Another in the excellent Joliffe series. The story drags just a bit in the middle. There is not a lot of character growth - this is more of a traditional mystery than some others in the series. There is a wealth of historical information, even more so than usual - and as Frazer always makes the 1...
Dame Frevisse of St. Frideswide's nunnery is in London to assist her cousin Alice, the widowed Duchess of Suffolk, in burying her husband-but the late Duke was so hated that even being in the presence of his corpse is unsafe. Wandering player Simon Joliffe is also in London, on a mission with ...
Dame Frevisse is in London to recover gold from the coffers of the murdered Duke of Suffolk and give it to her cousin. Frevisse's co-conspirators in this secrecy are seamstress Anne Blakehall and her lover, a Jewish trader smuggling the gold through Anne's shop. But their mission is jeopardized w...
THE MIDDLE AGES COME TO LIFE... TO BRING US MURDER The year is 1434, and preparations are under way for the Corpus Christi festival in Oxford, England. Plays are a traditional part of the celebration, and Joliffe and the rest of his troupe are to perform Isaac and Abraham. Until then, their thea...
When the vicious Sir Ralph Woderove is found murdered near his estate, Dame Frevisse finds that the evil that men do sometimes does live after them.
Robert Fenner was forced to marry Lady Blaunche years ago. Now, in 1442, he is being forced toward warfare over the property to which she wrongfully claims ownership. He must also decide whom a wealthy young heiress, who has captured his heart, must marry. Drawn from her nunnery's contemplative q...
Dame Frevisse is embroiled in political intrigue when she aids a widow who is holding on to secret information that could be damaging to the lords closest to the king.
As illness and murder cast a cloud over Prior Byfield, fear and suspicion reign -- and Frevisse's keen deductions lead her closer to the disturbing truth.
Who could ever want to harm two young boys, ages five and six? When the boys are half brothers to Henry VI, King of England, the list is long and distinguished. A lady in their mother's household flees with the boys to St. Frideswide's and asks Sister Frevisse to offer then sanctuary. Unable to r...
First in the Sister Frevisse medieval mystery series revolving around a group of nuns, Dame Frevisse in particular. The series is based in St. Frideswide's priory, a Benedictine order, in Oxfordshire. This particular story takes place in September in the Year of Our Lord's grace 1431.My TakeOkay,...
In the spring of 1435, Joliffe and his fellow players are sent to the village of Ashewell not only to stage plays, but to uncover some dark secrets about the town’s three wealthy families: the Ashewells, the Medcotes, and the Gosyns. A rivalry has been brewing among the families, entangling the e...
An Edgar Award-nominee, it's second in the Sister Frevisse medieval mystery series based in a nunnery, St. Frideswide, near Prior Byfield outside Oxfordshire. The story revolves around Dame Frevisse, one of the nuns in the year of Our Lord 1434 at Christmastide. rrInterestingly enough, Basset and...
Leaving St. Frideswide to visit Minster Lovell was a welcome respite for Sister Frevisse--until murder visited the quiet manor. And though much of the household suspected a guest who was prone to violent fits, Frevisse knew too much about murder to be easily fooled.
I love Margaret Frazer's stories and was saddened by her death this years. In her honor, I am rereading my way through her work, beginning with the Dame Frevisse novels, followed by the Joliffe the Player novels. She has a gift for blending together history and fiction into compelling stories of ...
St. Mary's nunnery is a place of prayer and healing for women-so it is surprising to see a man sprawled out in the cloister garden. Dead. The victim was not especially well-liked-even by his wife and clerk. Now, Dame Frevisse must step in and solve the killing. But her real challenge is to put as...
A visit at the home of Sister Frevisse's cousin Lady Alice becomes dangerous--for this home houses a secret that has turned deadly. Alice is involved in dangerous political machinations with the duc of Orleans and King Henry VI. Private correspondence has been routed through the Suffolks' home, b...
Performing at the wedding of Sir Edmund Deneby's daughter, the player Joliffe has another task to perform—as a spy. As he uncovers the secrets of the Denebys' sordid history, it becomes clear that this wedding celebration is destined to end in tragedy.
After Domina Alys was made prioress, St. Frideswide became nothing more than a guest house for her relatives. But when a long-standing family rivalry ends with murder, it is up to Frevisse to rid the nunnery of its unwelcome--and deadly--guests.
Third in the Sister Frevisse historical mystery series set outside Oxfordshire in medieval England. The stories revolve around Dame Frevisse, a highly intelligent nun.My TakeThere's a familial up-and-down in this story as Dame Frevisse encounters her long-lost cousin Nicholas who is hoping for he...
As the nuns of St. Frideswide's priory prepare for the welcome end of Lent, their peaceful expectations are overset by the sudden return of long- vanished Sister Cecely. Nine years ago she fled from the nunnery with a man. Now her lover is dead and she has come back, bringing her illegitimate son...
Curled down among cushions piled near the hearth with the rough-coated greyhound Gelert stretched out beside him, Arteys was trying to feel the ease he should, here in his father’s Pembroke Castle, but all he had was more unease as he listened to what was being said around and above him by his fa...