Catrin Collier

Advantages: Excellent portrayal of medieval England, superb characters
Disadvantages: Slow at the start

...The Love Knot is one of the most vivid and evocative historical novels I've ever read. Elizabeth Chadwick's descriptions of medieval England are succinct but detailed, recreating the time with enormous skill. I wasn't overly impressed with the first Chadwick book I read, Shadows and Strongholds (though it's still a good read), but The Love Knot shows her talents to full advantage. It demonstrates how spectacular historical fiction can be. I found the novel a little too slow-paced at first, although there's no clear reason for it: it opens with Oliver Pascal, a disinherited knight serving Earl Robert of Gloucester, finding a woman and a young boy amongst the wreckage of a ravaged lodge. The boy, Richard, is the illegitimate child of the late King Henry and the woman is his nurse, Catrin. Richard's mother, Amice, lies dying after... Read review

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Advantages: Believable characters, well-written, interesting social history
Disadvantages: No great depth, nothing much to ponder after reading, no great excitement, takes a while to establish who is who

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Advantages: Great un-put-downable novel with believable characters
Disadvantages: No preface from author re: revised edition of story

...Having just read one of Jeffery Deavers other books (the great 'The Cold Moon') I was compelled to pick up the only other Deaver book I had lying around the house and plough straight in. Unfortunately, when I did so I didn't intend to be staying up most of the night trying to find a suitable place to close the damn thing before my eyes finally gave up on their own accord. Written over ten years ago the all-new current paperback version is a new and revised edition which sadly comes without a preface by the author explaining his amendments and/or ommisions. 'Speaking in Tongues' tells the tale of Megan Collier and of how, upon meeting her new therapist, Aaron Matthews, in an attempt to curb her dysfunctional attitude, she ends up being kidnapped by the brilliant psychologist and transpoerted to his secret hideaway in an act... Read review

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