King's Bishop
(The Owen Archer Mysteries: book IV): get transported to medieval times in this mesmerising murder mystery that will keep you hooked
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4.9 • 8 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Medieval York is brought to life by Candace Robb in this suspense laden and spellbinding murder mystery. If you like Ellis Peters, S J Parris, Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell, you will love this!
'A superb medieval mystery, thoroughly grounded in historical fact' -- Booklist
'A vivid portrait of 14th-century England which gives us a hero who is cunning and capable, whether navigating the Court of the open moors' -- Time Out
'A complex and ambiguous tale... Robb continues to adeptly blend politics with period detail and three-dimensional characterisation' -- Publishers Weekly
'An exceptional historical medieval murder mystery' -- ***** Reader review
'A good yarn, well crafted and suitably complex' -- ***** Reader review
'Candace Robb thorough research shows in this really gripping tale. I think Owen Archer is the best thing since sliced bread. Gorgeous!!!' -- ***** Reader review
'The complexity of the characters in this book has me hooked. I am so invested in Owen's process. I love the setting, the historic aspect, the religious aspect...it's great. I'm definitely invested.' -- ***** Reader review
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WHO CAN YOU REALLY TRUST?
March 1367: King Edward is impatient. He wants William of Wykeham confirmed as Bishop of Winchester, but Pope Urban V is stalling, deterred by the man's wealth and political ambition.
Thus Owen Archer finds himself heading a deputation from York to Fountains Abbey, to win support for Wykeham from the powerful Cistercian abbots. Ignoring advice, he places his old comrade Ned Townley in charge of the fellow company to Rievaulx, hoping to dispel rumours of Ned's involvement in a mysterious death.
But just days out of York trouble erupts: a friar and Ned both vanish, following news of murder at Windsor. Owen asks John Thoresby, at Court in his role as Lord Chancellor, for help, little knowing it will involve him with the King's mistress, Alice Perrers, ever a dangerous enemy...
Can Archer extricate himself from a web of deceit and mystery in order to reveal the truth?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1367, in the waning years of his reign, Edward III opposes Pope Urban V by trying to win the personal loyalty of English churchmen. Meanwhile, the king is also dealing with his own advisors' hatred of the royal mistress, Alice Perrers. Owen Archer, spy and steward for Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England, last encountered in The Nun's Tale, must come to the rescue of his old friend, Ned Townley, a soldier and spy for the Duke of Lancaster and subject of gossip after the suspicious death of a young page whose attentions to Townley's intended, Perrers' maid, had angered the soldier. Sent away from court to help garner support for the king from powerful monasteries, Townley, in the company of a friar, Don Ambrose, disappears in the wilderness north of York. Archer considers his dual loyalties as he searches the northern desolation. After finding the friar's murdered corpse, he strives to prevent Townley from becoming a disposable pawn in tangled intrigue. Robb's complex and sometimes ambiguous tale is replete with plausible nobles, churchmen and commoners, particularly Alice Perrers, who lives life on a tightrope while trying to help her maid, whose lowly origins reflect her own. Robb continues to adeptly blend politics with period detail and three-dimensioned characterization in the Owen Archer tales.
