book review: Covenant with Hell by Priscilla Royal

Covenant with Hell  (Medieval Mystery, #10)Covenant with Hell by Priscilla Royal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you’ve read my reviews of Priscilla Royal’s previous 9 books, you know that I love this series. This 10th addition to the series is no exception. The book takes place at Our Lady of Walsingham shrine, and there is a lot of great background explaining the shrine and its origins. Our two main characters, Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas, are back, although since the mystery takes place at the shrine, none of the other regulars make an appearance.
The mystery itself is relatively straightforward. A young nun has been killed, there is a plot to assassinate Edward I (I’m sure fans of the Welsh trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman wish it had succeeded, but I digress), and the question is whether the two events are related and, if so, who is the killer, and who is the assassin?
There is also plenty of historical detail about the medieval attitude towards religion and religious artifacts. The author, as always, does a fabulous job of integrating these details in a seamless way with the story, so you never feel like you’re being lectured–you just absorb the details while reading the story.
The mystery is wrapped up in a satisfactory fashion with a convenient dangling hook that I hope means many more books in the series to come!

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