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kathydavie's review against another edition
2.0
I do enjoy reading of the lifestyle of both town and gown and experiencing the medical knowledge. Gregory writes well and detailed, yet, her main character is driving me nuts. He's so oblivious for such an intelligent man.
tardigrade_in_retrograde's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
richard_farley1976's review against another edition
4.0
Great as usual. Chapters can be long though lol. Great Characters look forward to next book.
roshk99's review against another edition
4.0
Great book. I have read the Thomas Chaloner series by Gregory and loved those, and the Bartholemew series is just as entertaining. Matt is a versatile main character and the mystery is delightfully complex. Loved it.
alexandranoelle's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent! I had read another series of books by this same author, and was rather dejected to find out there weren't any others...until I realized the author was using a pseudonym and that Susanna Gregory was indeed Simon Beaufort (real name Elizabeth Cruwys). And this book didn't disappoint. You do, however, risk losing some sleep if you're anything like me because I just couldn't put it down until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
kristi_asleep_dreaming's review against another edition
4.0
Historical mystery, about the same time as Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries, but in some ways struck me as anti-cadfael - the setting was gritty, grimy, clear sense of the period's stifling attitudes, general unrest and grinding poverty, odd inaccurate medical theories and lack of hygiene. Very different from Peters' nice clean wholesome monastery and helpful herbalist!
And yet, it wasn't _grim_. The characters belonged to their times and didn't expect different, and lived their lives as best they could, mostly cheerfully, dealing with the ordinary (to them) stuff without any sense that it made them worse off than a twentieth-century person. Outdated attitudes, but courage and compassion, evil and pettiness, and a real lust for the best parts of living.
Too many deaths, though, I felt the actual plot (as opposed to character or setting) was rather getting away from her.
And yet, it wasn't _grim_. The characters belonged to their times and didn't expect different, and lived their lives as best they could, mostly cheerfully, dealing with the ordinary (to them) stuff without any sense that it made them worse off than a twentieth-century person. Outdated attitudes, but courage and compassion, evil and pettiness, and a real lust for the best parts of living.
Too many deaths, though, I felt the actual plot (as opposed to character or setting) was rather getting away from her.
clacksee's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars.
My beef wasn't with the characters, the history, or the writing style. I may continue to read Gregory's books.
That this book was so weak was purely down to the plot. It was ridiculously convoluted and contrived. The explanations were highly implausible. When Matt and co uncover the dastardly doings, their rationale for how they figured it all out was paper thin.
My beef wasn't with the characters, the history, or the writing style. I may continue to read Gregory's books.
That this book was so weak was purely down to the plot. It was ridiculously convoluted and contrived. The explanations were highly implausible. When Matt and co uncover the dastardly doings, their rationale for how they figured it all out was paper thin.
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