Caffeinated Reviewer

Sophia Rose is here today with not one, but three historical mysteries. She picked up Sins of the Blood by Margaret Frazer at her local library and it contains three stories in the Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries series. Grab an iced coffee and check out her thoughts…

Three short stories and a tour of St. Frideswide.

Contains: The Witch's Tale
The Midwife's Tale
The Stone-Worker's Tale
Guided Tour of St. Frideswide

THE WITCH’S TALE

Witchcraft has come to the peaceful village near St. Frideswide, and its foul touch is striking down those closest to the church. Can Dame Frevisse thwart the servants of the devil before the hellfire of hysteria sears the souls of the faithful? Or is there more to this magic than meets the eye?

THE MIDWIFE’S TALE

“Sisters! Come back! Please don’t leave us yet!”

Cisily Fisher has died in childbirth and now the village of Priors Byfield is held in a grip of fear. Can Dame Frevisse find the root of misery behind a murderer’s sin before the next lethal blow falls? Or will the village be lost in a hue and cry of terror? The gentling touch of the midwife may calm the tortured soul… or give birth to a bitter death.

THE STONE-WORKER’S TALE

When Frevisse is given bishop-pardoned leave to visit her cousin Alice at Ewelme, she is enchanted by the work of the sculptor Simon Maye. But Simon is enchanted by the beauty of Elyn, one of Alice’s ladies in waiting. Clandestine meetings have given way to sinful lust, and now the two lovers have disappeared. The servants whisper that the lovers have eloped, and secretly pine for the passion to do the same. Lady Alice believes her sculptor has been stolen away by jealous rivals and rages at the injustice. But Frevisse alone suspects there may be some darker truth behind the midnight vanishing…

A GUIDED TOUR OF ST. FRIDESWIDE

And so we turn to St. Frideswide’s in rural northern Oxfordshire. Imaginary, yes, but fully realized as an ordinary place much like many others common across England in both rural and urban settings by the 1400s. A wealthy widow founded it in the 1300s, saw to its beginning, and endowed it with lands and other income to sustain it – alas, not so fully as she intended to do before she died…

Sophia Rose’s Review

After re-discovering the Dame Frevisse series on audio through my local library, I noticed there were titles that I didn’t recall getting me excited there was more installments in the series than I thought.  Turns out those additional titles were short stories and they were also neatly bundled all together as Sins of the Blood.  I love the mid-fifteenth century come to life in rural Oxfordshire and the colorful characters led by the clever and observant religieuse, Dame Frevisse working out twisty mysteries penned by Margaret Frazer, so there was no doubt I was going to check it out.

So, the Dame Frevisse series had seventeen novels with titles all stylized from Thomas Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.  Fictionally, of course, but ironically, the main character of the series, Frevisse, is the grand-niece of the famous Chaucer.  She had an unusual childhood for the period in that she was well-traveled and well-learned thanks to her odd, liberal-minded parents, but in her adulthood, Frevisse has contented herself taking vows and joining a small priory located in northern Oxfordshire. 

One would think such a choice would be slow and uneventful in comparison to her adventuring childhood days, but Frevisse is something of a murder magnet and ends up with several deaths to investigate.  Sins of the Blood is a collection of three short mysteries taking place throughout the time frame of the novels and also culminates in a lovely fan favoring extra giving the background of Frevisse’s priory, the description of priory and village, and talking of the series now that it’s over.  Naturally, this is not the best place to start to appreciate the series and I recommend newcomers go right to the beginning with The Novice’s Tale.

In the Witch’s Tale, Dame Frevisse and Dame Claire must help the village herbalist from not just the accusation of murdering her abusive husband, but bringing about his death by witchcraft.  In The Midwife’s Tale, Frevisse, Claire, and the village midwife happen upon a dying man after a sad lying in and his death is more than it seems.  In the Stone-Worker’s Tale which is later in the series when Frevisse is the Domina (Mother Superior) of the Priory and she is on her annual family visit with Lady Alice and there is consternation when Alice’s gifted stone mason who is carving her tomb turns up missing as does one of her waiting women.

All three deliver engaging mysteries, but also, in an economy of words, bring to life rural medieval England and life in a small nunnery.  I can’t get over the mastery in characterization, plot, and historical setting all in one.  The Guided Tour of St. Frideswyde’s was the frosting on a delectable cake and I heartily recommend this collection to other series fans and recommend the series to historical mystery lovers.

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About Margaret Frazer

Margaret Frazer is the award-winning author of more than twenty historical murder mysteries and novels. She makes her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, surrounded by her books, but she lives her life in the 1400s. In writing her Edgar-nominated Sister Frevisse (The Novice's Tale) and Player Joliffe (A Play of Isaac) novels she delves far inside medieval perceptions, seeking to look at medieval England more from its point of view than ours. "Because the pleasure of going thoroughly into otherwhen as well as otherwhere is one of the great pleasures in reading." She has twice been a finalist for the Edgar(R) in the paperback original category.

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About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

Goodreads

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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