Product Description

This book is a story of a callous murder, a devastating secret, and a crime of passion. In Bishopthorpe Palace, York, on September 1373, John Thoresby, the Archbishop of York, lies dying. One of the most powerful men in the country, his imminent demise has the dominant families of the north vying to influence his succession. Owen Archer, Thoresby's master of the guards, is one of the few men Thoresby trusts. He is determined to ensure that his lord's last days are as peaceful as possible, but his plans are thrown into disarray when Thoresby agrees to a visit from Joan, Princess of Wales, wife of the Black Prince and mother of the young heir to the throne of England. She has come to seek the great man's advice before it is too late.Owen resolves to do his duty, but within minutes of Joan's arrival things go disastrously wrong when a member of the royal party is murdered. Then, only days later, a messenger carrying urgent letters for Thoresby is found hanging in the woods. Soon, the shadow of suspicion falls on the whole household. And as Owen races against time to find the murderer amongst them, he starts to realise that not only has one of his own men been compromised, but all their lives are now in danger...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #233202 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Synopsis
This book is a story of a callous murder, a devastating secret, and a crime of passion. In Bishopthorpe Palace, York, on September 1373, John Thoresby, the Archbishop of York, lies dying. One of the most powerful men in the country, his imminent demise has the dominant families of the north vying to influence his succession. Owen Archer, Thoresby's master of the guards, is one of the few men Thoresby trusts. He is determined to ensure that his lord's last days are as peaceful as possible, but his plans are thrown into disarray when Thoresby agrees to a visit from Joan, Princess of Wales, wife of the Black Prince and mother of the young heir to the throne of England. She has come to seek the great man's advice before it is too late.Owen resolves to do his duty, but within minutes of Joan's arrival things go disastrously wrong when a member of the royal party is murdered. Then, only days later, a messenger carrying urgent letters for Thoresby is found hanging in the woods. Soon, the shadow of suspicion falls on the whole household.

And as Owen races against time to find the murderer amongst them, he starts to realise that not only has one of his own men been compromised, but all their lives are now in danger...

From the Inside Flap
A CALLOUS MURDER. A DEVASTATING SECRET. A CRIME OF PASSION.

Bishopthorpe Palace, York. September 1373: John Thoresby, the Archbishop of York, lies dying. One of the most powerful men in the country, his imminent demise has the dominant families of the north vying to influence his succession.

Owen Archer, Thoresby’s master of the guards, is one of the few men Thoresby trusts. He is determined to ensure that his lord’s last days are as peaceful as possible, but his plans are thrown into disarray when Thoresby agrees to a visit from Joan, Princess of Wales, wife of the Black Prince and mother of the young heir to the throne of England. She has come to seek the great man’s advice before it is too late.

Owen resolves to do his duty, but within minutes of Joan’s arrival things go disastrously wrong when a member of the royal party is murdered. Then, only days later, a messenger carrying urgent letters for Thoresby is found hanging in the woods. Soon, the shadow of suspicion falls on the whole household. And as Owen races against time to find the murderer amongst them, he starts to realise that not only has one of his own men been compromised, but all their lives are now in danger…

From the Back Cover
ACCLAIM FOR CANDACE ROBB

'It's ... the Machiavellian intrigue that makes this such an enjoyable read. When the iron curtain came down people said the spy-thriller genre was dead. They were wrong. This is as full of intrigue as a Deighton or a Le Carré' Guardian

'Enthralling and evocative ... Candace Robb recreates medieval York with ease' Yorkshire Evening Press

‘A rich and satisfying novel’ Publishers Weekly

'Ellis Peters has a cohort of pretenders snapping at her heels ... most impressive of the bunch is Candace Robb' Time Out

‘Thirteenth-century Edinburgh comes off the page cold and convincing, from the smoke and noise of the tavern kitchen to Holyrood Abbey under a treacherous abbot. Most enjoyable’ The List

‘A superb medieval mystery, thoroughly grounded in historical fact’ Booklist

‘Meticulously researched, authentic and gripping’ Yorkshire Evening Post

‘Hugely, but subtly, detailed … complex, ambiguous and gripping’ Historical Novels Review

‘Gripping and believable … you can almost smell the streets of 14th-century York as you delve deeper into an engrossing plot’ Prima

Customer Reviews

Latest Book in the Owen Archer Series

Candace Robb has read and researched medieval history for many years, having studied for a Ph.D. in Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Literature. She divides her time between Seattle and the UK, frequently spending time in Scotland and York to research her books. She is the author of the best selling Owen Archer series, set in medieval York in the third quarter of the 14th century. A place quite close to my own home. I have read all of the books and find them fascinating.

For those unfamiliar with the Owen Archer novels, as the name suggest Owen is a once Captain of Welsh Archers. He has only one good eye, the other being removed by a woman of ill-repute, but that is another tale. He is now the captain of the guard for Archbishop Thoresby, the Archbishop of York. Owen is married to Lucy, who owns an apothecary shop in York.

Owen's master, the Archbishop lies close to death and Owen is determined that Thorseby will be peaceful. However Thorseby has agreed to a visit from Princess Joan, who wishes to take advice from him regarding the royal succession. However things are never that simple and within minutes of the royal party arriving it becomes apparent that a servant who apparently had an accident and subsequently died, was in fact murdered. This is just the start of a plot that begins to thicken with every hour. The servant may be the first to die, but he certainly will not be the last . . .