1604. Physician, Gabriel Taverner, is called to offer a verdict on the cause of death of an emaciated vagrant - did the man die of natural causes? Reverend Jonathan Carew is indirectly linked to the dead man & with Coroner Theophilus Davey, all three must put the puzzle together.
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This is the second book in the Taverner series & I've grown quite fond of all the characters. Gabe, the efficient & effective doctor; Jonathan, something of an enigma & so intriguing; Theo, gruff & hard but a sensible, compassionate side & Cecilia, Gabriel's sister. A supporting character but far from insubstantial.
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One of the things I enjoy Alys Clare is the lack of description of clothes & places unless directly required. Even then, the description is sparing. The reader, from exposure to the time period via other mediums, knows what Tudor England was like. Most of us can conjure a quaint rural idyll as well as the smells & bustle of London. This manner of storytelling allows for the story & the characters to be prominent & it works. The writing allows the reader to become fully immersed in the story without detriment.
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I'm very much looking forward to the third installment & sampling the other series' by Clare.

This book has the issues with anachronisms that are common to historical mysteries, but, that said, it offers deeply engaging and satisfying reading. The characters are complex, as is the mystery at the novel's heart. I look forward to reading more novels in this series.

The Angel in the Glass is the second book in the Gabriel Taverner Mystery series and while I enjoyed it a lot, I really felt like I was reading about a modern man during modern times rather than a historical mystery, which is rather unusual by this author as I am a huge fan of her Hawkenlye books simply because I love the historical information she infuses into those books, making me feel like I am there. I didn't really get that feeling from this book.

First of all, I did enjoy the plot, but it was very much a plot-driven book. There is a lot of information thrown in, with a lot of subplots, but it is woven together in the end, although I still felt like something was missing. I was really looking forward to the historical element surrounding the religious upheaval during this time period, and while it was there, it was not the central plot theme of this book, which was somewhat disappointing. I really felt like the turmoil surrounding Henry VIII and his religious wars would have made the better story rather than the one that became the central plot in this book which, although sad, didn't actually sit well with me as it didn't seem to flow very well with the rest of the story, The story about the poor monk though, that was fascinating.

Because this book was so plot-driven, I do think the author lost sight of character development so it was hard to really empathize with most of the characters. And while their stories were rather sad, I definitely didn't connect with any of them. I would have liked to have seen the story about the poor monk play a deeper role in this book as his story could have been the focus of this book which would have made it really interesting. I really did see a good opportunity lost and instead, we got a story about a man and his desires and another story about a noble who destroys people simply because he feels entitled - boring. Don't get me wrong though, I liked Gabriel and his sister, who really had no role in this one, but it would have been nice to see his forensic skills in action a bit more. The plot should not revolve around his mishaps and what he always misses during an inspection, it gets old, fast.

The Angel in the Glass definitely had a lot of potential, and it had its interesting moments, but I was a bit disappointed in the plot and wished the author had focused on some of the other elements rather than the one did ultimately did as they were much more interesting. I really enjoy the main characters and would like to see a bit more character development rather than the book being so plot-driven otherwise they seem plain and lack quite a bit of depth. The author does have a way of writing that is quite engaging however, and I will recommend this book to anyone who is interested in historical fiction. I would also recommend they take a look at her Hawkenlye books as they are more character-driven.

What a lovely book to start the year with. Beautifully written with interesting, well-developed characters in an intricately drawn historical context. The beginnings of forensic medicine are intertwined with religious change, mental illness and village life in this tale of a young doctor and his formidable sister. The pair are caught up in an apparent accidental death of a vagrant which has far reaching consequences on their community, particularly one friend, the vicar, who is hiding a dark secret. It’s the second book in the series but it didn’t matter that I hadn’t read the first. It’s not fast-paced but I would still recommend it for history buffs like me.

Alys Clare enters into 1606 Jacobean England in this second Gabriel Taverner historical mystery, Angel in the Glass(a leaded stained glass sacrilegious window with a secular naked angel was discovered with the sacred windows from the chapel). The windows were hidden from the royal commissioners when Catholicism was outlawed). The coroner Theo asks Dr. Gabriel to identify how a corpse had died. At first he thought natural causes; later murder was deduced. An upper class family looses their father and mother to murder. The father had an interest in boys and brought syphilis and madness into his family. A true Jacobean revenge tragedy.

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Betrayals and tragedies!

