Of kings and thrones!

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The Day of the Serpent (Brother Chandler Mystery #2) by Cassandra Clark       


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Regicide, jealousy, heresy, all are present in this sequel to Hour of the Fox set in 1400. Brother Rodric Chandler once more leaves us wondering if he’s an opportunist, a cynic, or a man who sees injustice and greed. A friar and yet still a man. A man of secrets—his own and others. A man who can’t stop thinking about Geoffrey Chaucer’s servant, the maid Matilda. And what game is Master Chaucer playing as King Richard II is imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, John of Gaunt’s Lancastrian hold in the North? 

Chandler is under orders from his master Sir Thomas Swynford to oversee the starvation of Richard, hoping the lack of food will hurry along Richard’s demise. Meanwhile Henry Bolingbroke, Richard’s cousin, now King, is tightening his grip on the people of England using heresy  to point away from the fate of his stepbrother Richard. Politically Henry needs Richard gone.  If anything Chandler is sympathetic to the man King Richard, who was such a bright star. The situation calls into focus for Chandler real questions around the divine right of kings, the legitimacy of self appointed monarchs, hinted at in Richard’s railings, “This so-called king even had himself anointed with fake holy oil to outdo my own true anointing.”

Richard’s body is borne to the City of London, supported by Swynford’s troops. The population mourning as the bier passes. The lie is given out that Richard stopped eating from melancholy. It’s on this journey an unknown enemy strikes.

Chandler is in the thick of things. Three of Swynford’s men are murdered on different occasions by an arrow shot from a long bow. Chandler is charged to find the culprit. Swynford is incandescent with rage and wants answers. Chandler can’t afford to fail. 

Chandler forms an interesting relationship with three mercenary bowmen. They assist him with his inquiries. 

London brings about different challenges. Chaucer is in danger of being accused of writing seditious works, placing Matilda in harm’s way. Chandler and Mattie meet from time to time. She’s warned that Chandler is a spy. Chandler is well aware of the ironies of the situation, his feelings for Mattie, and the dangers he faces.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Arundel is vigorously pursuing the Lollards.

Up and down England men and women are being tortured and put to terrible deaths. “The serpent of repression coiling around the realm of England.”

For all the horror Henry brings to the population, rumors still run rampant that Richard is alive, that he escaped. Chandler is well and truly ensnared in the middle as he dances his way between his various roles, his masters, and the people he cares for. The various personalities he interacts with have him walking a tightrope of disaster.

Clark’s research is amazing as she takes us through this torrid time of medieval English history. Riveting times unraveled by a master story teller!


A Canongate/ Severn ARC via NetGalley 
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

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