Conspiracy of Wolves

I was so pleased to get the opportunity to read this new chapter of a wonderful series after a long break so thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to do so.

An enjoyable reunion with 'old friends', well written and gripping, I read it in two sittings. More mystery and murder in medieval York, I really hope there will be another as they were and still are a hugely popular series.

My thoughts
I haven’t read any of Robb’s previous novels (mea culpa) but Conspiracy of Wolves works as a standalone. Robb uses backstory well. She’s specific enough that I understood the context of references to the past, but vague enough that she doesn’t give away the solution to a previous series’ title.

I liked Owen Archer & company enough that I’ll seek out previous books in this series. There were so many things to enjoy! Here’s a few:

1. The relevance
Ever heard the saying “The more things change, the more they stay the same”? This ran through my mind several times as I read.

Each time a character referenced the power of wealthy people to escape justice, I nodded my head. Yes, that still happens.

Each time a character expressed fear over pregnancy and childbirth, I nodded again. Yes, modern medicine has helped lessen the risk of childbearing . . . if one has access to it. Not everyone does. Lucie, Archer’s wife, Alisoun, and Magda, all gifted healers, know the dangers of pregnancy. Each time a pregnancy is mentioned (and it’s a reoccurring motif), it’s with trepidation. The healers make great use of their limited resources, all the while knowing their efforts might be too little, too late.

This theme hit me especially hard because of the high maternal death rate in my home state. Recent news reports have shown that a high percentage of women live more than two hours from a hospital and adequate healthcare during their pregnancies. Horrible, but true. It made the characters’ fears feel relevant and real for me, despite the differences in our time periods.

2. The historical research
Robb knows this time period. Her words immersed me in 14th century York, its culture, and its people. She brought it to life in rich detail. I was in awe of her ability to re-create a world of the past without bogging down the story with unnecessary facts or drawing undue attention to her methods. (Great historical fiction writers are rockstars, in my opinion.)

3. Relatable characters
I sympathized and cheered for them. (Well, some of them!) While the time period helps shape their worldviews, these characters’ personalities and relationships show that human nature hasn’t changed.

4. Chaucer
All the characters were great to meet. But having Geoffrey Chaucer (yes, that Chaucer!) as a character was too much fun for me as a literature major. All that gossipy, clever curiosity in his creative mind: it’s delicious fun to see Robb bring the famed author to life and use him in the story. Anyone who’s read The Canterbury Tales will love this.

5. And more . . .
Well-developed series characters who continually reveal new sides of their personalities. Conflicting agendas and suspicions. Tense atmosphere with a delightfully creepy edge. Evocative descriptions. A realistic, rich mystery.

A must-read for fans of historical mysteries.
Thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Note: Review on meredithrankin.com will go live on July 25, 2019.

A Conspiracy of Wolves by Candace Robb is Book 11 in the Owen Archer series. That means there are 10 previous books in this series. Ten! I’m shocked that it’s taken me this long to discover this series (I love historical fiction set in this era) but to be fair, the previous book was published back in 2008, so there has been a bit of a gap.

I’m going to assume that many of the characters in A Conspiracy of Wolves have already been introduced in previous books, but this book reads really well as a standalone. There’s enough of an introduction that I felt comfortable with the characters and their relationships. I was a little nervous when I first picked up the book because the first thing I saw was the FOUR pages listing all the characters in the book. I was worried it would be hard to keep track of everyone, but it honestly wasn’t.

I really like Captain Archer, the protagonist. He’s strong, handsome, smart and fair – the perfect man to base a book series on. But it’s the supporting characters that make this book even more memorable. From Owen’s equally smart and beautiful wife, Lucie, to the wise Riverwoman Magda, to real-life historical figure Geoffrey Chaucer, every character has something interesting to lend to the story.

When an author is really good at writing historical fiction, it shows. The dialogue, the setting, the details… it needs to feel realistic – so much so that you don’t even notice that you’ve been transported. You can tell that Robb knows her stuff – the book makes 14th century York come alive. But the author doesn’t bog the story down with lots of descriptions or explanations – it’s a perfect balance of giving you enough information to see imagine everything in your mind, but not too much that you feel like you’re being clubbed over the head with a history book.

