The Riddle of St. Leonard's

At the country mansion that is to be his inheritance, Captain Jack Vespa hopes to find some peace and quiet to recover from his wounds, incurred during the Napoleonic Wars, but the presence of Miss Consuela Jones, who is hunting for a killer, promises to disrupt his hoped for rest.

YA. The protagonist in this, the fifth mystery in the series, is the one-eyed former archer, now spy, for Archbishop John Thoresky of York. The time is A.D. 1369, Edward is king, Queen Phillippa is dying, and the plague has returned for a third time. The Bishop's nephew, Sir Richard de Ravenser, is Master of the Hospital at St. Leonard's. Someone is murdering "corrodians," the elderly boarders of the institution, and the hospital faces financial ruin. Archer, unwilling to leave his apothecary wife during this resurgence of the plague, is nevertheless forced into service for Sir Richard. His mission is to investigate the murders in York. As the story is played out, Robb weaves in an abundance of historical detail. The vocabulary, life style, role of a "spital" (hospital), and the Church in society give color and authenticity to the novel. An author's note is also provided.?Carol DeAngelo, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

It's the year 1369, and once again York's one-eyed ex-soldier Owen Archer (The King's Bishop, 1996, etc.) undertakes a mission- -reluctantly. York is suffering an onslaught of the plague, and Owen's apothecary wife Lucie needs his comforting presence, having sent their children to her father in the countryside. But Owen has been asked by York's Archbishop John Thoresby and his nephew Richard de Ravenser, the Master of St. Leonard's Hospital, to find what lies behind the troubles at the hospital, beset by rumors of murder and infamy. Several of its corrodians--those who make generous gifts in return for lifetime care--have died in strange circumstances; costly treasures have vanished; there's gossip about illicit liaisons with Honoria de Staines--once a woman of the street, now a lay sister being trained as a nurse. Another of Owen's problems is 11-year-old Alisoun Ffulford. Her parents have died of plague, leaving her alone on their shabby farm, but she refuses to stay with kinfolk, going instead into the care of St. Leonard's, where lay sister Anneys presents another mystery. With help from tavernkeeper Bess Merchet, niece of one of the dead corrodians, and from witchlike Magda Digby, called Riverwoman, Owen eventually finds the puzzle's complex answers rooted in injustices of the past. Robb writes lyrically, as always, and her characters are vivid and believable. But there are simply too many of them, as well as so many criss-crossing ties and connections that suspense and lucidity ebb away. Worth reading for the crystalline picture of time and place, then, but less compelling than the previous four in this series. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Also set in 14th-century England, the Owen Archer series (e.g., The Lady Chapel, LJ 9/1/94) continues as the plague ravages York. The one-eyed Archer investigates rumors that not all the deaths at St. Leonard's Hospital have been caused by the pestilence. Involving and detailed; recommended.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.