The Stallions of Woodstock
King’s commissioners, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive in Oxford to adjudicate a land dispute and are drawn into an investigation of murder and suicide. While the sheriff of Oxford is intent on a speedy resolution, Delchard and Bret seek truth and justice. I guessed the answers to both mysteries mid-way through, but still enjoyed the gradual revelation of the web of hidden relationships and ‘red herrings’.
This book can be read, as in my case, as a standalone, though earlier books in the series would, I presume, provide useful insight into both Delchard and Bret. Despite knowing little about them, I nevertheless engaged with both, perhaps because of the contrast with unpleasant antagonists. However, I found the main female characters unconvincing, and the ‘purple’ prose of the sexual encounters irritating – ‘luscious hours of exquisite pleasure’, ‘explosion of pure ecstasy’, one lady addressing her lover as ‘My stallion’. Occasional clichés – ‘hounds of hell’ – also jarred, as did the omniscient viewpoint, but these quibbles were compensated for by memorable descriptions such as ‘a pasty countenance … apparently assembled from discarded features of a dozen other misshapen faces’. Overall an easy read, likely to appeal to fans of Cadfael.
