Geoffrey Bowyer, one of the best but least-liked bow makers in Worcester, dies after his pottage is poisoned. His wife is lucky to survive. One of the household servants must have poisoned the meal, but which one? And did someone else put them up to it?

This is the tenth book in the Bradecote and Catchpoll series and, I think, the fourth that I have read. Whilst it isn’t necessary to have read the proceeding books in terms of the plot – these are standalone mysteries – I suspect that the three main characters, Bradecote, Catchpoll and Walkelin, will appear far more rounded if you have seen them grow from book to book.

This is quite an insular little mystery. Apart from a chapter here and there to further develop Walkelin as a character, there are no side plots to speak of. The entire book is spent circling around the central mystery. Given the small number of potential suspects, I felt this made the book feel quite repetitive – at first at least. I found the second half of the book stronger than the first.

The author’s writing style is very dialogue-heavy with relatively few descriptive passages. Whilst this did not particularly trouble me, I would have liked a little more description. Those readers who do prefer the author to paint the full scene in their writing may find this book is not to their taste.

All in all, a solid addition to the Bradecote and Catchpoll series, albeit perhaps not one of the strongest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allison & Busby Publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love good detective and mysteries books. And the fact that this one set in medieval setting even better. The most intriguing me is how the investigation going on without any modern helps such as tools, labs and studies about criminals mind. How all only heavy relaying on interview and banter between characters.

This book actually number 10th in series. Lucky you can read it as standalone because so far we still can enjoy the story without reading the previous one. The plot kinda slow but I really appreciate how author doing her research to give us a glimpse of a medieval crime in investigations.

I received a free copy of this book, but my opinion are my own.

(DNF 20%)
I didn't realize this was the 10th in a series, its definitely not a stand alone but I was able to enjoy it, I was able to catch up with the characters.
This is a very specific type of series, mystery novel set in a very specific cozy time
I don't think I will be reading anymore books from this series .The book felt slow and repetitive, I feel this is more of a niche genre, I would probably pass on the previous and next ones.

#ATasteforKilling #NetGalley 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Thanks to Allison & Busby and the great Author Sarah Hawkswood for this 10th outing on Bradecote and Catchpoll ( and let us not forget the young undersheriff Walkelin, who is rising in prowess).

A Medieval Mystery which is always to my liking, and was so glad to read about the new addition to Under Sheriff's family! Of course they solved the complicated mystery, maybe the crime scene could have been discussed a bit less, but a very fine read!

Happily waiting for the next outing!

I think this was an interesting book, but not an amazing book. I found it to be a bit repetitive and it took me a while to actually get into. I didn't really care too much about any of the characters. Though this may be a product of starting at book 10 in a series (which I was unaware of). I think overall it was just ok, nothing amazing to recommend to others. I think a lot of research went into this book and I really think that aspect was well done. It was just lacking in other departments.

A little predictable and repetitive, but I know that there are also many mystery readers out there that this book would appeal to. I didn't realize it was part of a series, but it didn't matter. You don't need to be familiar with the previous books to pick up on the plot and the character relationships, so jumping into the series so late didn't prevent my enjoyment of the book. I do like the historical setting, and I would recommend it to patrons that like an easy-to-read mystery.

A murder in a medieval English town. A bow-maker is poisoned.. The murder mystery is a good one with many suspects and a layered situation even when all more or less evolves around the house of the murdered man. The sleuthing trio: nobleman Hugh Bradecote and old experienced Serjeant Catchpoll and their young trainee stay a bit two dimensional but maybe that is because this is part 10 in a series and the people who have read all the books (I had not) will be familiar with them by now.

This book was okay, however I really struggled to get into the story. On the whole I found it extremely repetitive in places and often formulaic. If you like murder mysteries you might still enjoy this book, it just wasn't the most compelling but there were some parts in the plot that were entertaining and I did like some of the characters. I liked the concept of this novel, but unfortunately for me it didn't quite work.

This was a wonderful read. A fascinating mix of historical novel, mystery story with drama thrown in, I really appreciated how much the author knows about the time period they are writing about. I stopped reading one afternoon and googled how to make potage and had it for dinner- thats how immersed I was. Highly recommended.

A Taste for Killing is my third Bradecote and Catchpoll Investigations book, and it is always fabulous to return to twelfth-century Worcester.

In A Taste for Killing, Bradecote, Catchpoll and Walkelin must uncover the true culprit when Godfrey Bowyer dies from poisoning. There are, as always, no end of possible suspects, and because this book takes place in Worcester, we meet all sorts of characters, from the burgesses to the maids, and even an old woman, on her death bed, and with a fabulous memory for things that happened many years ago.

