A Spy for the Redeemer - Hardcover

ROBB, Candace

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0434005134 ISBN 13: 9780434005130

Publisher: William Heinemann, 1999

Synopsis

St. David's, Wales, late spring, 1370. After a pilgrimage to the land of his birth, Owen Archer is anxious to go back to York and his herbalist wife, Lucie, and children. Then death changes his plans: He is called to investigate the strange hanging of a young stone carver, driven to suicide by a broken heart...or deviously murdered. Unknown to Owen, Lucie is in dire trouble, charged with poisoning a client. Alone and distressed, she turns to Harold Galfrey, a mysterious steward who has appointed himself her protector. Now Lucie faces an earthly temptation -- and a chilling betrayal. But Owen is caught up in a country at war where a cunning rebel leader plots to have Owen Archer sign up for the ferocious fight...and never return home. Book jacket.

About this title

About the Author

Candace Robb lives in Seattle, Washington.

From Publishers Weekly

The seventh Archer mystery from medieval scholar Robb (The Nun's Tale, etc.) presents an absorbing picture of 14th-century Britain, which is rife with intrigue, rebellion and murder. As Welshmen chafe under English rule, ex-soldier Owen Archer (who won his surname from his skill with a bow) is caught between family obligations in York and his mandate to find whoever hanged Cynog, an eminent but also enigmatic stonemason, who had been working on the tomb of Mistress Archer's late father. Having lost an eye in battle, Owen is reduced to conducting religious tours and investigations for clerics and other local powerbrokers. The scenes change quickly and often between St. David's shrine in Wales and Archer's home in north England, where his impatient wife, Lucie, an apothecary, and their restless son await his return. Wife and son both question Owen's loyalty to England when he's linked to the cause of Wales's legendary redeemer, Owain Lawgoch. Rumor has it that Owain has come from France to free his homeland. Strong faith and fear of God permeate all aspects of people's lives in this dour tale of misery and deprivation. Medievalists will enjoy such raw descriptions as that of the hero's visit to the high sheriff's castle, replete with floggings, acrid smells and streams polluted by offal and waste, but others less familiar with Welsh history and place names may find themselves lost in the maze. Maps, an author's note on the historical background and a glossary provide both interest and guidance. (Apr. 25)Betrayed: First Chapter of Margaret Kerr of Perth.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Heinemann
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0434005134
• ISBN 13: 9780434005130
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400