Hello! I’m back from my break (which I talked a bit about in my substack – I’ve been using that space to do quick diary-style entries!). This week, I’ll be sharing some reviews themed around the past, and then next week it will probably go back to regular reviews with set theme.
It’s been a while since I read an Owen Archer mystery so once I was reminded of that fact, I went to check my library and found a few ebooks that I don’t recall seeing before! Perfect! (now I’m just wishing that there are more Kate Clifford books)
The Riddle of St Leonard’s deals with a difficult topic – the plague. While death pretty much stalks Owen Archer, given that he works for Thoresby and always is asked to investigate murders, the plague is different. This disease that they don’t know anything about seems to be able to target anyone, including Owen’s friends and family, and there’s not much anyone can do to stop it. It’s in this atmosphere of fear that Owen is asked to investigate a series of mysterious deaths at St Leonard’s, a hospital in York.
Since it’s been a long time since my last Owen Archer mystery (almost 3 years!), I was expecting to be a little lost. But I was glad to see that old subplots were continued and in a way that helped me jog my memory. Alice Perrers and Thoresby’s dislike of her, for example, made an early appearance and I remembered that I wanted to see more of that subplot. It wasn’t very relevant to this mystery but I hope it makes an appearance in later books. With my memory jogged, I managed to recognise most of the main/frequently appearing characters and didn’t feel lost while reading.
The mystery was certainly interesting. I enjoyed seeing more of Bess, the innkeeper’s wife and one of Owen’s friends play a more active role, and it’s always nice to see Magda around. I felt like I enjoyed seeing everyone more than I enjoyed the mystery, though I did think the reveal was very satisfying!
The Riddle of St Leonard’s felt like going back to visit old friends. The book was a bit bittersweet, as we see some big changes, but it made me even more eager to read the next book in the series.