The Goldsmith's Daughter

October 8, 2001
Amateur sleuth Roger the Chapman has very little to go on as once again Richard, Duke of Gloucester, calls on him to exercise his investigative skills in this 10th solid medieval mystery from British author Sedley (The Wicked Winter, etc.). Just after Christmas, 1477, Roger and his wife, Adela, journey from Bristol to London to see the festivities of the child marriage of King Edward IV's four-year-old son to the six-year-old Lady Anne Mowbray—and for Roger to attend the trial of George, the Duke of Clarence, Edward and Richard's brother, who faces possible execution. Richard is hopeful that Roger can prove the innocence of Isolda Bonifant, a goldsmith's daughter—and kinswoman of Jane Shore, Edward's favorite mistress—who stands accused of poisoning her husband, so that Jane might return the favor and exert her influence on the king in George's behalf. In the process of carefully examining Isolda and all those who were in the house the night her husband was murdered, Roger unearths some dark family secrets. That the reader may be able to deduce what actually happened on the murder night before Roger does in no way detracts from Sedley's accurate and captivating recreation of the medieval world. Detailed descriptions of London streets, houses, food and goldsmithing techniques combine with convincing characters in a lively story sure to please existing fans and attract new ones. (Dec.)FYI:Another title in this series,
The Weaver's Inheritance, was reviewed in Forecasts, Aug. 20.

November 1, 2001
If Roger the Chapman, 15th-century peddler and series sleuth, can clear a London goldsmith's daughter of murdering her husband, he may also be able to save the life of the Duke of Gloucester's brother. Complicated but smoothly honed plotting by Sedley (The Weaver's Inheritance); for all collections.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2001
Once again, Roger Chapman, an itinerant peddler with amazingly keen powers of perception, is commissioned by Richard, duke of Gloucester, to investigate a homicide with far-reaching implications for members of the royal family. Hoping to dissuade King Edward from prosecuting the duke of Clarence for treason, Richard realizes he must enlist the assistance of Jane Shore, the king's popular mistress. In order to curry favor with Jane, he calls upon Roger to prove Jane's unfortunate cousin innocent of poisoning her husband. As Roger untangles a web of murder and deceit, all the evidence seems to point to a most unlikely suspect. Puzzled by the fact that the real murderer does not seek to deter or permanently silence him, he solves this most unusual mystery by letting the dead man speak for himself. Another first-rate medieval whodunit steeped in all the requisite intrigue characteristic of the fractious House of York.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)