A vagrant's body is found in an isolated hut near the small village of Tavy St Luke. Physician Gabriel Taverner and coroner Theophilus Davey rule death from natural causes. Gabriel is puzzled by various lumps on the vagrant's body but it seems leprosy is not the cause. Still, Gabriel is troubled. The more he investigates, the more troubled he becomes.
The story weaves together a group of dispirit occasions and people to make a whole. The local doctor, Gabriel and his sister, the midwife, the minister, the Coroner, a dead man with part of an astounding drawing of what seems to be an angel, a household where all is not as it seems, and what was reported as a wolf being seen in the region.
Meanwhile local boys think they have found a cache of jewels.
It's 1604 early in the reign of King James 1 of England. Attitudes to religious illuminations have lessened but the attitudes of the reformational are still feared.
This story wraps around several themes including the religious feelings of the times, women's health, betrayals, secrets--dreadful secrets of a prominent family that will come to light.
This is an independent novel but there are secrets lurking in Gabriel's sister's past that I feel newcomers would want to find out about.
An intriguing read with a fascinating collection of main characters.

A NetGalley ARC

Alys Clare's The Angel in the Glass continues the adventures of Dr. Gabriel Taverner in his small Devon village. Characters from the first novel (Taverner's sister Celia, Theophilus Davey, local coroner, and Jonathan Carew, local vicar) begin to take on more personality in this dark mystery.

Description: June, 1604. When the emaciated body of a vagrant is found on the edge of the moor, it's the verdict of physician Gabriel Taverner that the man died of natural causes - but is all as it seems? Who was the dead man, and why had he come to the small West Country village of Tavy St Luke's to die cold, sick and alone? With no one claiming to have known him, his identity remains a mystery.

Then a discovery found buried in a nearby field throws a strange new light on the case ... and in attempting to find the answers, Gabriel Taverner and Coroner Theophilus Davey unearth a series of shocking secrets stretching back more than fourteen years.

Members of the Fairlight family are all creepy and twisted. Fairlight would certainly not have been a Dickensian name choice. He would have chosen a name more in keeping with the character's personality: Malafide, Pedark, Blackmere, Blackquill.

read in july

NetGalley/Severen House
Historical Mystery. Oct. 1, 2018. Print length: 240 pages.

Dr. Gabriel Taverner is a physician, he had been a ship's doctor but had an injury to his head and developed seasickness as a result. He set his practice up in Tavy St. Luke. Celia was his sister, widowed, intelligent and beautiful. Jonathan Carew was the vicar of the village and a friend to the doctor. Theophilus Davey was the coroner and a friend of Gabriel's, they also worked together on some cases.
There is a lot of stuff going on in this book, it has twists and turns and also some surprises. Two lads from the village went out on a dell and thought they had found some gems and bought back samples to show their friends. Something was bothering the vicar but he wouldn't speak of it. The characters are so interesting and lifelike. The story is well written and keeps your interest from beginning to end. This is the first book I have read of this authors and must say I hope to read more.

I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Set in 1604 at a small West Country village of Tavy St. Luke, Dr. Gabriel Taverner and Coroner Theophilus Davey are called to examine the body of an unidentified vagrant found up on the edge of the moor. Although they initially concluded that he died of natural causes, but further investigations suggested otherwise when local gossips lead them to the home of Sir Thomas Fairlight, a prominent family in the village. Soon after, Gabe and Theo unearthed a series of shocking secrets that not only involved the family but the village as well.

This historical forensic mystery is the second book in the Gabriel Taverner Mystery series. Truth be told, the only reason I read this book is because of the forensic element which is unfortunately, only briefly mentioned in the story. The characters are flat, plain and lack of depth. I felt that I'd need to read the first book as not much background stories about the characters are given in this book.

That being said, this book is still a pretty good read. It is a very plot driven story with many subplots which may seem overwhelming in the beginning. But the suspenseful writing will keep readers engaged until the last page. I would still recommend this book to any historical murder mystery readers.


***I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from Severn House Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.***

Having not read the first in this series, I was worried I would miss a chunk of information. To be honest, I did feel I lacked a little bit of background information, but this was perfectly enjoyable as a standalone.

Set in a small Devon village, I liked the characters and the setting in that particular time period. I do love a good historical mystery and this was true to that genre, with physicians, lords, servants, priests and the like.

Like in a previous book I read by this author the POV switches from first person when it is told from Gabriel’s perspective, to third person when we are reading from other peoples’ perspectives. This jarred a little bit in the beginning, but I did get used to it.

