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An Unholy Alliance

The Second Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew

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An Unholy Alliance

By: Susanna Gregory
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

In 1350 the people of Cambridge are struggling to overcome the effects of the Black Death - and with a high mortality rate among priests and monks, the townsfolk are vulnerable to sinister cults that have sprung up. At Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew is training new physicians when the body of a friar is found in the massive chest that the university uses to store precious documents. While investigating, Bartholomew stumbles across a derelict church being used as a meeting place for the mysterious sect he believes is at the heart of a web of blackmail and deceit - with intention to overthrow the established religion.

©1996 Susanna Gregory (P)2017 Hachette Audio Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Crime Middle Ages
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Loved the book. Great narrator.

Like others, I found it hard (at my advanced years) to remember all the characters. I noted that the last Chapter gave some facts and figures. I hope all the other books have the same.

I think I’ll cheat in future and check the epilogue first. Also it might be easier to follow the plot with an eBook version.

Not sure now, but I think I saw on the Net, a synopsis that included a map of the locale

A good read

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I learned from the first book in the series that there are many characters and it can be difficult to remember who is who, especially if your brain isn't the the best at retaining this kind of information (mine isn't). So I wrote down the characters as they appeared, determined to get the most from the story. At one stage a person who had only been briefly mentioned seemed to be a major player and I had no idea where they fitted in. I threw my arms in the air in frustration but got over it and I'm glad I did.
I enjoy being placed in this era and obviously there is a great deal of research as it seems authentic. The story, once I sorted out who was who, was very clever and the ending enlightening and fun.
I'm not sure why people are not fond of David Thorpe's narration. I'm incredibly fussy about narrators and think he does an excellent job.
I'm now looking forward to the next in the series. I'll just make sure I have my notepad with me to capture the characters.

I was going to give up on this series but...

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This is an enjoyable and entertaining novel. The author has worked hard to give a strong sense of setting in time and place and this is one of the most engaging features of the novel. It is a very complicated story, however, and I wonder if it would’ve been a better novel if it were shorter. The reading is excellent.

A great read of a complicated story

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Struggled to finish, lots of round about ways of getting straight to the point. Story a bit out there and hard to swallow. Confusing, frustrating and downright boring.

Hard to follow

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