A medieval monk detective in a funny mystery. I enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book -- The Garderobe of Death -- because that title is wonderful!

I really wanted to like The Heretics of De'ath. The synopsis sounded so good. The way the narratives are woven together is well executed. However, there were inconsistencies in the plot and the writing that were frustrating as a reader. Additionally, it was not the type of humor I expected. I did not find the Monty-Python type humor so many people made comparisons to.

England 1066 - Harold is King & William of Normandy is planning his invasion.

Innocent (and rather imbecilic) Brother Hermitage is present when murder is committed - and at once becomes the prime suspect when an investigation is launched.

We follow Hermitage as he journies to Lincoln where he encounters one Wat the Weaver. When Hermitage is incarcerated and there is another death, Wat & hermitage decide to investigate for themselves.

Plot twist towards the end reveals all, and all are, themselves, revealed.

An enjoyable outing in post-Conquest England.

"The Name of the Rose" As An Uneven But Often Witty Slapstick Comedy

This book isn't exactly a mystery, although there are murders and investigators. It isn't exactly historical fiction, since there is very little effort directed to accuracy, apart from things like getting the year of the Battle of Hastings right. Almost all of the characters are monks, but it has no theological value or relevance, (especially in light of the fact that one major character is a weaver of pornographic tapestries). It is not, in any meaningful way, a serious book.

Here's the setup. The monastery in De'Ath's Dingle is hosting an important theological debate. The question at hand is whether Jesus, during his forty days and nights of wandering in the wilderness, got sand in his sandals. Four days into his opening debate statement Brother Ambrosius sits down. A few hours later the only monk still awake in the audience, our young hero Hermitage, realizes that Ambrosius is dead. Scandal. Hermitage is dispatched by the monastery's Abbot to report the incident to the Bishop. On his way he is unaccountably waylaid by some ruffians. He is saved by an itinerant, who becomes his companion. From there on mystery piles on to mystery

Brother Hermitage is a sort of Candide-style naif - bright, but totally unfamiliar with anything outside the walls of the monastery. We join him as he travels and as his eyes are opened to the world. The result is a sort of shaggy-dog, bizarro, slap stick walk-a-bout, held together by a devilishly complex and entirely irrelevant conspiracy plot and a world populated almost entirely by madmen, idiots and worldly connivers.

The entertainment value here, at least for me, was the clever cross-talk between and among the various characters, a few pointed rants, a few funny set scenes, and the narrator's dry, nonchalant, and deadpan wit. He is forgiving of our naive hero Hermitage, although still gently mocking. Our narrator is much less forgiving with regard to all of the other scoundrels and venial monks that make up the balance of the characters. The result is a book that merrily bounces along, giving off amusing sparks, and never taking itself terribly seriously. I didn't expect or require more than that and so was not disappointed. The upshot was that this was good, light, nimble fun, and a nice bit of change-of-pace.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)