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sophronisba's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
eososray's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't find this one as good as the previous books in the series. I'm sure my lack of motherly feeling left me with little empathy for the main topic in this book, the want of a child.
The heavy religious tones to the story were also a bit of a turn off, I know that everything in this story is very applicable to the era but I couldn't engage with the characters emotional drama's this time.
The heavy religious tones to the story were also a bit of a turn off, I know that everything in this story is very applicable to the era but I couldn't engage with the characters emotional drama's this time.
mohogan2063's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite part of this mystery is the pilgrimage to Compostela.
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
This marvelous historical mystery takes place during a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James in Spain during the months of March through July of 1142. Catherine (an ex-nun who had studied under both Heloise and Abelard) and her husband Edgar are taking the pilgrimage in hopes that paying homage to St. James will make Catherine fertile and bring her a child after several miscarriages.
They embark on the journey accompanied by her father, her husband, an uncle, and a cousin. Her family is unusual in that her uncle and cousin are Jewish, a situation that creates a not inconsiderable amount of tension between them and the monks who travel with them. Four knights are traveling along as guards for a group of monks who are traveling with the Abbott of Cluny.
In the twelfth century travel was difficult and dangerous. It was important to voyage in large groups as protection from marauding bands of thieves and predators.
The knights are being killed one-by-one as the journey progresses and suspicion soon is attached to various members of the party as past secrets are revealed. Catherine begins to seek some answers to the riddles posed by the killings as suspicion is transferred to her relatives because of their religion. Finally only one knight remains and the hidden motives of the four guards become apparent.
They embark on the journey accompanied by her father, her husband, an uncle, and a cousin. Her family is unusual in that her uncle and cousin are Jewish, a situation that creates a not inconsiderable amount of tension between them and the monks who travel with them. Four knights are traveling along as guards for a group of monks who are traveling with the Abbott of Cluny.
In the twelfth century travel was difficult and dangerous. It was important to voyage in large groups as protection from marauding bands of thieves and predators.
The knights are being killed one-by-one as the journey progresses and suspicion soon is attached to various members of the party as past secrets are revealed. Catherine begins to seek some answers to the riddles posed by the killings as suspicion is transferred to her relatives because of their religion. Finally only one knight remains and the hidden motives of the four guards become apparent.
julieputty's review
4.0
Every book I read in this series just whets my appetite for the next one. I need to slow down and savor them more.
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