The Servant's Tale (Sister Frevisse Medieval Mystery Series #2)

by Margaret Frazer

Overview

Sister Frevisse is sinfully good at discerning the mysteries of the soul—and solving the crimes of the human heart in this charming series.

It's Christmastime, and the sisters of St. Frideswide cannot turn away travellers, even the players knocking at the nunnery door. But along with the motley troupe comes the grievously wounded husband of the cloister's scullery maid, Meg. They swear they found the drunken wastrel in a ditch, but the tale sounds like another song and dance. Especially when two dead bodies are waiting in the wings...

Now Sister Frevisse must find out if one of the actors is a murderer in masquerade—or face a very unmerry Yuletide season.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101651483
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/01/1993
Series:	Sister Frevisse Series , #2
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	237,999
File size:	426 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Margaret Frazer is the author of the Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries, including The Servant's Tale and The Prioress' Tale, which were both finalists for the Edgar Award for Best Original Paperback. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Editorial Reviews

Frazer's ( The Novice's Tale ) second Sister Frevisse mystery returns to St. Frideswide's, the 15th-century English nunnery, where the priory's hosteler and amateur sleuth has three murders on her hands between Christmas and Epiphany. First is villager Barnaby Shene, brought to St. Frideswide's by a troupe of traveling players claiming to have found him in a ditch. Barnaby's son Sym accuses the players of robbing his father in ambush, and when Sym turns up dead, the players are further suspect. Finally, the murder of Sister Fiacre, fast upon the revelation of a bitter old quarrel between her brother and the players, throws Sister Frevisse into despair. She likes the players and yearns to dispel the suspicion that surrounds them. On the other hand, their defense is weak, and no other likely suspects exist. Can Frevisse solve the triple mystery and exonerate the players before the coroner has them hanged? And what will become of Barnaby's long-suffering widow, Meg, and her remaining boy, 13-year-old Hewe? Their plight forms a compelling subplot, while accurate period detail, adroit characterization and lively dialogue add to the pleasure of this labyrinthine tale. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"Period detail, adroit characterizations, and lively dialogue add to the pleasure of this labyrinthine tale."—Publishers Weekly

"This mystery is so rich with place and time that they become characters in the story. Dame Frevisse is a stalwart, appealing sleuth and the cold, dark priory and the squalor of Medieval England are fascinating backdrops."—New Orleans Times-Picayune

"The writing is seamless...The atmosphere of the book is cold and blustery, danger afield. A well-steeped sense of history prevails...They make this novel more than a mystery, but a wonderful historical dark tapestry. We are transported back to the 14th century. One of the 10 best mystery novels of 1993."—Minneapolis Star Tribune

From the Publisher