The Bone Fire by S.D. Sykes

First Line: December 1361. To the finder of this letter, If you are reading this, then I am dead.

When the Black Death resurfaces in England in 1361, Oswald de Lacy knows that the best thing to do is to find a safe place for him and his family to hide. The chosen place is the island fortress of Eden, home to de Lacy's eccentric friend, Godfrey, who invited them to come and wait out the plague during the long winter to come.

Once De Lacy, his wife,  young son, and mother arrive at the castle, the portcullis is lowered. No one is to enter or leave until the spring. But the de Lacys scarcely have time to settle in when a murder occurs and proves that the castle is not the place of security everyone had thought.

The inhabitants of Eden Castle aren't safe within its walls, but they cannot leave because the plague is decimating the countryside. The only thing Oswald can do is to attempt to solve the murder before the killer strikes again.

Sinister Eden Castle is the worst place to wait out the plague, and that choice of "safe haven" makes S.D. Sykes's The Bone Fire her best Somershill Manor mystery yet. Plague outside the walls, a killer on the loose within. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for locked room mysteries, and The Bone Fire delivers a multi-layered mystery that's fun to solve.

I've been a fan of this series from the first book, Plague Land, and it was interesting for me to witness how characters who had survived the first plague in 1348 behaved when it returned in 1361. Interesting facts about the era in which the book is set are seamlessly woven into the story. Oswald's friend Godfrey has prepared for a long siege, having his chosen guests bring in food and other necessities, while he carries out his own plans: the few servants in the castle are all female because females eat less, food storage is given top priority, and even entertainment is taken care of by hiring a fool.

The mystery is intricate, and you'll be surprised at just how much scuttling and hiding a few characters can do in a relatively small castle. Buttonholing each character and trying to find out his true agenda is quite a job, and as Oswald tries to do just this, he realizes his true task: "I was not a hero or a pariah. I was a nemesis." I would imagine I'm not the only person who immediately thinks of Miss Marple whenever I see the word nemesis, and Oswald definitely needs all of that woman's skills of deduction.

The setting is excellent, and so is the mystery, but the characters truly drive the story. Oswald has matured so much from the first book in the series. He's doing much less investigative stumbling around in The Bone Fire. His marriage is an interesting one, too. I still can't stand Oswald's mother, but the purpose of the supremely frustrating woman makes much more sense now. (Shame on me, but I'm still hoping that the next round of plague does her in.) The secondary cast of characters reads like something out of Chaucer: a lord and his lady, a knight, a religious extremist, a court jester, a drunk, a couple of traveling craftsmen-- and they all have an important place in this story.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, I urge you to read this series. Although best read in order, you can read The Bone Fire as a standalone. (But I hope you don't.)

The Bone Fire by S.D. Sykes

eISBN: 9781643132976
Pegasus Books © 2019
eBook, 320 pages

Historical Mystery, #4 Somershill Manor mystery
Rating: A
Source: Net Galley


 

City of Masks by S.D. Sykes

First Line: It was the carnival of Giovedì Grasso, the last Thursday before the Lent of 1358, and I had spent the afternoon in the Piazza San Marco, watching the many spectacles of the day.

It's 1358. Venice's war with Hungary means that Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, and his mother are delayed in the city waiting for a ship to the Holy Land. Staying with an English merchant, Oswald immerses himself as much as possible with the delights of Venice, but no matter how he tries the thing he's running from--some mysterious something that happened in England-- refuses to stop following him.

When he finds a dead man on the street, he is dragged into a murder investigation that draws him deep into the intrigues and paranoia of this mysterious city. Everyone is watching or following someone else. No one in Venice is who they appear to be, and Oswald's investigation could very easily be the end of him, too. There are plenty of dungeons in Venice, you see...

I really enjoy S. D. Sykes' historical series. Oswald is a younger son who was destined for a life in the monastery, but when the Black Death killed his father and older brothers, he found himself Lord of Somershill Manor. Life in a religious order doesn't necessarily condition a person for running an estate, so Oswald has been on a learning curve that's interesting to watch. In City of Masks, ten years have passed, and while Oswald tries to conduct an investigation, readers slowly learn what happened in England to chase him away from his home.

Oswald is an interesting blend of intelligence and naivete. Growing up in the monastery has made him wise in several things ordinary people don't know, yet woefully ignorant in things those same ordinary people take for granted. His mother is a woman of her times who also manages to be thoroughly obnoxious with very little effort, but Sykes gives her some backstory so she's not just a two-dimensional stereotype.

The mystery in City of Masks kept me guessing, but as much as I enjoyed the story and the characters, it was Venice that was the shining star for me. Sykes brought this dazzling city to life in all its glory and filth-- and traveling to those outlying islands wasn't a picnic either. As I read, I felt as though I were in Venice with Oswald in 1358, and that's the best sort of armchair travel a reader can ask for.

If you enjoy historical mysteries with a vivid sense of place, strong stories, and interesting characters, I recommend S.D. Syke's Somershill Manor mysteries. To understand Oswald as much as possible, it would be a good idea to start at the beginning with Plague Land and The Butcher Bird but you could read City of Masks without feeling lost at all. It's up to you!

City of Masks by S.D. Sykes

ISBN: 9781681773421

Pegasus Books © 2017

Hardcover, 368 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Somershill Manor mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.


 

The Butcher Bird by S.D. Sykes

First Line: It was the tail end of the morning when the charges were laid before me and I would tell you I was tempted to laugh at first, for the story was nonsense.

