Murder and witchcraft!
A Fall of Shadows (A Bess Ellyott Mystery #2) by Nancy Herriman
Once again murder stalks the Elizabethan village of Wiltshire. This time it seems to be accompanied by a whiff of witchcraft and dark magic. The fearful villagers close ranks.
A man is found foully murdered near the Druids mound--a dark place to be avoided.
A woman covered in blood collapses at healer Bess Ellyott's door.
Life in the village is disrupted. Constable Kit Harwoode has his hands full with the
murdered man, an old harmless vagrant being accused of murder, a dead servant girl, and the mysterious blood covered woman given refuge by Bess. Meanwhile the villagers are claiming it's all the work of those aligned with the black arts. Suspicious happenings keep piling up. These play into the villagers' fears finding its outlet through mob harassment and worse as those targeted as black magic practicers are besieged. All is a puzzle! At one time Kit exclaims to his cousin Gibb Hardwoode, "mark that [death] as the first of many irregularities in this tragedy."
Healer Bess sails close to the wind as suspicion turns to her. A "poppet " (an effigy designed or to cast a spell or ill wish a person) is found near a farm that Bess had visited. This earns her a call from the puritanical churchwarden Master Enderby who charges her with having made the abomination. After all Bess is “a stranger in this town ... Someone not well known by those ... who have lived [their] lives [in the village] . A woman who dabbles with herbs.” In saving the collapsed woman, Bess comes under unwelcome and dangerous scrutiny. To be accused of witchcraft is a dreaded thing. As the elderly healer Mother Fletcher warned Bess, "Women like us … we are to be suspected. Strangers. Healers. At one moment we are salvation. At the next, we are accursed."
Throughout these troubles we learn more of Bess, of her concept of a healer's duty towards all comers despite the danger it brings her. I don't know if Bess is courageous, stubborn or foolish as she goes about her duties and her clandestine investigations.
As the bodies continue to pile up Kit and Bess seek for answers which are a long time coming.
Meanwhile Bess is still haunted by the possibility that Laurence, the villain who caused her beloved husband Martin's death will find her. I too dread what will happen then.
As Kit and Bess' regards for each other continues to develop we are treated to another intricately evolving murder mystery, combined with a fascinating foray into the darker sides of Elizabethan life.
An absorbing read!
A NetGalley ARC
****
A man is found foully murdered near the Druids mound--a dark place to be avoided.
A woman covered in blood collapses at healer Bess Ellyott's door.
Life in the village is disrupted. Constable Kit Harwoode has his hands full with the
murdered man, an old harmless vagrant being accused of murder, a dead servant girl, and the mysterious blood covered woman given refuge by Bess. Meanwhile the villagers are claiming it's all the work of those aligned with the black arts. Suspicious happenings keep piling up. These play into the villagers' fears finding its outlet through mob harassment and worse as those targeted as black magic practicers are besieged. All is a puzzle! At one time Kit exclaims to his cousin Gibb Hardwoode, "mark that [death] as the first of many irregularities in this tragedy."
Healer Bess sails close to the wind as suspicion turns to her. A "poppet " (an effigy designed or to cast a spell or ill wish a person) is found near a farm that Bess had visited. This earns her a call from the puritanical churchwarden Master Enderby who charges her with having made the abomination. After all Bess is “a stranger in this town ... Someone not well known by those ... who have lived [their] lives [in the village] . A woman who dabbles with herbs.” In saving the collapsed woman, Bess comes under unwelcome and dangerous scrutiny. To be accused of witchcraft is a dreaded thing. As the elderly healer Mother Fletcher warned Bess, "Women like us … we are to be suspected. Strangers. Healers. At one moment we are salvation. At the next, we are accursed."
Throughout these troubles we learn more of Bess, of her concept of a healer's duty towards all comers despite the danger it brings her. I don't know if Bess is courageous, stubborn or foolish as she goes about her duties and her clandestine investigations.
As the bodies continue to pile up Kit and Bess seek for answers which are a long time coming.
Meanwhile Bess is still haunted by the possibility that Laurence, the villain who caused her beloved husband Martin's death will find her. I too dread what will happen then.
As Kit and Bess' regards for each other continues to develop we are treated to another intricately evolving murder mystery, combined with a fascinating foray into the darker sides of Elizabethan life.
An absorbing read!
A NetGalley ARC
****
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