Plague Land

By: S. D. Sykes

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

In this chilling historical mystery, young girls go missing from a medieval English village, and Lord Oswald de Lacy must find the killer before tragedy strikes again.

Oswald de Lacy was never meant to be the lord of Somershill Manor. Dispatched to a monastery at the age of seven, sent back at 17 when his father and two older brothers were killed by the plague, Oswald has no experience of running an estate. He finds years of pestilence and neglect have changed the old place dramatically, not to mention the attitude of the surviving peasants.

Yet some things never change. Oswald's mother remains the powerful matriarch of the family, and his sister, Clemence, simmers in the background, dangerous and unmarried.

Before he can do anything, Oswald is confronted by the shocking death of a young woman, Alison Starvecrow. The ambitious village priest claims that Alison was killed by a band of demonic, dog-headed men. Oswald is certain this is nonsense, but proving it--by finding the real murderer--is quite a different matter. Every step he takes seems to lead Oswald deeper into a dark maze of political intrigue, family secrets, and violent strife.

And then the body of another girl is found.

Sarah Sykes brilliantly evokes the landscape and people of medieval Kent in this thrillingly suspenseful debut.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Another great book spoiled by poor narration

Although the protagonist is somewhat slow on the uptake, the questions posed from almost the beginning of the story are fascinating and well-plotted.

However, this reader is nothing short of annoying, his frequent and inexplicable pauses managing to make a single sentence sound like two or three. Why in the world?

More Coming of Age & Less Mystery

I thought Skye's writing was clear and concise. The story seemed more of a coming of age story than a murder mystery or thriller. At times the plot was flat, but character development was adequate. The narrator provided distinct voices for different characters without shrillness or overt volume (big personal bonus). Overall, the book was built on a strong foundation, but it would have benefited from a little more excitement.

Whatever happened to agency?

Our lead character bumbles his way through the story, thwarted by cartoonish villains and an array of befuddling medieval stereotypes. They make an interesting foil for the main character, who seems uncharacteristically modern in his thinking, which kept pulling me out of the story. He was like the straight man in a month python skit. Wish he did more to figure the mystery out, and wish we saw him grow a little more as a character. Not a bad story, but not that compelling either. Narration is kind of bland.

Please get the rest of the series on Audible!!

Loved it! Im so disappointed the rest isn’t on Audible! The narrator was amazing and the story was so unique and told well! Great characters!

Not for historians

I have spent too much time studying 14th-century England to be able to really enjoy this story. The clever twists were, unfortunately, overshadowed by the historical inaccuracies.