I received this pre-publication e-book from Severn House via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Review posted on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon.)

This book is the first in a new medieval mystery series by Cassandra Clark, introducing the ‘reluctant friar-sleuth’ Brother Rodric Chandler. The book is set in London during the hot summer of 1399, at a time when the tyranny of Richard II of England was reaching its zenith. Brother Chandler is called to investigate the violent death of a novice nun, and is drawn into a wider plot with implications for the realm.

On balance I enjoyed the book, although only just. It was well written, and the descriptive passages were evocative and immersive; I did feel I got a good sense of medieval London, and the local colour provided by market traders, pub landlords and other NPCs was nicely done.

This is not a period of history I know much about, and I was looking forward to learning more about it. The book deals with Henry of Bolingbroke’s rebellion and Richard II’s forced abdication, but in fact I had to look up a lot of this information in order to make sense of what I was reading in the book. The narrative contained too much indirect disquisition – there was plenty of historical detail and description of political machinations, but the majority of this was told second-hand. For the most part the main characters were not themselves directly involved; in fact, at least in the first half of the book, quite a lot of the info-dumping is done via characters discussing vague and often contradictory rumours overheard or half-believed, which only left me confused.

This confusion was not helped by the divided beliefs and loyalties of the main protagonist, Brother Chandler, who sometimes seemed to be dragged in so many directions he was not sure which way was up. I recognise that a certain degree of this was intentional on the author’s part, as a reflection of the confusing political times, and Chandler has definite potential as a developing character in an ongoing series, but I feel his loyalties need to be ironed out a little to make his motives clearer and help readers to identify with him. (FWIW, I’m also not entirely sure what purpose Chaucer served as a main character; I can only assume he also reappears in sequels.)

Having said that, the plotting did pick up in the second half of the book, and I finished it having enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The ending was about as wide open as it could have been; Brother Chandler clearly still has work to do, and I will look out for the sequel (if only to clear up some of the confusion in this book).

I haven't read a Cassandra Clark book book before and i was pleasantly surprised by this one!
I'd requested this on a whim and therefore did not know much about it but i found the subject matter and overall plot to be quite an interesting read.

#TheHouroftheFox #NetGalley
"Introducing reluctant spy and friar-sleuth Brother Rodric Chandler in the first of a brand-new medieval mystery series."
I didn't know much about Richard II, and although i'm sure the period detail was quite accurate, not sure I still do.
New series are always more difficult as characters need introduction and development. Chandler and his friends were no exception.

Publisher says this:"Secretly acting as a spy for Henry Bolingbroke, Chandler is torn by conflicting loyalties and agonising self-doubt. As the king's cousin marches towards Wales and England teeters on the brink of civil war,
Chandler's investigations will draw him into affairs of state – and endanger not only himself but all those around him.."
He seemed to remained conflicted until the end of the book, although the chaos of King Richard's being deposed would definitely lend itself to confusion and danger..I enjoyed his interactions with peers and ladies- and of course with Chaucer whose character is always defined.