It is Autumn, 1282. Edward I, more often hammering the Scots, is at war with Wales and it is not going as well as he wished. Everyone is edgy on both sides of the loosely defined border between England and Wales. Crucial battles have been lost. Raids are common. Death is a constant threat. Prioress Eleanor is escorting her younger brother, Robert, and his wife, who is in labor, from their Marcher … their Marcher lands to greater safety at a Wynethorpe manor in a village just inside the English border. With her are Brother Thomas and Sister Anne, the sub-infirmarian and a good woman to have at a difficult birth. The baby arrives, a girl.
Mother and child may be healthy, but Death never wanders far from this beloved Prioress – whether she’s home at Tyndal in Norfolk or traveling the realm. The local abbot begs her help. – the village priest has been found dead and standing over him is, a reliable witness says, the ghost of Hywel, the village stonemason yet a Welshman, and recently hanged for slaying some sleeping English soldiers. The abbot has failed to exorcise this malign spirit – surely the saintly visitors from Tyndal Priory in far away Norfolk, can do the job.
Bone tired, Eleanor questions the village hangman, who assures the religious party that Hywel was hanged once and then, when the weight of the fat felon strung up alongside him broke the beam, was hanged again. The experienced executioner checked all the bodily signs – Hywel was dead. But where is his grave? And why is the hangman quite soon found hanged? And what manner of secrets are so many of the locals – the sheriff and his household, the spice merchant, Maud the Bawd – keeping?
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Priscilla Royal’s Medieval series is a treat. Twice-Hanged Man is no exception! I love the atmosphere, the characters, the meticulous research (which informs without overwhelming)… and of course, the who-done-it and why-and-how done it plots. The Twice-Hanged Man had some great twists I did not see coming at all. Altogether satisfying. Although, oh dear, poor Brother Thomas. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
A Strange Death Is Solved But the Future of Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas May Be In Peril
This fifteenth book in the Medieval Mysteries finds the heroine, Eleanor, Prioress of Tyndal, with her brother, Robert, and his very pregnant wife, Elizabeth, fleeing into English territory from the Welsh rebel bands. Accompanying her is Brother Thomas, a monk in her order and close friend, and Sister Anne, the sub-infirmarian. They make it safely to a hunting lodge in a small village within English territory where Elizabeth gives birth to a baby girl. Soon after their arrival, the Abbot Gerald from the local abbey begs to see Prioress Eleanor about his problem. His priest has been murdered and a witness has identified the person kneeling by the body as a man named Hywel, but Hywel was recently hung—twice. Prioress Eleanor accepts. The storyline unfolds from here.
The author weaves many twists and turns into this storyline starting with there was not any foul play in the death of the priest. Prioress Eleanor deploys her monk and sub-infirmarian to help her discover what is happening. But, then, a real crime is committed. My interest was quickly hooked and I finished this novel in shorter time than usual.
Significant events occur in the B-storyline in this novel. For Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas, one is able to control these feelings, and one is not. These moments of weakness have the potential to be catastrophic to both their positions and possibly their persons.
That sex occurs outside of marriage does play a role in this novel; there are mistresses, and who visits or does not visit the local bawdy house. There is only one instance where sex the act is described but it was very short, not graphic and was needed for the story development. There is not any modern foul language. These two aspects should not bother most readers. The other thing that readers should know if this is the first novel in the series or medieval novels in general, the use of terms and items of that time period. I read this novel on a Kindle. The advantage for me is that the embedded dictionary is quite good with providing definitions of these medieval terms. When that way fails, the quick access the Internet from the novel easily fills that void. Lastly, if this is the first novel in this series for you, I believe that you can read it without lost in understanding as the author adequately provides the background to understand the significance.
The aspect of this novel and this series in general is that the stories stay very fresh. Each one is new and still supported by the familiar Prioress Eleanor and her retinue. Do read the Author’s Note for interesting background on the many aspects of the novel and its characters.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel. I believe that you would also. I do recommend reading this novel. I rate it with five stars. Enjoy.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Poison Pen Press with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Poison Pen Press for the opportunity to read this novel early.