The Cross-Legged Knight

Rating:
Summary: Well Researched, Well Written
Review: As I only live 20 miles from York where most of these books are set, I can perhaps visualise better than most the area of England the books take place in. Many of the streets of York mentioned in the books are still there and of the course so is the Minster.
Owen Archer the lead character in the book is a Welsh longbow man who works for a high church dignitary and spends some of his spare time helping in his wife's apothecary shop. He is called upon by William of Wykeham, the Bishop of Winchester, to help him with a serious problem. I myself am interested in this period of English history and the author's authenticity cannot be questioned and her excellent story telling is spellbinding. I cannot recommend her books too highly.

Rating:
Summary: Good Owen Archer, not as good as previous novels
Review: I love the Owen Archer series. However, I was a bit disappointed in the latest book after having read and loved the last one in which he travels to Wales.
The Cross-Legged Knight was very dark and depressing. Owen is unhappy and unfulfilled, Thoresby is old and depressed, Lucie is sad and depressed. Jasper's character was utterly unused as were Bess & Tom Merchet & Brother Michaelo (OK he spied a little).
I usually finish one of Robb's Owen Archer novels on a thrilling high, smacking the book shut with utter satisfaction. This time it was not to be. I can't help wonder if the author was distracted away from Owen's tales by her new baby, the scottish medieval series.

What I disliked most about this one aside from the dark and depressed atmosphere was the dangling unresolved question of how did the murderer and victim know each other. I felt betrayed by the author, who's never left me the reader like that before.

Rating:
Summary: fascinating historical mystery
Review: In England in 1371, the Bishop of Winchester, William of Wykeham, wants to regain his position of lord chancellor of the realm if he can avoid the plots against him led by John of Gault, Duke of Lancaster. William and his entourage travel to the palace of the Archbishop hoping to make peace with the Pagnell family who blame him for their father's death in a French prison. The family believes the Bishop stole some of the ransom money, which led to the French king's refusal to release his prisoner.

While the bishop looks at a church that is being rebuilt, a piece of the roof falls off and nearly kills him. He believes it is a Lancastrian plot to murder him and becomes further convinced when his York property burns to the ground, killing a herbalist and severely wounding a tenant's servants. The Archbishop charges his steward and captain of his guard to find out who is responsible for these events, a job made easier in resolving but more difficult on Owen Archer's gut by his wife's insisting she help him.

The events of this book take place during the period the Duke of Lancaster tries to establish his influence over his nephew who will one day be King Richard II. Knowing the time frame help the reader understand the political undertones of the story line that serves as a reference point to the behavior of the characters. Owen Archer is a heroic figure who worries so much about his wife that he endears himself to the audience. THE CROSS-LEGGED KNIGHT is a fascinating historical mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Medieval Mystery
Review: It's the eight episode for Candace Robb's quintessential medieval spy Owen Archer and
neither the author nor the character seems to be slowing down.

Archer, the trusted one-eyed spy for the Archbishop of York, is once again thrust into the
maelstrom of deadly struggles between the Lancasters and the Church. What is a spy,
married to York's only female apothecary, to do?

Whatever direction he choose, he's bound to find a puzzle. For one, the Bishop of
Winchester has created a situation that could plunge the country into a civil war. Through
the bishop's apparent bungling, a trusted friend to King Edward III and knight of the
realm has been captured by the French and before a ransom could be negotiated, he dies in
prison. His widow, the Lady Pagnell, holds the bishop fully responsible and wishes to
extract her own pound of flesh (to borrow from Shakespeare some two hundred years
later).

While in York to try to smooth things over with the Pagnell family, the bishop finds his
own life in danger. Coupled with what appears to be attempts to assassinate him, murder
is discovered when a fire goes up in flames, leaving the victim inside. Thus, Owen Archer's
sleuthing skills are called in. Owen's wife Lucy, the co-protagonists of Robb's series, has
recently had a miscarriage and her recovery, both mentally and physically, is taking its toll
on the Archer household. The woman murdered had been responsible for helping Lucy in
her recovery and both Lucy and Owen feel driven to find her murderer.

