleanor's family home. It was interesting to see the development of Eleanor's relationship with her family. And Brother Thomas's struggles from his past are developed a bit more. These three characters are so enjoyable and the Mystery what's well done. Definitely better then the first book.

[Bruce Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

murder in a lonely castle

The second book was as good as the first. Eleanor returns to her father's home with Father Thomas and Sister Anne. A man is murdered, the castle priest assaulted and another man attacked, who is responsible? Will the guilty party be discovered before the winter storm abates and an innocent man punished? Read the book to find out.

[Red Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly not a particularly impressive or enjoyable addition to the “medieval clerics solving mysteries” genre, which has a few excellent and many more fun entries. It was *terrible* for telling, *heavily*, plot points which would have been much more fruitfully hinted at, and its depiction of and constant reference to sexual violence was deeply unpleasant.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1271 Wynethorpe Castle. Baron Adam's grandson, Richard, is dangerously ill and sends for his daughter Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal and sub-infirmariam Sister Anne, while Brother Thomas accompanied them. But soon there are several deaths. Thomas and Eleanor investigate.
An entertaininghistorical mystery

[Sienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the variety of characters & of issues explored. It's a light, easy book, but it's got an Author's Note & a Bibliography -- Gotta love that! Royal makes the characters real (as in familiar, recognizable) without taking them out of the time period.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the story, but the infodumping dialogue was just agonizing. People literally saying, "As you know, the common wisdom of our time holds that..." OMG.

[Rose Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Really enjoy reading this author's books. Look forward to tackling the next one. Holds one's interest until the end with some spice thrown into it.

[Timothy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out not as strong as the first book but about chapter 3 or 4 it really took off and carried me away. Also love the author 's notes at the end of the book. Highly recommended!

[Tessa in Mid-Michigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much talking and pretty crude. Don’t like the MC enough to keep reading.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good medieval mystery. Lots about the church -- had never heard of an anchoress before. Interesting story line, but almost too confusing. Liked the characters, want to read book 1!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I forgot that I'd read one or two in this series before and found them kind of "meh." That's still the case.

[Sherry Guice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to continuing this series!! Lots of unexpected plot twists with great characters...an atmospheric setting.

[Vi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder mystery in the Medieval time :-)
Pretty good!

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exceptionally good medieval immersive experience (so difficult to be a woman and the complete control the church had over the minds of everyone). Plot was lacking (hence the 3 stars).

[Shelly Lincoln · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters in this historical mystery fall flat and are largely unsympathetic, while the story meanders with lots of paths that lead nowhere. 2 stars for the narrative, 2.5 for the writing.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging tale but it got off to a slow start.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but slightly less than the first one. All the tangled relationships got a bit much.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the detailed adventures of this second medieval mystery.

[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thrilled to have found this series! Each story is informative with a feel of reality, but still such a pleasure to read.

[Bryngel · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a drag. After two books in this series, it's painfully clear that I don't enjoy Priscilla Royal's writing.