This book has been quite a find for me. The ironic style of this well-written tale is further enhanced by the sound historical context and the search for a killer. I especially like Oswald. He seems like such an unlikely hero, yet his humor and his light manner make him endearing. And best of all, he doesn't take himself seriously , which is all to his advantage. I'll definitely keep reading this series until its very end.
I had very high hopes for this book as I am a great fan of Ellis Peters. But unfortunately, this read isn't up to those standards.
Not because of the historical setting, which was interesting and I believe thoroughly researched.
Because of the characters. Because of Lucy and Owen.
It's not credible that their relationship remains the same from start to finish. The initial mistrust between them should have given way to something different and better, considering everything that happened between them in the meantime. Yet, we reach the end of the novel and their reactions are as guarded and as defiant as they were when they were strangers to each other.
The result is that they don't grow. They don't learn.
And that to me is a major failure in the book.
I will however give this series another chance by reading its,second book in the hope that the above mistake were due to the author's inexperience.
Not as good as the first three books in the series, but still I liked it.
The thing is that these plots are becoming too predictable. So it detracted from my enjoyment of the characters that so fascinate me. Oswald is still delightful, though never,as much as his mother, and the,addition of Sandro has been most welcomed. But the repetitions from the earlier two books and the lack of any palpable growth in the characters and their relationship kind of spoiled it for me.
Still, I'm looking forward to the next installment in the hope the characters mature and grow as much as their storyline.