This is an Owen Archer mystery, set in York in the days of Edward III. It is a whodunnit.
As such it is well researched. I learned a lot about medieval herbs and healing (Owen's wife is an apothecary) and the difference between a tanner and a tawyer (who dealt in the hides of small animals only). I enjoyed the way the mediaeval people are described as if they had real concerns and normal lives; they work hard and live in their time. But I felt that the book spent too much time trying to educate me about the middle ages and too little time establishing characters. There are also rather more loose ends than Agatha Christie would leave.
A quick and simple read. An entertainment but not a great whodunnit and certainly not a great piece of literature.
August 2009, 367pages
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