The Outlaw's Tale: Dame Frevisse Medieval Mysteries, #3
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About this ebook
ACT OF MERCY, ACT OF MURDER
Leaving the safety of her nunnery walls behind, Dame Frevisse is drawn into an unholy web of treachery and deceit. Waylaid on the King's Highway by a band of outlaws, Frevisse is shocked to discover that their leader is her long-lost cousin Nicholas. When he pleads with her to help him obtain a pardon for his crimes, she finds herself trapped between the harsh edicts of the law and the mercy of her vows.
But even as she struggles to restore his fortunes, Frevisse must fight to save his soul... and his life. Before the outlaw's tale can be told, the saintly nun will find herself trapped in a manor house of murder, caught between the holy passions of the heart and the sinful greeds of man.
PRAISE FOR THE OUTLAW'S TALE
"A tale well told, filled with intrigue and spiced with romance and rogues." - School Library Journal
"...a meticulous recreation of not only how people lived more than five hundred years ago, but how they loved, suffered and sinned. Just the thing for anybody who usually disparages the genre to show how well it can be done, in the right hands." - Myshelf.com
"Dame Frevisse is well-born, well-educated, and not at all afraid to stick her inquisitive nose into anything which just does not seem right." - Tower Books Mystery Newsletter
PRAISE FOR THE SISTER FREVISSE MEDIEVAL MYSTERY SERIES
"Frazer's writing is both erudite and vivid, and she has the ability to bring characters to life within a strong, clear story." - Drood Review of Mystery
"This series is full of the richness of the fifteenth century, handled with the care it deserves. Margaret Frazer's tales are charmingly and intelligently contrived." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Accurate period detail, adroit characterization, and lively dialogue add to the pleasure." - Publishers Weekly
Twice nominated for the Minnesota Book Award.
Twice nominated for the Edgar Award.
Margaret Frazer
Herodotus Award Winner ("Neither Pity, Love, Nor Fear") Edgar Award-nominee (The Servant's Tale) Edgar Award-nominee (The Prioress' Tale) Minnesota Book Award nominee (The Bishop's Tale) Minnesota Book Award nominee (The Reeve's Tale) To begin with, 'Margaret Frazer' was two people, both interested in writing and in medieval England, one of them with modern murder mysteries already published, the other with file drawers, shelves, and notebooks full of research on England in the 1400s. They met in a historical recreationist group called the Society for Creative Anachronism and joined forces to write The Novice's Tale, the first in a history mystery series centered on a Benedictine nun, Dame Frevisse, of a small priory in Oxfordshire. Both character and setting were chosen for the challenge they presented – a cloistered nun in a rural nunnery: how does one go about being involved in murders in that situation? -- and the chance to explore medieval life from a different perspective. During their collaboration, the authors worked together by first laying out the general idea of a story. Then the 'Frazer' half of the team developed the plot and characters in detail and wrote the first draft. The 'Margaret' half then re-worked that into a second draft, the 'Frazer' half re-worked that (and it helped they lived five miles apart and couldn't hear what each said about the other during these stages!), and then they did the final draft together, never able to argue over it too long because by then there would be a deadline closing in. The collaboration worked well through six books and two award nominations – an Edgar for The Servant's Tale and a Minnesota Book Award for The Bishop's Tale – before the 'Margaret' half grew tired of the series and amicably returned to the 20th century, leaving the 'Frazer' half to continue the series, with an Edgar nomination for The Prioress' Tale. I write stories set in medieval England because I greatly enjoy looking at the world from other perspectives than the 20th century. My brief college career was as an archaeology major with writing intended as a hobby, but with one thing and another, my interest came down to medieval England with writing as my primary activity, only rivaled by my love of research. But why medieval England, especially for someone who grew up without any interest in knights in shining armor and ladies fair? That's a tangled tale but the final steps were ...
Read more from Margaret Frazer
The Reeve's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Titles in the series (9)
The Boy's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bishop's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Witch's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outlaw's Tale: Dame Frevisse Medieval Mysteries, #3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stone-Worker's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Midwife's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winter Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murderer's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Maiden's Tale: Dame Frevisse Medieval Mysteries, #10 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Outlaw's Tale
35 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sister Frevisse is kidnapped by a merry gang of outlaws in the forest. Well, perhaps not as merry as they would like her to think. One of them is her cousin, hoping she will sponsor him for a pardon from the king, but before that pardon comes through, there is murder, sickness passion and deceit to be dealt with, some of which are committed by the good Sister!None of the characters, except for maybe Frevisse, are safe from Margaret Frazer's plots. She is good at writing characters, and good at destroying them as well, so you can't guess who the murderer is by whether or not they are important, kind or special. It seemed this story rather fell apart at the end, but not enough to spoil it. It simply went in a direction I'm not sure I cared for with a resolution which seemed rather high-handed to me.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sister Frevisse is away from the priory. She is abducted by a cousin who claims he wants to reform. He convinces her to write for a pardon, but while waiting for an answer, choices are made that will impede the success of the request. Sister Frevisse faces several dilemmas throughout her investigation although the ending wraps up too quickly to see the consequences of her choices.