On The Horns of Death

I really enjoyed reading ‘Shadow of the Bull’ and was excited to continue Martis’ journey in Ancient Crete in ‘On the Horns of Death’.

The story picks up around 7 months after the concluding events of ’Shadow of the Bull’ and I think reading it first definitely enhances the experience of reading ‘On the Horns of Death’ especially in the establishment of the setting and Martis’ family and surrounding characters. Like the first book, there are very detailed descriptions of the environment, regalia and general appearances that really evokes the images associated with Ancient Crete and the surviving scenes we see on the Palace of Knossos today. Additionally, Martis’ character has been built upon and she has seemingly grown and matured after the events of book one and her advancement working with the bulls. What I love about this book is that as much as it is a murder mystery novel, the characters are well fleshed out and developed, with women featuring prominently instead of 2D side characters.

The murder-mystery element is established really early in the story and the mystery was woven into the story with new and existing characters really well. I honestly had no hunch on who the murderer was, I was really intrigued and compelled to finish the story and get answers. I do wish there was a bit more closure at the end, I felt it was very abrupt.

Thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher Severn Press, for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review, these thoughts are all my own.

An exciting tale about bull leapers in ancient Crete. Good and well drawn characters and a page turner. What more can a reader ask? I recommend the novel highly. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.

After falling down the Cozy Mystery hole, I've come to expect a certain formula and location for these types of books. So I was extremely interested in a mystery that was similar to the cozies I loved but set in Ancient Crete! Having actually been to Knossos a couple of times, the location was already familiar to me. But the author brought life to the ancient ruins with an amazing and diverse cast and a puzzling mystery to solve. It's hard to review a book like this without giving away the ending so I'll just say that I loved the main character and how she worked her way though the various clue and suspects. The supporting cast was fleshed out enough that you actually care for them and I'm very interested in seeing follow up books that would expand on these people.

My only concern? I need more historical information! Thankfully the writer added some at the end but I still wanted to get a bit more information about the ancient Minoan practices. Maybe even a map of Knossos as it would exist in the novel?

I missed the first book but no matter- this cozy (no other term for it) set in ancient Crete is just as enjoyable as a standalone. Mattis, a bull leaper searches for the villain who killed a new addition to team and finds some tangled secrets. I liked the atmospherics and learning a bit about the time period. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A easy fast read from an expert at historical mystery.

Once again, Martis finds herself at the heart of an unexplained death, when she is actually the person who discovers the first body in very distressing circumstances. While the plotting and the quest for the murderer has to be one of the narratives driving the story in any whodunit – this time around, I find I’m equally entranced by all the details surrounding Martis’s everyday life.

I have visited Crete and the palace of Knossos, albeit back when Noah was knee-high to a hen, so reading a story in that setting is a joy, particularly when it’s done as well as it is here. One thing that stood out for me is that everyone generally is getting everywhere on foot. No leaping on a horse/stagecoach/motor bike to rush to wherever you need to go. This affects the pace a bit – but means the young protagonist is extremely fit and that as people age, their infirmities bite a lot harder.

Martis is only sixteen, very headstrong and restless while trying to discover what it is she wants in life. What she doesn’t want is to settle down, get married and have children, which immediately makes her a bit different from the majority of young women she knows. However, I liked the fact that while she’s unusual, she isn’t regarded as some freak. Women had a lot more choices in the Minoan civilisation as they were the ones who held property and men married into the matriarchal family. Teenagers from historical times tend not to be as air-headed as their modern peers, because everyone grew up far more quickly in a time when the life expectancy was a lot shorter. So if you tend to avoid teenage protagonists because you don’t want the angst, it’s dialled down here. That said, Kuhns hasn’t made Martis act like a responsible thirty-something, either. I think she’s got the balance just about right.

The bodies stack up and Martis finds herself finding out a lot more about her dead sisters and their friends as she sets about trying to discover who’s doing the killing and putting a stop to it. Once we got to the denouement – the killer wasn’t who I was expecting, but it wasn’t wholly satisfying for reasons I don’t want to go into here, because I’d be lurching into Spoiler territory. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the vividly depicted world Kuhns has woven and would be very happy to revisit it. Recommended for fans of historical murder mysteries. While I obtained an arc of On the Horns of Death from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

This is a good series that makes you meet the characters you see in the Micenean frescoes. Well plotted and compelling, a travel in time and space that kept me guessing and reading.
Martis is a likeable character and the historical background is fascinating.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

More Dangerous for Bull Jumpers Than The Bulls

Martis is late and hurries into the caves below Knossos. She smells blood as she enters. The bulls are agitated, especially the one chosen for today’s ceremony. The bull had damaged the side of its pen. She could not force herself into the circle of older male jumpers. She goes around them and peers through the damage. She lowers herself to see through a larger gap for a better look. She sees a bloody body that has been gored and stomped. Their trainer calls for someone to get Tinos, who serves as the chief administrator of Knossos. When he arrives, he is shown to the body. He asks if anyone recognizes the body. No one does. Martis looks, but his face is too damaged. The body is wearing a kelt, not just a loincloth, as bull jumpers do. She recognizes kelt. It is Duzi, a fellow bull jumper. From this death, Tinos starts the official investigation. Martis starts a more productive unofficial investigation.