And, of course, the hunt is afoot and with Robb's usual good skill, York is eventually given
the solution. But before the murderer is revealed, Robb has a story to tell and, once again,
she does it with exciting readability. Weaving quite effectively history with fiction, the
Robb stories appeal to both historians and whodunit readers. Her ability to capture the
landscape and atmosphere of 14th century England is noteworthy and her plot designs well
worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: Robb rises to the occasion!
Review: It's the eight episode for Candace Robb's quintessential medieval spy Owen Archer and
neither the author nor the character seems to be slowing down.

Archer, the trusted one-eyed spy for the Archbishop of York, is once again thrust into the
maelstrom of deadly struggles between the Lancasters and the Church. What is a spy,
married to York's only female apothecary, to do?

Whatever direction he choose, he's bound to find a puzzle. For one, the Bishop of
Winchester has created a situation that could plunge the country into a civil war. Through
the bishop's apparent bungling, a trusted friend to King Edward III and knight of the
realm has been captured by the French and before a ransom could be negotiated, he dies in
prison. His widow, the Lady Pagnell, holds the bishop fully responsible and wishes to
extract her own pound of flesh (to borrow from Shakespeare some two hundred years
later).

While in York to try to smooth things over with the Pagnell family, the bishop finds his
own life in danger. Coupled with what appears to be attempts to assassinate him, murder
is discovered when a fire goes up in flames, leaving the victim inside. Thus, Owen Archer's
sleuthing skills are called in. Owen's wife Lucy, the co-protagonists of Robb's series, has
recently had a miscarriage and her recovery, both mentally and physically, is taking its toll
on the Archer household. The woman murdered had been responsible for helping Lucy in
her recovery and both Lucy and Owen feel driven to find her murderer.

And, of course, the hunt is afoot and with Robb's usual good skill, York is eventually given
the solution. But before the murderer is revealed, Robb has a story to tell and, once again,
she does it with exciting readability. Weaving quite effectively history with fiction, the
Robb stories appeal to both historians and whodunit readers. Her ability to capture the
landscape and atmosphere of 14th century England is noteworthy and her plot designs well
worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful visit to the 14th Century
Review: One of my patients-one of the very few who are actually able to converse with me in ICU-and I had a discussion of our mutually held enjoyment of classic style murder mysteries. We found that we had read many of the same novels, but one author she mentioned was new to me. Candace Robb and her Owen Archer mysteries were among her favorites, and as she described them, I felt that they might appeal to me as well. At the lady's suggestion, The Cross-Legged Knight was my first introduction to Ms Robb's work.

At first I was uncertain that I would like the author's style. I find that some writers of historical fiction, of which this is a form, are somewhat pedantic in their efforts to get their readers up to speed with respect to their chosen period. Whether this is to lend verisimilitude to their work, or because they can't bear to waste even a scrap of their hard won research, I can't say. I needn't have worried, though. Most of the author's descriptions of the medieval environment, of the various occupations, of clothing and speech were smoothly introduced, and the meanings of unfamiliar words were easily taken from their context. In checking Ms Robb's vita, I discovered that she had prepared for a PhD dissertation in medieval history and literature. Having done thesis for at least Master's level in two different areas myself, I can honestly say that one lives with these hard won scraps of information day in and day out until they become part of one. For Ms Robb, the 14th Century is "home," and it shows!

I enjoy the work of Ellis Peters and her Brother Cadfael series very much. Spending time with her delightful characters is a satisfying way to "get away from it all." In fact, I find that when I read fiction-when I read it at all-I do so at least as much for the company of the characters as for the story. Creating this type of ambiance is a difficult task, so I expected to find myself unimpressed with Robb's sense of character and personal history. Again I was mistaken. She peoples her 14th Century city of York with individuals with whom the reader is pleased to spend time. Owen Archer and his wife, the apothecary Lucie Wilton, are wonderful people, and their household is a delight to visit. Owen's "boss" the Archbishop of York, with whom Owen has an uneasy relationship, is a complex and interesting person. The other families have at least as much of a history as the central characters, giving the book an ambiance similar in many ways to the charming Barsetshire stories of Angela Thirkell.

