#7 Catherine LeVendeur historical mystery series set in medieval France. Catherine, Edgar and their household return home to Paris after a year's absence in Germany, where they'd gone to assist Catherine's sister Agnes with a problem. Upon returning, they find a dead body in their counting room, a man apparently a Templar Knight, as he is wearing their distinctive white cloak and a brooch. He was obviously murdered, and Catherine and Edgar struggle to find out who he was and why he was left in their home. The Templars don't recognize him and they are now set to blame Catherine and Edgar as rumors of her father Hubert's association with the Jews fly wildly. Hubert, of course, IS a Jew and has gone back to the Jewish community at Troyes, not on pilgrimage as they've told everyone. I generally enjoy this series, but this one annoyed me on many levels. There were too many sub-plots, too many peripheral characters to keep straight, and too many changes of point of view. Even several of the peripheral characters had their say, with switches often occurring mid-chapter. Just too confusing. I love the main characters in the series, but some of the issues they are dealing with have gone on for multiple books and they are getting a bit tired now. I'm going to finish this series (3 books left, and I have them all) but I'm not as eager to jump on the next one as I was to get to this one.
It took a bit to get into. There was something about the writing style that threw me off. This book is called a "catherine Vendeur mystery", who is one of the characters of the book. We are presented with a dead body within the first few pages of the book and the question of who it is and and why he is left in the family's home. Set in 1800's when people had various houses, and servants to open the house for the season, the family shows up to the house and it is untouched. In the only locked room, is a dead Knight of the Temple (AKA Templar Knights) and no sign of burglary. In a drawn out and complex (at times confusing) plot, the mystery is revealed. Once it got further in the plot, things picked up and it was interesting.
Do You like book To Wear The White Cloak (2003)?
Catherine & Edgar, along with their two children, have just returned to their home in 12th century Paris, only to discover a dead body in their home; presumably one of the many Knights of the Temple who are gathering in Paris to be part of the new crusade. Not knowing the identity of the body or how it got into their home leads to one question after another. Is their family being purposefully targeted? If so, why & by whom?This is the seventh book in the Catherine LeVendeur series. Newman continues to entertain with her characters, suspense, and her historical insights.
—Patricia
