Product Description

1140 Anno Domini: A wealthy countess lies dying at the Convent of the Paraclete, brutally beaten by unknown assailants. Despite entreaties, she is unwilling to name her killers. Beautiful Catherine LeVendeur, the Paraclete's most learned young novice-scholar, vows to find out the identity of the woman's attacker. When her beloved Edgar comes to lead her from the convent to a life of the flesh, Catherine is torn between her quest for justice and the pledge she made to him. Catherine doesn't want to break any of the vows she's made-and if she abandons her crusade for the truth, others will die, and the convent she loves may be destroyed . . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #360017 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Countess Alys of Tonnerre, victim of a brutal beating, is barely alive when her husband Raynald brings her to the Abbess Heloise at the convent of the Paraclete in medieval France. Young Catherine LeVendeur, who helps care for Alys, is disturbed by scars that attest to the woman's prior mistreatment. Upon the Countess's death, the Paraclete inherits a small piece of unimpressive land, which sets off a furor: Raynald claims the convent stole the property, and the prior of a nearby monastery makes a handsome offer for it. Catherine maintains her intense curiosity about Alys's unhappy end even through the arrival of her betrothed, Edgar of Wedderlie, with Peter Abelard; after Catherine and Edgar's wedding, the pair travel to Troyes and, at Heloise's request, search for information on the mysterious bequest. Catherine soons stumbles on another mystery: the discovery of a headless corpse that may ignite the anti-Semitism that is running high during this Easter season of A.D. 1140. With this meticulously prepared work, Newman ( Death Comes as Epiph any ) adroitly crafts a puzzle in which the intriguing medieval material, providing much more than mere background, informs the entire novel with a vivid sense of past and guides the responses of the engaging, lively cast.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Fresh from her sleuthing in Death Comes As Epiphany (1993), 12th-century novice nun Catherine LeVendeur will leave the convent of Abbess H‚lo‹se and marry Edgar, student of the now frail Peter Abelard. The pair will take on dangers with derring-do to solve the curious murder of a young countess named Alys, whose death has something to do with property bequeathed to the convent and the tangled fortunes of a particularly nasty family. Among the puzzlements: Alys's sister, a silent nun presumed dead to the world, and her bitter secret; the death and dismemberment of a mild gossip; an assault on a convent nun; the tangled motives of the dead countess's horrid mother, who has lethal plans for snooping Catherine. Throughout, there are congenial chats with kin, the like-minded, and the high-minded. Catherine's father, a ``Jewish apostate,'' has ongoing problems, as does the beleaguered Abelard, headed for condemnation by the Council of Sens. With richly satisfying settings, this smooth mystery is tight as a tambour. Top-notch sleuthing, classy with Latin saws and observations. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Sharan Newman won Romantic Times magazine's Career Achievement Award for Historical Mystery in 1999. She lives in Oregon.

Customer Reviews

A Good Read
This is the 2nd in the Catherine LeVendeur series, and is every bit as enjoyable as the first. Edgar and Catherine are a great sleuthing pair, and the 12th century detail is fascinating. I also appreciate Newman's character development; even minor characters are well-developed and interesting.

The Devil's Door
As a student of Medieval History and an avid reader of bothmystery novels and historical novels this book was right up my alley. Newman's characters are lively and the plot moves quickly and logically, though not necessarily predictably. I have read two books in this series and am eager to read the rest of them. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a light mystery read with an historical setting. I have read this book twice myself. END

A Fine Medieval Mystery.
Reading Ms. Newman's books reveals her love for the era that she writes in. She is very familiar with the 12th century, and her books are very well researched. I like Catherine and Edgar, although they do get a bit silly at times, but I'm sure they will mature nicely. They do manage to get in some pretty odious situations, as well as dangerous ones. In this book Catherine and Edgar are pulled into a family secret that results in three deaths and a lot of unhappiness. Both of them face danger, but manage to triumph, partly because of their love for each other. A good historical read!