Review – Alys CLARE – “Fortune like the Moon”

Year Published: - 1999
Where the book was from:- My own copy
ISBN: - 9780340739310
Pages: - 242pp
Genre: - Historical crime
Location:- Kent, 1189
How I came across it: - charity shop
Rating: - ***** ****
One sentence summary:-
When a young nun is found murdered, the new king of England - King Richard - employs an old playmate, Josse d'Acquin, to find the killer.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:-
Josse meets the unusual abbess of Hawkenlye Abbey from which the murdered nun had strayed. Together he and Abbess Helewise set out to solve the mystery and the subsequent events that occur. . This is the first title in a series of medieval mysteries, set around the Great Forest in the Weald of Kent.

General comments:-
I’ve read a couple in this series to it was great to read the one in which Josse and Helewise meet.

AUTHOR Notes:- Alys Clare

Review – Alys CLARE – “Ashes of the Elements”

Publ: 2000
My own copy
ISBN: 0312261241
Genre: Cosy historical Crime
Pages: 244p
I’ve read and enjoyed Hawkenlye mysteries before
Rating: ***** **

What led you to pick up this book?
I’ve read and enjoyed Hawkenlye mysteries before

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
In this second Hawkenlye mystery, a grove of huge oak trees in the Wealden forest is felled. Then the man who wielded the axe meets with a violent end. Abbess Helewise teams up with Josse d'Acquin to discover what really lies inside the darkness of the ancient forest.

What did you think of the characters and style?
Cosy historical crime set in the twelfth century during the reign of Richard the Lionheart.

This is a list of the Hawkenlye mysteries. I have read the two with asterisks and at least another one but I'm not sure which.
1. Fortune Like the Moon (1999)
2. Ashes of the Elements (2000) *
3. The Tavern in the Morning (2000)
4. The Chatter of the Maidens (2001)
5. The Faithful Dead (2002)
6. A Dark Night Hidden (2003)
7. Whiter Than the Lily (2004)
8. Girl in a Red Tunic (2005)
9. Heart of Ice (2006)
10. The Enchanter's Forest (2007)
11. The Paths of the Air (2008)
12. Joys of My Life (2008) *

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Nothing special though as a series they look quite good together.

Would I recommend it?
yes.

Alys Clare – see Joys of my Life

Review - Alys CLARE – “The Joys of My Life”

Publ: 2008
Pensby Library
ISBN: 978-0-7278-6695-0
Genre: Historical mystery
Pages: 216p
Found by Serendipity
Rating: ***** **


What led you to pick up this book?
This is the twelfth mystery in the Hawkenlye series and I have read a couple of the previous ones and enjoyed them.

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
It is May 1199 and Abbess Helewise has been summoned to France by Queen Eleanor to discuss the building of a chapel at Hawkenlye Abbey. Meanwhile, her close friend Sir Josse dAcquin is on the trail of a group of mysterious knights rumoured to be devil worshippers. As Helewise heads for home, Josse follows his quarry to Chartres, where he meets the last person he expects: his former lover, Joanna. And she has grave problems of her own . . .

What did you think of the characters and style?
The Hawkenlye novels are cosy historical mystery that require little effort and are useful books for when your mind wants a rest from the more serious things in life. Having said that they are well-written and capture the atmosphere of the twelfth century quite well without putting one’s knowledge or vocabulary to the test.

What did you like most about the book?
It was simply an easy read.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
No.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Better than some of the previous Hawkenlye ones. More atmospheric.

Would I recommend it?
Only to those who like a cosy historical mystery.

ALYS CLARE is the pseudonym of novelist Elizabeth Harris (born 1944) with some 20 published works to her name. Brought up in the countryside close to where the Hawkenlye Novels are set, she went to school in Tonbridge and later studied archaeology at the University of Kent. She lives for part of the year in Brittany, in a remote cottage deep in an ancient landscape where many past inhabitants have left their mark; on her doorstep are relics that date from the stone circles and dolmens of the Neolithic to the commanderies, chapels and ancient tracks of those infamous warrior monks, the Knights Templar. In England, Alys's study overlooks a stretch of parkland which includes a valley with a little spring. The waters of this spring are similar in colour and taste to Tunbridge Wells's famous Chalybeat Spring, and it was this that prompted Alys's setting of her fictional Hawkenlye Abbey in the very spot where her own house now stands.