Geoffrey Chaucer is invited by two of his old friends to join them on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. Unfortunately, the trip gets a spanner put into it by the murder of one of the travelers; the beautiful yet mysterious gypsy, Sophia. Can Geoffrey (and his old friend John of Gaunt, uncle and regent to the King) solve the murder, even if they disagree on Geoffrey’s reliance on astrology to do so? And will Geoffrey do anything with the notes on the pilgrims’ tales he’s been taking?
It was an interesting little book; a little convoluted, not perfectly edited, and straining credulity at times, but still a reasonably harmless, mildly enjoyable book. Her fascination with astrology comes through loud and clear; I don’t quite know how I feel about her concept of using Astrology (and Tarot cards) to attempt to solve the murders, but here we are. Astrology and Tarot make up a large chunk of the plot of the book.
I also didn’t get why Agatha (one of Chaucer’s friends) needed to desperately ask the murderer why Sophia had weak ankles, but apparently Devlin thought that information would add depth to the plot. Another question I had (doesn’t affect the plot; I’m just curious) is how Geoffrey, Agatha, and her husband Robert become friends? For a book that in some ways is big into backstories, that one is missing. Or the random Attack of the Angry Villagers, that won’t be stopped, yet then immediately calmed down and left.
Geoffrey Chaucer was an okay protagonist; he seemed to be written as a real person (I know he’s an actual historical figure; I mean in the confines of being a book character), even if he is simultaneously not always the brightest, and able to make amazing deductive leaps. And I love cats, Geoffrey, but really! Get over the white cat already; he goes on a bout it for over ten pages.
A detraction I found is that for a large chunk of the book, three-quarters of the company of pilgrims disappear from view or mention, as they have become superfluous and not integral to the plot. The motives behind the murders (yes, it turns out to be two murders, both connected) are especially convoluted, though I am glad that for the majority of the company, the blame for them rests solely at the feet of John of Gaunt. John of Gaunt, whose friendship with Geoffrey Chaucer was apparently documented and not just invented for the purpose of this book’s plot. (Though I doubt he actually let Chaucer refer to him as “Johnny”.) John of Gaunt, the Constantly Angry and Constantly Striding and Stomping About, yet does nothing when angry youths threaten physical violence. John of Gaunt, the man who spends his entire part of the book desiring four things: to go back to his mistress (Chaucer’s sister-in-law) who he’d marry if there wasn’t a class difference (friendship can overlook that hurdle; love and lust can’t), for his wife to start bathing again (Spanish Roman Catholicism apparently translated into poor bathing habits), to become King of Castile, and to just go home.
(Seriously, I felt like I was reading Michael Buble’s Home: Medieval England Edition.)
I also hadn’t realized that contrary to what a lot of people may think/have written, there were people in England wanting out from underneath the Pope’s control even in the 1300’s. So glad the need to take a turn in storytelling trumps not only a murder investigation, but also temporary imprisonment; these people take their entertainment seriously! And of course, you get two brash young men desperate to prove themselves to the world, because what is a quest in England without at least two of those? (Being on a pilgrimage with the Widow of Bath I might be careful there, but that’s me; they’re lucky only one of them winds up in a situation that might become “marry in haste, repent in leisure”.)
I will probably read the second (last?) book in the series, but I’m not in too much of a rush to do so; there’s only so much Astrology and Tarot I can take at one time. (I should have realized what I was in store for when I found out she has extensively studied “karmic astrology” and “past life regressions”, and has written a book discussing how she believes in a previous life she was Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.
But I still would recommend this book. As I said, it’s a mildly enjoyable read.
