Alright for a first effort

If you've run out of Cadfael, you'll get a similar medieval murder mystery fix here. The same setting, the same detailed description of people, but things aren't quite so cozy here; we don't have Cadfael's knowing and understanding eye watching everything.

The story is a little overwhelming at first, as a great number of characters are introduced in quick succession. Might actually be better to read on paper to see all the names spelled out, although Matt Addis does an excellent job with the narration. Once the cast was introduced, however, it was quite enjoyable, though there are some signs of an inexperienced author, like spelling out what the characters think and feel even when it's unnecessary, pacing action too slowly, and not making as much of the mystery and character dynamics as she could. The mystery was a little bit disappointing, lacking the "aha!"-moment that you want from a crime novel like this, though that might just have been me.

I did like the dynamic between the two lawmen, with the young, inexperienced one being in charge and the old veteran being forced to defer to him, and both men resenting the other for his advantage. I do intend to check out at least one more book in this series to see if Hawkswood improves on the technical side, and I hope to see Bradecote and Catchpoll learn to respect each other and work together in future installments.

EDIT: Having listened to the ninth book in the series now, I begin to think Hawkswood's editor is not doing their job. The pacing is still all wrong because of the omnicient narrator, and there's obvious dramatic beats that just never happen. The setting is great and the characters are likeable, but the delivery of the story is clunky.

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Pretty good

I can to this because I like the reader and was hoping for a cadfael replacement. I found that having this book read the names were not memorable either in the pace they came in or the descriptions. Do I spent quite a bit of time trying to work out who people were and what was happening.

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4 people found this helpful

First book in series

This is the first book in the series and it rather shows. It’s not as slick as the later books and there’s a bit of head hopping goes on but all in all I enjoyed it. Performance is excellent.

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brilliant

really enjoyed this book, the reader was excellent. looking forward to the next book i

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2 people found this helpful

Really enjoyable

I really enjoyed the story and the narration. Matt Addis does a first rate job and I look forward to the next book.

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2 people found this helpful

In the fine tradition of light historical crime

The story was interesting enough and easy to follow with a character pot that wasn’t too large to baffle us. Each of the main characters were well drawn enough to be individuals but not enough to challenge their credibility (the historical aspects being on the light side).

This is historical crime fiction which has a tinge of romance and is certainly more about entertainment than historical fact. Which it does perfectly well.

The narrator was a sound choice.

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1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable

Interesting story, bit muddled occasionally but ok. Narration was excellent with good differences between characters.

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Another author to be taken notice of!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, my introduction to Sarah Hawkswood. Narration top drawer! Recommended.

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So enjoyed this book!

Beautifully written and brilliantly narrated, I so enjoyed this book that I purchased the rest of the series as a 'Christmas treat'.

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Fun story generally well written and read

I thought the plot line took a while to get going but once it did I felt it hung together well and lead to an exciting if slightly implausible conclusion.

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