Book Review: A Brotherly Devotion by Jill Bray

Book ReviewHistorical FictionBlog Tour
Written By Rachel Elwiss Joyce

The Rachel’s Random Resources Blog Tour

A Brotherly Devotion by Jill Bray

YORK 1224: On a hot July night, Brother Clement is savagely murdered when returning from administering to Lady Maud de Mowbray.

Simon de Hale, Sheriff of Yorkshire, is in his office when Abbot Robert visits to inform him of the murder, and request that he take responsibility for investigating the killing.

Simon is unsure whether the murder is a crime against the Abbey, or if it is a more personal matter against the monk.

Commencing their investigation, Simon and his deputy, Adam, ride out to see Lady Maud de Mowbray at Overton - the last person to see Brother Clement alive. When they encounter her son, Roger de Mowbray, they both take an instant dislike to him.

Lady Mowbray reveals to Simon that she intends to leave her money to the Abbey, and Simon can see this being a motive for the monk’s murder, if her son was aware of this.

The investigation gathers pace and a murder weapon is found.

A banquet is held at the castle to honour the Royal Justice - during which, one of the guests is exposed as the murderer and apprehended. But that will not be the end of the story for Simon and his family.

My Review of the Novel:

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical whodunnit and would recommend.

It started with action (the murder) and kept going. It took me a chapter or so to get into the writing, but the story was so engaging I was immersed by chapter 2.

I really love stories that contain more than one plot, and where the various plots intertwine. This story, with murders, a love triangle, paternalistic misogyny (when doesn’t that happen in medieval times, me thinks…), the peasants revolting because there isn’t enough food, and out-of-touch, wealthy churchmen and class divides, gave a fun and interesting read.

The abbot and sheriff were those known to history (which is always nice), and the rest were fictional, but it fitted the storyline.

All the plots moved very quickly and most of the things we, the readers, would be concerned about were resolved at the end. So, all in all, very satisfying.

I had a couple of gripes. There wasn’t a huge amount of nuance to the characters’ emotions (but then that is rare in historical whodunnits), although the subplots did give us something quite three-dimensional. There were also two unresolved issues at the end. A missing accomplice (I’m fairly sure I didn’t miss it…), and an unresolved issue between abbey and commoners. But then, maybe there’ll be sequel and the accomplice might appear then, and the unresolved issue with the abbey is probably a reflection of how life would have been those days.

In summary, a fun, fulfilling medieval whodunnit which I really enjoyed.

You can buy YOUR copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brotherly-Devotion-Murder-Most-Foul/dp/B0FHDJKFZC

Rachel Elwiss Joyce

Rachel Elwiss Joyce, Author of Historical Fiction.

Exploring power, loyalty, and love in turbulent medieval England.

Rachel came to novel writing later in life, but she has always been passionate about history, storytelling, and the forgotten voices of women. She writes meticulously researched, immersive historical fiction that brings overlooked heroines into the light.

She started inventing tales about medieval women living in castles when she was just six years old—and never stopped. But when she discovered the extraordinary story of Nicola de la Haye, the first female sheriff, who defended Lincoln Castle from a French invasion and became known as ‘the woman who saved England’, Rachel knew she had found a heroine worth telling the world about.

Lady of Lincoln is her debut novel, the first book in her Nicola de la Haye Series, with sequels to follow.

https://rachelelwissjoyce.com
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