Young Oswald de Lacy has barely begun to recover from the events in Plague Land, and he certainly hasn't had time to feel more comfortable in his new role as Lord of Somershill Manor when babies begin to disappear and the legend of the Butcher Bird surfaces.

A newborn baby is found impaled on a thorn bush, and villagers report sightings of a huge creature in the sky. A grief-stricken man who lost his family to the plague is held accountable for calling the creature down upon the village, and Oswald has his hands full trying to keep the man alive while he investigates. It should come as no surprise that he gets absolutely no help from any of his men or his scheming sister (who's too busy neglecting her stepdaughters and fawning over her own newborn) or his mother, who seems intent upon poisoning everyone at Somershill with the foul concoctions dreamed up by her personal physician.

Few writers can put you right in the middle of medieval England in all its stench and glory like S.D. Sykes. The Butcher Bird is the perfect follow-up to Plague Land, although Sykes provides enough backstory that newcomers don't really need to read the first book. (If you're a fan of the period, read it anyway!)

Dare I say it, but the death of a baby seems a welcome distraction to Oswald de Lacy. Barely nineteen, he was never meant to be lord of the manor. Instead he was sent to a monastery at the age of seven to lead the religious life until his father and two brothers died of the plague. Now Oswald finds himself thrust into a job he has no training or aptitude for-- and at a time when the whole world is changing. Although the work load remains the same, there are so few peasants left to do it that they are realizing that they can demand higher wages. Naturally the nobility passes a law to prevent that, and Oswald finds himself caught in the middle. He wants to pay his people more money, but he's afraid of the spies who are roaming the countryside to check up on everyone.

As Oswald begins to investigate the baby's death, he sees that-- once again-- fear + ignorance = hatred. Not only do his villagers not want to work for him, they have no intentions of being swayed from their belief in the Butcher Bird. As he struggles to find clues, we are taken on an up-close-and-personal tour of village life immediately following the ravages of the plague. It is fascinating, revolting, funny, and heartbreaking-- and Sykes makes us see and feel it all.

I would imagine that some readers will find Oswald too weak to be the main character. I don't. It's his weakness that makes him perfect for the role. So what if he's not been trained for his role in life? So what if he doesn't seem to have any real aptitude for it? He is an intelligent young man who genuinely wants to do good, and he's taken over Somershill Manor at the precise time that the old world is changing. He's also a teenage boy filled with raging hormones and a fascination with himself. At the end of The Butcher Bird, one of the villagers looks Oswald right in the eye and says, "There is a butcher bird in Somershill." What I cannot wait to see is how Oswald assimilates that statement, and yes, that means I'm eagerly awaiting book number three.

In this second book I found the mystery rather easily solved, especially if one uses the deductive powers of one's heart over one's mind. However, this is such a wonderful evocation of time and place that I can easily overlook something like that. (I do wish I could overlook de Lacy's mother and sister as easily, although I know that they represent the whining, complaining Chorus of Things Past.) Oswald has reached a turning point at the end of this book, and I want to see what he does next.

It's going to be a long, long wait for book number three....
   

The Butcher Bird by S.D. Sykes

ISBN: 9781444785814

Hodder and Stoughton © 2015

Hardcover, 350 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Oswald de Lacey mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.  


 

Plague Land by S.D. Sykes

First Line: If I preserve but one memory at my own death, it shall be the burning of the dog-headed beast.

At the age of seven, Oswald de Lacy was sent to a monastery, his life given to the Church. But at the age of seventeen, his father and brothers dead from the Plague, Oswald finds himself Lord of Somerhill Manor. In a world turned on its head by contagion and death, it is a life that he's ill prepared for.

He's barely had time to reacquaint himself with his mother and sister when news comes of the death of Alison Starvecrow. The village priest insists that the young woman was killed by a gang of dog-headed demon men. Oswald knows this is utter nonsense, but proving it turns out to be much more difficult than he ever imagines.

In Plague Land, S.D. Sykes does an excellent job in showing how the Plague has turned everything on its head-- from political alliances to the attitudes of the poor toward their "masters." The Plague may have burned itself out, but everyone is still reeling in the aftermath. Entire families and villages wiped out. Land lying fallow because there's no one left to farm it.

In this time of catastrophic change Sykes places a remarkable cast. Young Oswald has the advantage of his higher learning in the monastery, but his cloistered life also puts him at a disadvantage. He's ill-equipped to get reluctant, superstitious villagers to work the land. He knows extremely little of current alliances with the local gentry. He has a village priest who has his eye on more earthly prizes, and his mother and sister are worse than a thick cloud of midges. If not for the help of Brother Peter, chances are that Oswald would run screaming back to the monastery to beg for sanctuary.

Oswald's investigation stumbles and bumbles, much as his management style at Somerhill Manor. But as he awkwardly goes about his business, readers see the rich tapestry of life and relationships in southern England after the scythe of the Plague has swept through. Food, customs, and the usual panoply of human emotions parade right before our eyes. Sykes had me living in the world she created.

If you like historical mysteries that you can sink into and experience, Plague Land is for you. And if you like books with absorbing mysteries and jaw-dropping endings, then Plague Land is most definitely for you. I look forward to S.D. Sykes' next book.
 

Plague Land by S.D. Sykes

ISBN: 9781444785777

Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. © 2014

Hardcover, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Oswald de Lacy mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.