Guest Review: The Wandering Arm by Sharan Newman

Title: The Wandering Arm
Author(s): Sharan Newman
ISBN#: 9780312877330
Genre(s): Historical mystery
Edition Reviewed: Paperback
Illustrations: N/A
Page Count: 352
Part of a Series: Yes, third book in Catherine LeVendeur series

by Jessica Cornish published: May 23, 2010 No Comments

W is for Wandering Arm, The
Guest review by Jessica Cornish.

This Book Is About

From Publishers Weekly In 12th-century France, religion suffuses society. Relics, attributed with great power, are (almost) universally venerated and trade in religious objects is a lucrative, often dangerous business.

After losing their first child at birth, ex-novice Catherine Le Vendeur and her English husband, Edgar are drawn into this perilous world when Edgar agrees to pose as a masterless craftsman and infiltrate the group suspected of refashioning stolen religious goods.

Also at stake is the future of Catherine’s relatives, Jews living near the Abbey of St. Denis on sufferance of King Louis VII. Natan ben Judah, whose unsavory reputation may endanger his people, has been murdered; and the relic of the arm of Saint Aldhelm of England, which figures in the dynastic struggles between England’s King Stephen and his cousin Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, has disappeared.

Guest Reviewer Jessica Cornish’s Thoughts On This Book

I absolutely loved this book!!!! The history, the characters, the scenarios!!! Newman is one of my new favortie historical authors.

When you read this book, what will you get? :

A good medieval mystery by an author who really knows her chosen period/place. It’s an intriguing story, interesting characters, and an entertaining history lesson on the interactions between the Christian and the Jewish people in 12th century Paris.