The investigation is as tricky as always. Some information points one way, other information, another. I do love the way the author puts the solution together, with all the false leads and people guilty of something, if not the murder. The three main characters, while having their own, separate lives, don't overburden the story with their storylines, and yet still add to it. All of the characters feel real, and as though they could have truly existed.

My biggest complaint would be that I didn't want to murderer to be who it was, but still, a thoroughly enjoyable addition to the series. I'll be reading the 7 books I've not yet gotten to when I have the time:)

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

I received this title from NetGalley and did not realize that it is the 10th book in the series. It is a mystery novel set in medieval times, and I do enjoy a good mystery. Like all good books within the genre, I didn’t need to read the previous ones to become familiar with the cast of characters- I could easily pick up on the relationships of the existing cast without missing out on much.
The plot itself is relatively simple- a man and his wife are poisoned, but he dies- who committed the murder in this unhappy marriage? The story mainly features male detectives and relies on the tropes of the time for women- which doesn’t necessarily detract from the overall narrative, but does make it slightly more predictable. I found it very repetitive at times; both in conversations being had and in word choice.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Allison & Busby a for this e-arc.*

I received a digital ARC of "A Taste for Killing" by Sarah Hawkswood from NetGalley and Allison & Busby

I was initially very intrigued by a murder mystery set in Medieval times.
I love historical fiction reads, and even non-fiction historical reads, and so do quite a few of my friends I share books with.

The book though did not hold up to my expectations.
While it was an interesting idea, I struggled with the execution of the idea.
I haven't read a book in a very long time that was mostly dialogue. Some pages with the exception of 4-5 sentences, would just be a conversation between people. Maybe I'm just not used to books that convey the entirety of the story through character interactions? But it seemed that all relevant information about the 'poisoning', and events surrounding the death was provided via the conversations between characters, and less on physical descriptions.
The book does follow what I believe is British rules for single quotes for dialogue, but also uses the single quote markers for pronunciation spellings. This kept drawing me out of what I wanted to be an immersive world.

Hawkswood did a fantastic job of constructing the time period, the characters, and the world. You can tell that one of her passions is obviously history. But I felt like what could have been a phenomenal story, was hurt by the style and structure.

2/5

The latest entry in the Bradecote and Catchpoll murder mystery series seems a simple case on the surface. The town’s chief bowyer, a man thoroughly disliked by everyone, is dead, seemingly from food poison. His wife is ill, apparently with the same affliction and the only people in the house are the cook, a maid and the journeyman. The cook dislikes the bowyer’s wife and her allegiances lie elsewhere, the maid is pregnant, perhaps by the bowyer himself, and the journeyman might not get his final papers of release. One of them has to have done it, right? But which one has Undersheriff Bradecote and Serjeant Catchpoll chasing elusive clues, along with their helpful under-Serjeant Walkelin using his increasingly discerning observations. Obliged by the Sheriff to quickly close the case and rule for death by misadventure, a second death in the same household demands they dig much deeper for motive and opportunity.
Hawkswood has a wonderful ability to conjure time, place and characters vividly to life, using era-appropriate language and intimate details of 12th-century life. But what sets the series apart is the humanitarian understanding of the investigative team, and their care for the citizenry of Worcester. This novel stands alone, and I recommend the series as a whole.

This book needs to go through another edit. It’s not ready for readers.

Problems:
1. Quotation marks are not used when characters are speaking. Instead, apostrophe marks (or single quotation marks) are used. This makes it a very unpleasant reading experience, especially when multiple apostrophe marks are also used to shorten words.

Example:
‘He might find younger, my lord, but not prettier, not without a search. Mighty strikin’ woman is Blanche Bowyer, though she looked less fetchin’ last eventide, spewin’ up into a bowl of Roger the Healer’s holdin.’

2. It’s unnecessary to shorten words to fit an accent. Just spell the word correctly.

3. The verb tense seemed to be inconsistent, but I’m not entirely sure it’s incorrect. It would have flowed better if the author stuck to simple past tense, rather than jumping from simple past to continuous past so often.

Example:

‘Alwin, oh Alwin, help me.’ The cry was thin, and he spun round. Mistress Blanche was trying to descend, but was swaying, and looked dreadfully pale. She managed a few steps, and almost collapsed down the last four into his arms.