Although I did like the writing and the main characters, I was not the biggest fan of this particular mystery and its resolution. It felt a little bit cliche and predictable. It was a bit on the homophobic side as well, though this probably was intentional and true to the time period it was set in.

I did enjoy this well enough and I would happily read more from this author. I might look up the first in this series.

This is the first book i read in this series and I will surely read the others as this one was very good.
It was fascinating and I couldn't put it down as the plot was great as well as the characters and the well researched historical background.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC

Interesting historical mystery set in 1604 Devon. I'd never thought about physicians and coroners working together to solve murder mysteries during this time period but Clare has introduced me to Gabriel and Theophilus. This was a difficult time in the UK, filled with religious discrimination and strife and this is neatly wrapped into the story. The characters in this- including Gabe's sister Celia- are what make this a very good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Summer of 1604 and the body of a vagrant is discovered which physician Gabriel Taverner deems to be from natural causes. But who is he and why is he in the Devon village. But why do the residents of the Fairlights insist they have not seen him when their servants say otherwise.
A slow paced mystery as it introduces the characters. An enjoyable well-written story with a fine selection of varying characters. Although the second in the series it can easily be read as a standalone.

I have read Alys Clare's books before so I was delighted to see a new one. I read many of her medieval Hawkenlye mysteries, which I enjoyed immensely. I enjoyed this one nearly as much, despite it being set in Stuart England, and missing the 1st installment in the series. I found that it had sufficient background information that I could catch up without the 1st book, and had good historical detail, as I have come to expect from Ms Clare.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House Publishing for a digital galley of this novel.

Author Alys Clare is one of my favorite historical mystery writers so I was pleased to read the first book in this series, Rustle of Silk, in 2017. Now Dr. Gabriel Taverner is back helping Theophilus Davey, coroner for this area of Devon, when a body is found in a deserted hovel. In trying to identify the body and discover the cause of death Gabriel spends time researching the conditions he found on the body and by seeking out those in the neighborhood with specialized knowledge to help him come to some decision.

I admit to being a fan of this author's writing. Clare has the talent to make the narration of her novels flow so seamlessly that it is often difficult to tell her research material from her imagination. I very much appreciate that she allows her characters to make mistakes. This story is set in 1604 and the forensic side of criminal investigation is still in its infancy. Even the excellent schooling Gabriel Taverner got did not prepare him for every eventuality he would find in practicing medicine and uncovering clues from murder victims. Gabe's sister Celia is again very much a part of the story as is Judyth Penwarden, a midwife and healer; both women are presented as intelligent people who are able to help Gabriel when his focus is too narrow for the situation. There are many situations from the pasts of people living in this rural area of Devon which all lead up to the dramatic events of the story.

This book is more sedate in its movement than thriller or suspense novels of modern times. Allow yourself to devote time to getting to know the characters and imagine how the time period and the rural setting impact the story. If you do those things, I hope you will enjoy this series as much as I do.

It was a pleasure returning to the world of Gabriel Taverner. The character of a medieval doctor and former mariner is one that gives the reader a different POV in this well travelled genre— the Middle Ages murder mystery. The author surrounds and fleshes out her story with authentic details and interesting characters without overwhelming with the overt evidence of research. A very enjoyable read, looking forward to Gabe’s next tale.

This mystery is set in Devon in the start of the 1600’s. It was a time of religious change and persecution for the church whose beautiful stained glass windows have to be hidden.
A body is found on the moor with no obvious cause of death.
This starts an investigation by local doctor Gabriel Taverner and coroner Theo Davey. There investigation will take them to the grand house of Sir Thomas Fairlight. A man of substance and power who died over 10 years ago. The house Wrenbeare is run by his widow Lady Clemence and two surviving daughters. The elder Agnes is married and resides with her husband at Wrenbeare. The younger daughter Denyse is regarded as not right in the head by locals.
Why do they need to lie about a break in to the house?
This is a nicely paced book with plenty of detail to get you immersed in these dark and dangerous times.
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book by the author that I've read and I will be picking up more books by them. It was a relatively easy, but interesting book set in Stuart times. I enjoyed it a lot.

This is the second of Alys Clare's Gabriel Taverner series and it was just as enjoyable as the first. If you prefer a light entertaining murder mystery read then you won't be disappointed. I look forward to the next in the series and the continuing development of some great characters.