The Outlaw's Tale (Dame Frevisse Medieval Mysteries)

by Margaret Frazer

Book Overview

En route to a baptism, Sister Frevisse is waylaid by a band of outlaws and learns that their leader is her long-lost cousin Nicholas and that he needs her to help get him pardoned for his crimes. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0515113352
• ISBN13: 9780515113358
• Release Date: February 1994
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 217 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 4.2" x 0.6"

Customer Reviews

Sister Frevisse on the road.

In this book we find Sister Frevisse on the road with another nun from St. Frideswide. They are waylaid in their travels by a cousin of Sister Frevisse. This cousin is one she hasn't seen for some time because he's been an outlaw . He has stopped his cousin to enlist her aid in getting him a pardon so that he can resume a normal life. While Sister Frevisse is waiting for an answer about this pardon she is lodging at the home of one her cousin's business partners and a murder is commmitted. Sister Frevisse is forced to jeopardise everything she holds dear to solve the crime. She enters a world of lies and deceit in order to protect some and expose others. Ms. Frazer does a good job of setting her stories in the period and the plot moves along in a way that is very compatable with this period.

A solid addition to the Frevisse series

While _The Outlaw's Tale_ is not quite as stellar as some of the series' other books, it's a well-told and often puzzling mystery story nonetheless. Its story is complex, and builds with a lesiurely pace that fits both its period and its primary setting: a well-off household in late medieval England. Though taken outside of the priory for the first (though not last) time in the series, Dame Frevisse is still her usual self: deeply compassionate beneath her acrid wit, and driven by a mixture of deep piety, rock-solid common sense, and restless curiosity. Hers is one of the few believable portraits of a nun in historical fiction, simply because she enjoys the contemplative life; she is also one of the most likable detectives in the mystery genre because of her compassion. Whereas most detectives sleuth to solve puzzles, Frevisse does so to help people and heal relationships. The book's final plot twist is, characteristically for the series, both unexpected and rather sad, yet satisfying as well. Its roguish outlaws'adoption of late medieval Robin Hood personae is both apt and humorously done, and its mix of characters is vibrant. Overall, this is a book worth reading in a series worth reading.