TAINTED RELIC

The Medieval Murders are a league of British scribes who specialize in historical detective fiction. Here they present a tale beginning in the twelfth century, in which a supposedly cursed piece of the supposedly true cross moves from the Holy Land to England, passing from hand to greedy hand, leaving a trail of theft, dirty dealing, and death. Stephen Thorne gives a spirited and elegant rendering of these cases. The final, most inventive, and well-wrought section advances to Shakespeare's London. Thorne gives this section the deliciously lusty tone of that virile age. So, while the stories vary in quality and cleverness, Thorne's treatment of them is consistently fine and well worth the listen. Y.R. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]