4. If I were to guess, I would say that the entirety of the text was 95% conversation and 5% description. There was a lot of telling, and no showing..

What I liked:

1. I love the idea of an Agatha Christie type novel set in medieval times.
2. The novel appeared to be well researched as far as poison, and food are concerned.

Overall, this book was repetitive and lacking any true scope. I thought I could read this as a murder mystery with an interesting medieval setting but instead was covered in different ludricous scenarios that amounted to nothing but loose ends.

January, 1145. Godfrey Bowyer, the best but least likeable bow maker in Worcester, dies an agonising death by poisoning. Although similarly struck down after the same meal, his wife Blanche survives. The number of people who could have administered the poison should mean a very short investigation for the Sheriff’s men, Hugh Bradecote and Serjeant Catchpoll, but perhaps someone was pulling the strings, and that widens the net considerably. Could it be the cast-out younger brother or perhaps Orderic the Bailiff, whose wife may have had to endure Godfrey's attentions? Could it even be the wife herself?
With Bradecote eager to return to his manor and worried about his wife’s impending confinement, and Underserjeant Walkelin trying to get his mother to accept his choice of bride, there are distractions aplenty, though Serjeant Catchpoll will not let them get in the way of solving this case.
Had me in its claws from the very beginning… My heart and head went through so many thoughts here! Had to know how it was going to end.

Review: I’m all for trying new things. A mysterious death has occurred in this 12th century medieval setting that follows two detectives as they put the pieces together to solve the murder mystery. Reminds me of the game clue and there is an entire series following the detectives!

Read as a stand-alone, this 10th in the series of medieval whodunnit was an enjoyable read. Godfrey Bowyer, a rich but unpopular bow-maker and his young beautiful wife Blanche are both poisoned but only the husband dies. The only ones who could be guilty were all in the house at the time. We follow the Sheriff’s men as they uncover the clues and catch the murderer. I enjoyed how closely this cosy mystery stayed true to the time period. The dialogue was maybe a little too accurate as it made for a bit of a slog at times. The detective work was top notch, the characters well defined the story developed well with enough twists and turns to keep me engaged. Highly recommend.

2,5 stars
I requested this arc for two reasons. Firstly, the cover, with it's mushrooms (I'm guessing either a type of Mycena or Gliophorus) In combination with the title, I was excited to find out which one it would be, because as far as I know, neither type is poisonous, and I was looking forward to either learns something new, or discover a type of mushroom I didn't know.

My second reason was that this is a detective novel set in Medieval times. This gives a whole new perspective on research and I was excited for that.

I did not know this was the 10th book in a series. Lucky for me, this book can totally be read as a standalone. I had no trouble understanding any of the relationships between the characters as they were all clearly explained. Which was good for me, but if I had read the first nine books getting a "recap" on everyone's relationships and backgrounds would be rather annoying, so it's kind of a double-edged sword.

The characters were fine, nothing special. They were mostly exactly what you would expect for a book as this. And I say that as someone who never even read a Medieval mystery before. The only sorta complex character was Blanche, but everything about her gets revealed at the end, so it doesn't really help the story.

The plot was fine. A poisoning, a disliked man dies, who did it? Kinda sad the poisoning did not happen with mushrooms though, looking at the cover and all. Everything that happened was kinda super obvious, except for a few extra bits at the end (which gave background and I enjoyed, but had little impact on the actual case). And I actively try NOT to guess the killer, because I feel like if I figure out what's happening before the "amazing sherrifs/detective etc" it just doesn't feel like they're all that impressive. To be fair, this wasn't a book that had genius detectives so the only point I want to make that the plot was obvious even when I wasn't trying to figure things out myself.

The biggest problem in this book was the pacing. I don't mind a slow, character driven book. I do mind reading the same conversations over and over again. There was A LOT of repetition that was unnecessary in my opinion. It made the book drag at times, and without that it would have been a lot more engaging.

Also there was a mushroom poisoning in this book as well, though not with the mushrooms on the cover, so that was a bummer.

Another thing I disliked was the fact that the ending left some loose ends. (view spoiler) There were so few things that they could have shown us near the end, and instead of the few things that I was curious about, they went with a simple conversation that added little to it, which is such a pity. I guess this might be a way to get you interested in the next book of the series, but for me it just has the opposite effect.

Overall it was a decent enough read, but nothing special. Nothing stood out to me, and nothing engaged me.

Even though I was fascinated by the blurb of it, reading the book was difficult as I could not hook myself into it. So I left it halfway. I couldn't complet reading it.