Book Review: Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates
If you’re looking for the perfect spooky read for the fall season, look no further than Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates. The story follows the heroine, Margot, who was abandoned by her parents at a young age and is now back at her childhood home for her parents funeral. Margot is left the house in…
Book Review: Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May
Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May takes you back to the years after WWI in a novel that is reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby but with magic intertwined. Wild and Wicked Things is filled with the glittering parties of the roaring twenties and the danger of not only new love but…
The Execution of Ælfheah of Canterbury
Ælfheah was born in 954 in either Gloucestershire or Somerset, England. It is thought that Ælfheah was born into Anglo-Saxon nobility. Early in his life Ælfheah entered the Benedictine Monastery of Deerhurst in Gloucestershire as a monk, but shortly thereafter he transferred to Bath Abbey where he became an anchorite. As an anchorite, Ælfheah would…
Book Review: THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL by Hester Fox
The Witch of Willow Hall is a wonderful debut by Hester Fox from 2018. The Witch of Willow Hall follows the Montrose family who has been discarded from Boston due to scandal and have moved to a newly built country house. The family attempt to find normalcy in their newfound setting, but Lydia, the middle…
Book Review: The House Between Tides by Sarah Maine
Sarah Maine’s debut novel The House Between Tides (2014) is a beautiful examination of relationships, grief, and the impact of emotions on those around us. Set on an isolated island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, The House Between Tides is dual point of view novel, from the point of view of Hetty, a woman…
Book Review: The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett
The prequel to Ken Follett’s award winning Knightsbridge Trilogy The Evening and the Morning begins at the end of the 10th century in England, with excursions to the Norman coast. While written thirty years after the first novel in the trilogy, Pillars of the Earth, and set almost 150 years prior, The Evening and the…
The Mystery of the Princes in the Tower
Edward IV became the King of England on March 4th, 1461 and was a member of the House of York. In 1464, he married Elizabeth Widville in a secret ceremony. Six years later, in November of 1470, Edward V was born as heir to the English throne. At the time that Edward was born, his…
Book Review: A Shameful Murder by Cora Harrison
A Shameful Murder was written by Cora Harrison and published by Seven House Publishers in 2015. The first in the Reverend Mother Mystery series, A Shameful Murder takes place in Cork, Ireland in the 1920s. The novel opens with the Reverend Mother finding the body of young girl who has washed into the street by…
Book Review: The Dark Lantern by Gerri Brightwell
The Dark Lantern was written by Gerri Brightwell and published by Crown Publishing in 2009. The Dark Lantern was Brightwell’s first novel and she has now written several short stories and one other novel. I found this book at an antique store and it’s premise immediately drew me in. While usually novels featuring murder and…
Book Review: The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
The Maidens was released in June 2021 as Alex Michaelides second novel after his New York Times bestselling novel The Silent Patient. I initially picked this book up in airport and the description pulled me in. It seemed to have everything I was looking for: dark academia, murder, intrigue, the lot. The Maidens begins with…
Medieval Serial Killer or Werewolf?
In the present day, in general, society looks back at the Middle Ages and sees things like a belief in witchcraft, werewolves, and even sea monsters as confusing and even childish. How could they have truly believed in any of this? That is what this blog post will be discussing; the truth behind the legends. …
Book Review: Madam by Phoebe Wynne
Madam was released in February 2021 as Phoebe Wynne’s first novel. I picked up this book because it seemed like it had everything I loved: the Scottish highlands, a female protagonist, “dark academia,” and an intriguing mystery. And I was right, it truly did have everything I loved (*SPOILER* Except murder, but you know, you…
Gilles de Rais: A Medieval Serial Killer
The late medieval period saw the death of thousands of people through plague, famine, and war; and while this period also saw an expansion in trade and commerce, and philosophy, science and the arts, I would like to focus on a byproduct of these tragedies: Gilles de Rais. Gilles de Rais was born sometime in…
Medieval Murdered Saints: Godelieve of Gisel and Guinefort
During the medieval period, sainthood and sanctity became an important component of religious worship, especially within the Catholic Church. In the early medieval period, saints were venerated by local churches through spontaneous acts or popular acclaim justified by miracles performed by the saints. Beginning in the late tenth century, the veneration of saints and the…
Book Review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet came out in 2020 and quickly became an award winning novel by Maggie O’Farrell; and it’s easy to understand why. Hamnet was named the Best Book of 2020 by the Guardian, the Financial Times, Literary Hub, and NPR. Without giving any spoilers, Hamnet follows the life of the children and wife of William Shakespeare…
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Medieval Murder 