The mystery itself was well penned. It begins almost at once with an attack on Wykeham, the new Bishop of Winchester, and progresses to the murder of a midwife, keeping the reader guessing at every paragraph. Like Colin Dexter and the Morse mysteries, The Cross-Legged Knight takes several twists before the guilty individual is brought to justice.

I enjoyed the book enough to look for all the others.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful visit to the 14th Century
Review: One of my patients-one of the very few who are actually able to converse with me in ICU-and I had a discussion of our mutually held enjoyment of classic style murder mysteries. We found that we had read many of the same novels, but one author she mentioned was new to me. Candace Robb and her Owen Archer mysteries were among her favorites, and as she described them, I felt that they might appeal to me as well. At the lady's suggestion, The Cross-Legged Knight was my first introduction to Ms Robb's work.

At first I was uncertain that I would like the author's style. I find that some writers of historical fiction, of which this is a form, are somewhat pedantic in their efforts to get their readers up to speed with respect to their chosen period. Whether this is to lend verisimilitude to their work, or because they can't bear to waste even a scrap of their hard won research, I can't say. I needn't have worried, though. Most of the author's descriptions of the medieval environment, of the various occupations, of clothing and speech were smoothly introduced, and the meanings of unfamiliar words were easily taken from their context. In checking Ms Robb's vita, I discovered that she had prepared for a PhD dissertation in medieval history and literature. Having done thesis for at least Master's level in two different areas myself, I can honestly say that one lives with these hard won scraps of information day in and day out until they become part of one. For Ms Robb, the 14th Century is "home," and it shows!

I enjoy the work of Ellis Peters and her Brother Cadfael series very much. Spending time with her delightful characters is a satisfying way to "get away from it all." In fact, I find that when I read fiction-when I read it at all-I do so at least as much for the company of the characters as for the story. Creating this type of ambiance is a difficult task, so I expected to find myself unimpressed with Robb's sense of character and personal history. Again I was mistaken. She peoples her 14th Century city of York with individuals with whom the reader is pleased to spend time. Owen Archer and his wife, the apothecary Lucie Wilton, are wonderful people, and their household is a delight to visit. Owen's "boss" the Archbishop of York, with whom Owen has an uneasy relationship, is a complex and interesting person. The other families have at least as much of a history as the central characters, giving the book an ambiance similar in many ways to the charming Barsetshire stories of Angela Thirkell.

The mystery itself was well penned. It begins almost at once with an attack on Wykeham, the new Bishop of Winchester, and progresses to the murder of a midwife, keeping the reader guessing at every paragraph. Like Colin Dexter and the Morse mysteries, The Cross-Legged Knight takes several twists before the guilty individual is brought to justice.

I enjoyed the book enough to look for all the others.

Rating:
Summary: Medieval Murder
Review: Owen Archer is back in York, after a long sojourn in Wales. His apothocary wife, Lucy, has just lost a baby and is mourning its death. In York the Archbishop Wykeham has the ire of the Duke of Gaunt on his head and he fears that the powerful Lancasterian is trying to kill him. Archer finds himself in the midst of the feud and must rely on his friends to help him but make sure that no harm comes to them.
It is a pleasure to have Owen back in York with Lucy by his side. The mystery is serpentine and clues are there for the careful reader. Robb brings medieval York to life with intriguing characters and multi-layered plot.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Medieval Mystery
Review: Owen Archer is called on by William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester, to keep him safe. To appease the family of a man killed while being held prisoner in France, Wykeham returns the knight's heart. But a fire in Wykeham's house, a servant severly burned and a body of a dead woman, has Archer fearing for his own family's safety. While Lucie Wilton battles her own demons. Robb writes intricate plotted mysteries set in 14th century England by reading one you will become hooked.