Ravens of Blackwater: v. 2 (Domesday) Paperback – 24 Sept. 2009

This is the second in an excellent series of historical mysteries set in the latter part of the reign of William the Bastard (known to history as William the Conqueror). Edward Marston has a great talent not only for creating believable characters but historically accurate and evocative settings. Once more we are transported to Norman England and the days of the Domesday tribunal, sent out to review irregularites uncovered by the original commissioners when they recorded the details in the huge survey which we know as the Domesday Book. There is the right amount of period detail to set the scene for the reader, without being intrusive or lecturing, and the characters we encounter, both the recurring ones from the other books in this series and the new ones unique to this story, are realistic. With each book in the series we learn a little more about our protagonists, and the mysteries they encounter and seek to unravel are neither too simplistic or too far-fetched. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these books and look forward to reading more from this author.

A convincing tale with interesting characters and I am tempted to read other books in this series. My enjoyment was however marred in many parts where typographical and spelling errors required rereading to check the context of passages affected. This detracted from my rating of the book overall.

As good as the first book with very likeable characters and fascinating how they combine their various talents in discovering the problems and solutions of wherever they are sent?

I have enjoyed this book which shows how the Normanics melded the country by using the Domesday and over quite a long time to slowly bring the many Saxons, the Danes, the Welsh, the Scots and the much ealier peoples together. They obviously took qute a long time. The UK now have melded many more national types.

I am an ardent reader of all of Edward Marston's books and read this whilst on holiday and thoroughly enjoyed the read too.

Very small print

Typical Edward Marston, Constructs a very good tale. Perfect

Its a good read