This novel has only one main storyline: Martis’s unofficial investigation. While she is more productive in gathering information than Tinos, he does not want her to help and repeatedly tells her to stop. Her mother is also very insistent that she stop investigating. They both fear for her life if she continues. This pressure and continuing murders didn’t create tension at a level that captured my interest. The murders kept occurring, but none of the evidence led to any suspects. Martis thinks two bull jumpers are the most likely suspects, but definitive evidence has not been found. My interest is finally captured late in the novel. It was at this point that I could not stop reading.

Martis is an extrovert, and her personality is very evident. She is fast approaching the age when she will no longer be a child but an adult. Marriage is expected, and she must decide on the trade for the rest of her life. She wants to follow Artemis, not marry, and does not want to be a weaver. Supporting her in making these decisions is revealed in Martis's discussions with Arphaia and a B-storyline thread involving Martis and the healer, Despina. This aspect was an enjoyable aspect of this novel.

I did not see anything that would raise concerns about intimate scenes or language in this novel. There are murders, but descriptive violence doesn’t occur until the novel's end. It does not rise to the level available on prime-time television. I found it valuable reading this novel on an e-reader with Internet access. This access allowed me to learn more about the meaning and details of some ancient Cretan/Greek words. This novel is the second in the series, but it is my first read of this series. I did not find any references to that novel that did not have adequate backfill.

The aspect of this novel that troubled me the most is as I wrote above. All the ingredients were there to capture my interest, but I needed to be stronger to get the job done. What I liked is that it is set in ancient Knossos. I have read only two novels of that era, both dealing with Theseus and the Minotaur. I did enjoy this more personal view of the people of Knossos. I did like that after Martis couldn’t work out the motives, it all fell together without any loose ends.

This is the first novel by this author I have read, so I have not decided yet on a rating. If you enjoy reading ancient historical novels that are also cozy mystery novels, this novel may interest you. It was not up to the novels I rated as a four, but it also didn’t have issues severe enough to assign a three. I chose to assign it a four.

I received this novel's free prepublication e-book version through NetGalley from Severn House. My review is based solely on my own reading experience of this book. Thank you, Severn House, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

A continuation from "In the Shadow of the Bull", "On the Horns of Death" brings a more interesting and, personally, more thought out mystery. There is a higher focus on the mystery element than there was in the previous book, with Martis at the centre of it all.

Taking place about seven or so months since the end of the first book, this book focuses more on the bull leaping team and their relationships. We delve deeper into some existing characters mentioned in Book One as well as new ones, seeing this all occur through Martis' eyes as she tries to solve the mystery. The world building is as good as it was in the first, with a good description of the way people lived and their customs. The details on the clothing and jewellery are also a nice touch.

The downside to this has 100% got to be the ending. It was very abrupt, very rushed and felt highly unfinished. There was no closure, the big reveal and event happened, Martis was told what happened, and then it just ended. It just felt like a huge letdown, since I did not know who the killer was until the reveal and was brought to a high to just be doused in cold water.

Overall, a decent read and a good sequel though. I look forward to a third if there will be.

In the first chapter of the second Ancient Crete Mysteries, set in 1450 BC, sixteen-year-old bull leaper, Martis, finds Duzi, the newest member of the team, inside a bull pen, gored and trampled to death. In spite of danger to herself she goes against the wishes of the official investigator and follows the clues. She is the first to notice that there are stab wounds on Duzi’s body, which leads to a conclusion of murder. Two more deaths ensue as Martis connects the clues to her dead sister, Opis, and her clique of beauties who were highly-competitive in the seduction of male bull-dancers.

This is a fascinating multiple murder mystery, offering a wealth of historical information; people, culture, dress, rites and sacrificial ceremonies, and god-worship. Kuhns casts her characters in a likeable, accessible manner, giving modern readers an opportunity to know these people who, although culturally very distant, had similar likes and dislikes, loves, losses, jealousies, hopes and dreams. The fearlessness of these young girls and boys, working at such a dangerous occupation to make something of their later life, is extraordinary, but Kuhns makes it quite matter of fact, a part of daily life in Knossos, without understating the danger. I read this novel as a standalone, but author Kuhns’ clever carrot-dangling of events from the first book, (two dead sisters!) immediately enticed me to go looking for a copy of In the Shadow of the Bull. What higher praise can there be?