Summary:
Master Hugh is asked to provide a sleeping potion for Sir Henry Burley, a friend and guest of Lord Gilbert at Bampton Castle. Sir Henry, (with his wife, a daughter by a first wife, two knights, two squires, and assorted servants), has outstayed his welcome at Bampton Castle. The next morning after Master Hugh provides the potion, Sir Henry is found dead, eyes open, in his bed. Master Hugh, the target of the wife's wrath, is asked by Lord Gilbert to determine the cause of death ...
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 2586pages (Paperback)
Source: Review Copy
Available Formats: Print/E-book
Publication Date: October 1st 2013 by Lion Fiction
I first stumbled upon this series last year when I received an invite to tour the fifth book in the series and I enjoyed that one a lot so when the invitation for this, the sixth book in the series popped up in my inbox I had to request it.
First off, I was glad to be back hanging around with Hugh again. He can be a little long winded sometimes but I do enjoy his character quite a bit and I like the idea of a medieval surgeon being a sleuth and I have to admire the authors way of having Hugh figure out who the culprits are in this one because I didn't get it right away which was very refreshing.
Just like the previous book in this historical mystery series you can easily go into reading this one without reading the series in order. I've only read books 5 and 6 and I'd say I'm comfortable with recommending them as standalones.
In this installment we see a bit of a different side of Hugh, but he's still the same character that I enjoyed getting to know in the previous book. What I enjoy most about the books beside Hugh's character is the settings. This one was set in 1368 and I loved Starr's way of describing the world and the people back then along with some of Hugh's medical practices.
The mystery in this one was not as strong as the one in the previous one, then again it was different which I thought was refreshing and I really do see that while much of Hugh stays the same I can already see his character growing in the pages of the two books I've read about him. The approach the author takes to writing the mysteries by giving them such detail really goes to show that he has actually seemed to take the time to read and research life in the time he's setting this book.
Along with Hugh, I met the rest of the cast of this mystery and while I can stay I wasn't a fan of the majority of them for reasons you'll find out if you read the books, I enjoyed the way they were all worked into the story. Something I am coming to expect from this author is that everything in his mysteries have a purpose, and very little is frivolous and while his writing is detailed it is so in a way that doesn't weigh the story down.
Overall, I thought this was fine installment in a series that I'm going to have to pick up the earlier books in the series this year hopefully. Also, since a Hugh De Singleton novel seems to be published on an annual basis I do hope to see book seven come out later this year.
I would recommend this novel to all fans of historical mysteries with an interesting sleuth and plot twists that keep you guessing right until the end.
* I received a free copy of this book for review purposes. I was not compensated in anyway to give a positive review and all thoughts and opinions herein are my own.
Really Liked It!
★ ★ ★ ★
★ ★ ★ ★
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