Girl In A Red Tunic
At the end of the 12th century, England is in the grip of a very cold winter. Food is short and so is money as endless taxes are imposed to ransom King Richard, the Lionheart. At Hawkenlye Abbey, Abbess Helewise is struggling to feed and care for all those who come to her for help, and among them is her elder son, Leofgar, together with his wife and small son. Then a man is found hanging from a tree in the nearby wood, Leofgar and his family disappear, and the finger is pointed at Leofgar as the murderer. Together with Sir Josse d’Acquin and Gervase de Gifford, Helewise is determined to solve the mystery and clear her son’s name.
This is another in the Hawkenlye Mystery series. Alys Clare is adept at leading the reader on through the twists and turns of the plot, with tantalising hints at what may or may not have happened but revealing nothing until the end. This is the first book I have read in this series, but it will not be the last.
