Another great book

Although I've only given this four stars, I really did enjoy the book. The reason for leaving off a star is that, on the whole, I thought it was a bit obvious. I'm not being smug, but I genuinely did guess what was happening quite early on. And this was another book where I was left feeling very sad at the end, though one particular killing was inevitable. I am really enjoying this series by Sarah Hawkswood and hope for more, slightly happier, books from her.

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Amazing

Couldn’t believe this book was over 8 hours long seemed like 4, if not faster plenty to keep your mind busy and so very enjoyable

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Supet

These wonderful stories are a real treat. Looking forward to episode 10. Good stories, well written, and wonderful narration.

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Delicious

Another great instalment from Sarah Hawkswood. Her research is meticulous and so carefully woven through plot and character you can almost taste, touch & smell the medieval world Catchpole and company inhabit. The plot moved along at a good pace and there was plenty of action. Wakelin is developing into a wonderful character, from nàive youth to fully formed man and I can see the day he is no longer Cathcpole’s underling. Long live the Sheriff’s men!

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loved the idea of the wolf

but sadly new how it would end, as it always does in these kind of stories where man exploits an animal

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History comes alive

It’s me again.
Yes you’ve guessed it I love the book and the narrator.
And of course I recommend you read this series starting with book 1.
I love the author’s notes at the end learning the derivation of words and a little of the historical events that inspired the story.
Stop reading the reviews start reading the books in this series

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Perfect synergy of perfect voice acting and medieval story telling.

The story is compelling and I listen to within a couple of days .its is quite gory. but life back then was probably far worse than we can imagine .

its a little history lesson to boot.

I enjoyed the continuity from a previous book ,the sub plots of the life as law keepers our three main characters Bradecot, Catchpoll ,wakelin during a perilous time for man or beast.

I don’t think it would matter what order you read these in, the stories I have listened to so far are quite different .

They do follow a pattern .there a crime ,the sheriff and his men need to solve it and prevent further misdeeds. Then if all goes well There’s the saving of a life ,a punishment ( more death)

Yes it can feel a bit predictable at times ,but I quite like that.
its not some mind bending Sherlock style investigation.
It’s bit more basic ,your on a horse all day ,riding through the muck ,and there’s only pottage for tea, oh and there’s possibly a wolf on the loose.

The epilogue explains the author’s inspiration how taking fact to fiction = a gruesome story.
So if you want a slightly different version of a Cadfael style murder mystery give it a go.

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The creativity is there, but the craft is missing

Hawkswood knows the setting well and that makes the story facinating, and I like the main characters.

But I'm dismayed that after eight books, she has the same specific problems with her technical delivery. The omnicient narrator is still dragging down the pace, especially in action scenes. Several dramatic reveals fall flat, and there are obvious story beats missing (Like the Chekov's wolf that never goes off). I wonder that after eight books in this series, Hawkswood's editor has yet to talk her through these quite concrete flaws in her craft, because they are fixable.

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