The Nun's Tale: An Owen Archer Mystery

The Nun's Tale is the third Owen Archer mystery. It's 1366, and a nun, gone missing a year before, appears, claiming that she's been buried alive. Pretty soon, other people who have been involved in her disappearance turn up, dead. In come Owen Archer and his wife, the apothecary Lucie Wilton, to solve the mystery. Is Joanna Calverley really what she says she is? Or is she simply mad? In any case, she's a frustrating study in contrasts: virgin or Mary Magdalene? Victim in the case or perpetrator? The story itself is slightly more grim than those in her other books; not just murder is at stake here, but something more sinister. There's very little suspense to the mystery, but Candace Robb excels at portraying the relationships between her characters, developing them more and more with each book in the series. I liked how the author developed the tenuous relationship between Lucie and her father, Sir Robert, too. Jasper Melton, who features in the previous entry of the series, The Lady Chapel (An Owen Archer Mystery), appears here, but his presence in this book is merely incidental; I would have liked to have seen more of him. Historical figures such as John of Gaunt and Geoffrey Chaucer even make brief cameos in The Nun's Tale. The historical detail of the book is quite good, and another one of Robb's strengths is tying the mystery--at first, it seems as though it's simply a domestic affair--to larger events. It's an enjoyable addition to the Owen Archer series, and I look forward to reading the next.

Though The Nun's Tale is one of the darker stories in the series, I enjoyed the book very much. It dealt a little more with the ramifications of warfare and how it was conducted during the 14th Century but there were enough twists and turns of plot to keep the mystery going as well. As in some of her other works, Robb again brings the ending of this one to a realistic conclusion. Above all, it gives monastic life at this time very realistic look.Again the notes to the back of the book are a great help with the history of the period. In each novel the author introduces some of the background material: religious and political personalities of the time, historic events, pertinent social information, etc. One of the more unique facts I discovered were that soldiers who were taken to the European mainland during wartime were not always returned to their starting point. They were merely abandoned when the nobility returned home unless they could pay their own way back. This left freebooters to run rampant in the countryside of the invaded country and contributed to the hardships suffered even after the war. The book is a good source of learning about this period in history, and might make a good starting point for students who find history a "dull" subject. The is thoroughly readable and comprehendible to anyone from junior high to adults. It might, however, be a little more mature than some parents may prefer for their junior high students. The test would be to read it oneself.

I have enjoyed all of her books. If you like historical fiction that is light reading but entertaining this is the book you want.

In fact, I liked The Nun's Tale more than Robb's first two Owen Archer mysteries. (Actually, I sat down and re-read the first two books in the series before I read the third one because it had been such a long time since I had read them that I didn't really remember the stories. I found that I liked the first two books more this time than I did the first time I read them.) The Nun's Tale did such a good job of holding my interest, that I could hardly put it down. The history was interesting, and the characters were believable and very strong. The only part that I wondered about was why the characters who were suppose to be so good at unraveling mysteries - and seemed to be pretty discerning people - didn't catch onto the brother/sister thing that was going on much sooner than they did. This was something I picked up on fairly early in the story. And I also have to say that I didn't really find Dame Joanna to be a very likeable character - and, in many ways, she wasn't suppose to be very likeable.

In the spring of 1366, Dame Joanna Calverley appears in Beverley England after an absence of several months -- and after having been reported dead and buried. Though Dame Joanna claims to have been resurrected in order to return a relic she had stolen from St. Clement's nunnery, no one knows the truth of her story. Did she ever really die? And why did she run away from St. Clement's in the first place? Soldier-sleuth Owen Archer is sent to unravel the mystery, and he and his wife, Lucie, are dragged into the case until they are in danger of losing their lives. Candace Robb's mystery is a well-written story and an easy read. Characters, setting, and plot are all well-developed, drawing the reader into Owen and Lucie's adventures.