The Novice’s Tale

A Dame Frevisse Mystery, Book 1

By: Margaret Frazer

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Unholy passions and demonic deaths...

In the fair autumn of Our Lord's grace 1431, the nuns of England's St. Frideswide's prepare for the simply ceremonies in which the saintly novice Thomasine will take her holy vows. But their quiet lives of beauty and prayer are thrown into chaos by the merciless arrival of Lady Ermentrude Fenner and her retinue of lusty men, sinful women, and baying hounds. The hard-drinking dowager even keeps a pet monkey for her amusement. She demands wine, a feast....

And her niece, the angelic Thomasine.

The lady desires to enrich herself and her reputation by arranging a marriage for the devout novice. She cares nothing for the panic and despair she leaves behind her.

But all her cruel and cunning schemes are brought to a sudden end with strange and most unnatural murder.

As suspicious eyes turn on the pious Thomasine, it falls to Sister Frevisse, hosteler of the priory and amateur detective, to unravel the webs of unholy passion and dark intrigue that entangle the novice and prove her innocence...or condemn her.

©1992 Margaret Frazer (P)2020 Tantor

Very enjoyable read!

My mother, who has great taste in medieval mysteries, has been encouraging me to read this series and I’m so glad it’s on audible!

The pace of this book is wonderful if, like me, you craft and listen at the same time. I only think I had to rewind because I missed something while crafting, which is a rarity.

The story is wonderful- love, intrigue and lessons learned about impatience etc without being preachy or too religious. It’s a beautiful mix. I can’t wait for the next book and I hope audible continues the series!

A bit boring

I wanted to like this but it took about half the story to get to some action. I almost gave up on it several times.

First Reads

It was wonderful to find the first story in this series. I want more 🤗

Completely Wonderful

I thoroughly enjoyed this! The plot is complex and features a lot of insights into human nature. The historical setting is interesting; as a fan of historical fiction I would have enjoyed even more cultural and political context. I also appreciate the window into monastic life of an earlier time.

The narrator is excellent, though with not as intricate many voice changes as some.

I can hardly wait to continue with this series!

Tedious story line

Took a while to get into. Dull uninteresting characters. Will not look for next book.

Pleasant medieval mystery

This is the first in an excellent series of medieval mysteries. If you like Brother Cadfael stories or Mel Starr’s Hugh de Singleton, this is a good choice. The story is fairly slow paced and the writing thoughtful- overall enjoyable. I’d like to see more of this series on Audible.

The story was a little bit dark

The voices were funny. And the story was a bit different than what I expected

Tremendous 1st Story - Don't go past this!!

Murder mystery's are my entertainment and my brain food. The Middle Ages in Britain my favorite period. The Novice's Tale combines both brilliantly.

The narrator does an excellent job, provding listeners with a true sense of Fear in the voice of the Novice, Authority in the voce of the Abbess, Madness in the voice of the victim and Hate in the voice of the accuser and the killer.

An excellent combination of Word and Voice.

Excellent medieval mystery

An excellently researched, beautifully written medieval mystery full of lively description and colorful characters. Margaret Frazer is among the very finest authors of this genre. The audio book narrator does not always do full justice to the text, but a serviceable reading and some good character voices.

love it

would love to hear more from this series. well written and preformed. I would recommend.