This character-driven story includes murder, revenge, irrational fears and family loyalties and conspiracies. Normally when I read mysteries, a small part of my brain is busy trying to figure out who did it, but this one had me stumped for awhile and in the end, I think I was enjoying the story so much that I wasn’t trying that hard to figure out the ending.

*** Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

My goodness, just how brilliant is this book? Full disclosure; I was at first a bit tentative about reviewing this, mainly because with it being book eleven in the Owen Archer series, I did worry that I had come into the series way too late to truly be able to enjoy it, I didn’t know if the previous stories were linked in anyway or if I would be missing out on anything by not reading the previous ten books; but I loved the sound of this so much that I just went for it and oh, boy am I pleased that I did, this is amazing – how has this series past be by for so long? H

I really didn’t need to worry about not enjoying it or not being able to follow the story, if I didn’t know this was apart of a series, I would have read it like a stand-a-lone, but saying that I am eager to read more of Owen Archer – who is a stunning hero, my god how much have a fallen head over heels for this one eyed, marksman and medieval detective? Be still my beating heart, it is definitely a moment for a #DoubleSigh 😉

Set during the 14th century in York, after the brutal death of Hoban Swann; a member from one of the most prominent families in York, Hoban’s father asks Owen Archer to help and investigate what happened. Owen is currently grieving after a friends death, but not knowing where his future lays, Owen accepts the case. It first appears as though the victim has been attacked by something dog or wolf like, as his wounds could only come from such a savage beast, yet Owen has other idea’s, from his first look over the body he soon realises that the killer must be human, and then when another body is discovered and Owen thinks that these two attacks must be connected some how…but how? – Well, I ain’t going to tell you, am I? 😉 So with his friend Geoffrey Chaucer (Yes, the very one, and no not the Paul Bettany one either ;-)) honestly, Chaucer is a hoot, the way he irritates the hell out of Owen with his constant babbling and writing is very funny, there is quite a bit of one eye rolling from Owen.

I do love the relationship between Owen and Chaucer, when I first met them I would never have thought that they would have such a great if odd friendship, I don’t know if Chaucer has been a constant fixture thought the series, but from this I would say he has because there is such a ease between them, I really love how these two are written a fictional character and a real man from history good friends. I love it.

As the investigation progresses Owen think that healers apprentice Alisoun knows far more then what she says and going from the way the story opened I would have to agree with him, I do really like Alisoun, she is a interesting character she is trying to learn the ways of the healer and yet she is unsure of how to make her own way in that world, I love how her character develops through the story.

Anyone who follows my reviews will have an idea of what the book is like, as I am a bit of a creature of habit and do tend to stick very closely to what I like, I love a good historical mystery, I love following the investigation and trying to guess where the story is leading some times you can guess where there the investigation is going, but this one took me by surprise. I first though this person was involved then quickly changing my mind to that person – honestly I would have found most of the cast of characters guilty for something, and then; boom this mind-blowing ending that made me sit back and go “Woah, that was unexpected!”

Overall this is a seriously great, edge of your seat, page turning mystery that grabs you from that very first sentence. It has a real edginess to it that is not for the faint hearted, the writing is some of the best I have come across it is very clear that Candace Robb has a passion for the era and these stories, as you can feel it in the words the details are incredibly accurate everything from the clothing to the dialogue is bang on the mark with historical accuracy. While reading and as you delve deeper and deeper into the mystery you feel the tension that swirls around Owen’s shoulders as he tries to find out what is going on, and for me that is the perfect historical, I love that realism.

A brutally, realistic and edgy mystery that you won’t wish to end.

I am so happy to read a new Owen and Lucie book. Owen is choosing between two jobs while solving a couple of murders. Chaucer is back as his scribe and Jasper is working with Lucie.
Goodreads

Candace Robb has Owen Archer at a turning point in his career. His former employer Archbishop Thorsby of York has died and Owen has been approached to represent Prince Edward in York and the North. Also he has a chance to be in charge of law in York. It is 1374; the king is aging and his son Edward is sick. People start dying in York; could it be because of old crimes of the past? Read Conspiracy of Wolves to find out.