A Spy for the Redeemer (Owen Archer Series #7)

by Candace Robb

Overview

“Fascinating…crisp, evocative writing…. The tapestry here is rich and varied.”—CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

Late spring in the year of our Lord 1370, and Owen Archer is anxious to leave Wales for home. His mission for the Duke of Lancaster complete, he attempts to arrange safe passage on a ship sailing for England, but the hanging of a stonemason interrupts his plans. On the surface it appears the young man was driven to suicide by a broken heart, but to Owen the signs all point to murder. As his investigation stretches on, however, Owen finds himself drawn into the influence of the leader of a Welsh rebellion whose manifesto speaks to his heart, and a choice is offered to him: join or die.

Meanwhile, at home in York, Owen’s wife Lucie is troubled by rumors that her husband’s long absence is permanent, as well as threats by a customer who claims she was poisoned by a physic from the Wilton apothecary. Meanwhile, Lucie is tempted by the attentions of a friend’s steward, even as she uncovers a shattering betrayal in her own household.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682301074
Publisher:	Diversion Books
Publication date:	07/28/2015
Series:	Owen Archer Series , #7
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	306
Sales rank:	378,264
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
It's easy to see why tales of the Welsh spy Owen Archer and his apothecary wife, Lucie Wilton, are popular favorites with lovers of medieval murder mysteries. Their creator, Candace Robb, is a member of the Medieval Academy of America and a truly fine storyteller as well. She brings late-14th-century England and Wales to life as she follows the adventures of the quiet but wickedly intelligent Owen, whose loyalty is at times divided between his sworn allegiance to the English Crown and his devotion to his Welsh homeland. A Spy for the Redeemer begins in Wales, where Owen has just completed his latest commission for the Duke of Lancaster but has been forced to delay his return to home and family, first by the passing of his father-in-law and then by his investigation into the mysterious death of the stonemason commissioned to carve the late knight's tomb. His plans are further complicated by rising political unrest in the area and by a persuasive Welsh war leader known as the Redeemer, whose strategy includes winning Owen over to the rebel cause. Meanwhile, as Owen deals with death and rebellion in Wales, Lucie must deal with danger closer to home…where someone close to her is planning a devastating betrayal.Sue Stone

The seventh Archer mystery from medieval scholar Robb (The Nun's Tale, etc.) presents an absorbing picture of 14th-century Britain, which is rife with intrigue, rebellion and murder. As Welshmen chafe under English rule, ex-soldier Owen Archer (who won his surname from his skill with a bow) is caught between family obligations in York and his mandate to find whoever hanged Cynog, an eminent but also enigmatic stonemason, who had been working on the tomb of Mistress Archer's late father. Having lost an eye in battle, Owen is reduced to conducting religious tours and investigations for clerics and other local powerbrokers. The scenes change quickly and often between St. David's shrine in Wales and Archer's home in north England, where his impatient wife, Lucie, an apothecary, and their restless son await his return. Wife and son both question Owen's loyalty to England when he's linked to the cause of Wales's legendary redeemer, Owain Lawgoch. Rumor has it that Owain has come from France to free his homeland. Strong faith and fear of God permeate all aspects of people's lives in this dour tale of misery and deprivation. Medievalists will enjoy such raw descriptions as that of the hero's visit to the high sheriff's castle, replete with floggings, acrid smells and streams polluted by offal and waste, but others less familiar with Welsh history and place names may find themselves lost in the maze. Maps, an author's note on the historical background and a glossary provide both interest and guidance. (Apr. 25) FYI: Last year Robb launched a new medieval series with A Trust Betrayed: First Chapter of Margaret Kerr of Perth. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

In far-off Wales, Owen Archer struggles to discover who murdered a stonemason he had hired while entertaining notions of staying in his native land. Back in England, his wife, Lucie Wilton, contends with mysterious violence at her family's manor and a steward who is both more and less than he seems. There are several interesting mysteries in the seventh tale in this pleasing medieval series, but the best part is the inner struggle of the main characters and the way they eventually reconnect. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Robb should have subtitled her seventh medieval puzzler "An Owen Archer and Lucie Wilton Mystery," as husband and wife face an equal number of trials and tribulations. Owen is back in his native Wales when the father-in-law who'd been accompanying him dies after receiving a vision at the shrine of St. Non's Well. Arranging for Sir Robert's tomb delays Owen's return to England. Then Cynog, the mason sculpting Sir Robert's portrait, apparently hangs himself, prolonging the delay. When the Archdeacon of St. David's demands that Owen investigate Cynog's death, the delay looks as if it may last forever. As Owen, far from the settled life he leads in England, sorts out power struggles among the English, Welsh, and French, he is drawn to the rebel cause. While her husband flirts with conspirators, Lucie faces temptations no less complex. Her widowed neighbor, Roger Moreton, gives her support when an apothecary customer accuses Lucie of poisoning her. Moreton also lends his mysterious new steward, Harold Galfrey, to Lucie when she must go to her father's estate and help her ailing aunt cope with Sir Robert's death and an armed robbery. Among Lucie's other challenges are a senile aunt plagued by a lost document, her servant's love for her aunt's wounded steward, and her son's adolescence. When Owen finally returns, the couple reunites amid confusion and violence. Even Homer spared Penelope from forever unraveling knots. Now that Owen is home, pray that Robb (A Gift of Sanctuary, 1998, etc.) will find less distracting and complicated plots for her heroic pair.

Kirkus Reviews