First Sentence: Every drunk is a magician. Petroc is an 18-years old novice monk. He is waylaid by Sir Hugh de Kerveze and taken to the Cathedral where he is instructed to remove the relic of the hand of Saint Euphemia. Sir Hugh murders a priest, who comes across them in the Cathedral. He blames the murder on Petroc who runs to save his life. Thus also begins the adventure of his life. Talk about a fascinating book. This one kept me reading straight through; one day, beginning to end. It's not really a mystery, but it is a wonderful coming-of-age, adventure in a hard way. Vaughan-Hughes excels at description places, emotions and people. The only reason I didn't give it an excellent is that the pacing is uneven. There is profanity and violence, but it is appropriate for the period and characters. You go from high suspense and excitement, to stretches of exposition. Even that, I found fascinating as it dealt with Petroc's travels, learning to sail, his emotions and falling in love. I always look for what I may have learned from a book and, in this case, it was a lot; certainly about life during that period, reliquary and a bit about the Cathars. I thoroughly enjoyed this and am really looking forward to the next in the series.
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