The Wicked Winter

by Kate Sedley

Book Overview

Despite the wintry weather, Roger the traveling Chapman is once again relishing the freedom of his calling. As he journeys west, he finds himself following in the footsteps of an itinerant preacher,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0747256314
• ISBN13: 9780747256311
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Sixth Book in a Terrific Series

The Author Kate Sedley was born in Bristol and it is probably no coincidence that the majority of the Roger Chapman books take place in and around the Bristol area. Kate was educated at the Red Maid's School in Westbury-on-Trym. She is married and has a son and a daughter. Kate Sedley's books about Roger Chapman, the pedlar come murder mystery sleuth are becoming more and more popular and rightly so. They are good entertaining reading with plots and backgrounds that have been well thought out and well researched. They are what I would call light reading (very much like the writing style of Paul Doherty or Bernard Knight, two other well known authors of medieval mysteries). This book is the sixth in the series. Roger the Chapman has braved the wintry weather to sell his wares. Much of his business is done on the road, travelling between the big stately houses of the rich and famous. There are always sewing maids running out of needle and thread, or the cook needing new knives or the like. Even the lady of the manor will sometimes want a fine new pair of gloves, or buckles for her shoes. However when he arrives at Cedarwell Manor to sell his wares he finds his customer, Lady Cedarwell dead. Roger teams up with a man of the cloth to investigate when seems to be her premature death.

A good read with a mazer of ale.....or other libation : )

I've read 7 of Kate Sedley's, "Roger The Chapman" series and have been quite pleased with each one! Wicked Winter is no exception. Our very likeable chapman finds himself embroiled in a yet another mysterious murder or chain of such, as it is in Wicked Winter. In fact...they're dropping like flies. Wicked is an excellent adjective to describe the winter Roger the Chapman is experiencing in this story, as decadence seems to abound in Cederwell Manor, where he finds himself stranded by snow with the body-count rising by the hour. All sorts of intriguing characters have a room at this manor house, including a cheating Sir Hugh whose excessively pious wife is the first to turn up stiff, or flat as may well be a better description... in-Laws who've overstayed their welcome, a homosexual young master, multitudinous servants with their own issues, etc etc.....now add to the pot an over-zealous clergyman, Roger and the widow up the road ...stir in a hermit and you've got yourself quite a bit to think over! I solved it myself well before the end, but it was quite entertaining getting there. I was especially amused by the second body who is found frozen in the well with his nekked legs pointing to the clouds, lol. I'm impressed with the 15th century details described by Sedley in her series and admit that it was the setting alone that drew me in to the volumes, for I'm not a Mystery genre reader by any account. I'm a brit-o-phile and medieval-o-phile ....so I enjoy Sedley's descriptives of the countryside, folk and history each novel encompasses. I have gained a real liking for our solver of mysteries, whose character is frank, honorable and someone I'd like to know if he is to be found in the here and now of the 21st century.....But I sure wish I had a time machine to travel back to these stark and scary times if only for a little while.....sigh. Can't wait to get my hands on the rest of Sedley's novels!

It's a really wicked winter for Roger Chapman!

As if one body isn't enough, there's a second, then a third! Will the killing ever stop? In Kate Sedley's sixth Roger the Chapman medieval mystery, the author goes to the very frozen core of her adventures--the "dead" of winter! And it takes every ounce of mental firepower for Roger to sort this one out. Roger, a traveling peddler (or chapman) who has been successful in thwarting out murderers before, finds himself weary of the homelife during one 15th century winter in England. Wanderlust and adventure in his blood soon win out and he's on the road again. This time, he encounters a very popular traveling Dominican friar, Brother Simeon, who is determined to save every soul in his sight with his ultra-conservative sermons. The two are paired together as they approach Cederwell Manor, Roger to sell his wares and Simeon to save their souls. Alas, upon their arrival they discover, at the bottom of the manor tower, the body of Lady Cederwell herself, who had sent for the erstwhile friar. Her death appears an accident but both Roger and Simeon suspect foul play. The next morning, Lady Cederwell's half-brother is found unceremoniously dumped--and very dead--in the well of the manor. Within another 24 hours, a hermit, who had befriended Roger earlier, is found dead among the frozen undergrowth. Roger, of course, knows the murder is among those who are presently in the manor. (And it's a manor that's filled with so much "sin" that the pious Lady Cederwell had summoned the friar for his help--it seems the manor's a real Sodom and Gomorra!) The weather is so bad that no one can come and go. With his usual diligence--coupled with a charming naiveté, good humor, and strong personality--Roger considers all the ingredients to this murderous bouillabaisse and fighting time comes up with the real killer in an exciting climax to a well-written tale. "The Wicked Winter" is probably the most thrilling of Sedley's series, which beginswith "Death and the Chapman." As with most of the series in this genre, one doesn't necessarily have to begin with the first-written, but there are a few elements included that not having read the earlier books the reader may miss out upon, but not so much as to ruin a good tale. This series continues, and Sedley and her Chapman are a good combo. Sedley has a good grasp on pacing and nuance and seems completely in control of her plot, her characters, and her theme. "The Wicked Winter" is a good read--stay bundled up and expect the unexpected! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

very good medieval mystery

Although he is a widower raising a one-year old daughter with the help of his mother-in-law, Roger Chapman feels a need to wander, especially after a long period of confinement. His job as a traveling peddler provides him with the excuse of leaving his daughter under the care of someone else. In 1476, he meets Friar Simeon, a zealot when it comes to the sins of the flesh. Roger and Simeon leave together the day after the the latter completes his sermon Roger goes to Lynom Hall to sell his wares. The mistress of the house, Lady Ursula is having an affair with Sir Hugh Cederwell of Cederwell Manor though he is married to a pious wife. Roger next goes to Cederwell where he runs into Simeon. Lady Cederwell desperately wants to speak with the friar, but she is found dead before she can find him. A snowstorm confines everyone to the manor. Soon Lady Cederwell's half brother is found dead too. On the surface, both deaths look like accidents, but Roger wonders if the manor's lady was about to accuse her unfaithful spouse of adultery. Perhaps murder was used to silence Lady Cederwell and her sibling. Anyone interested in medieval history needs to read THE WICKED WINTER, an insider's look into the lives of minor lords and commoners. Kate Sedley reminds her audience that it's four centuries after William's victory and still the Saxons and Normans remain partially divided. The mystery is interesting and complex due to the myriad of viable suspects. Though Monday quarterbacking will say I should have known, few readers will guess the identity of the villain though the clues are all there.Harriet Klausner