Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Dec 2013
250 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
In the Spring of 1277, Prioress Eleanor goes on a pilgrimage to a famous East Anglian shrine.
There are rumors that King Edward may also visit the shrine soon to seek God's blessing for his invasion of Wales.
Lurking in this sacred place, however, is an assassin hoping to murder a king.
Soon after Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas arrive, a nun falls to her death from the priory bell tower. Brother Thomas finds the body, and the pair quickly grasp that this nun's death was not a simple tragedy. The circumstances point to murder, but this slaying is further tainted with treason. Among the pilgrims, merchants, and religious, too many betray an interest in this death - including a canny street child. At least one of them is most certainly a killer.
Can Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas succeed in exposing the assassin or will they also fall victim to one who has made a covenant with hell?
"Starred Review. Royal's 10th whodunit featuring Brother Thomas and Prioress Eleanor (after 2012's Sanctity of Hate) perfectly mixes an accessible portrait of 1277 England - its culture and politics - with sympathetic characters and a suspenseful plot." - Publishers Weekly
"The wealth of historical information and the minutiae of daily life often upstage relatively weak mysteries in Eleanor's adventures (The Sanctity of Hate, 2012, etc.), but this one pulls in enough red herrings to keep even non medievalists interested." - Kirkus
"Royal does her usual superb job of dovetailing both the religious and the political subtext bolstering her tautly strung narrative. This historically authentic series is definitely on a par with the best of Peter Tremayne and Ellis Peters." - Booklist
This information about Covenant with Hell was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Priscilla Royal has a degree in World Literature from San Francisco State University, where she discovered the beauty of medieval literature. She is a theater fan as well as reader of history, mysteries, and fiction of lesser violence.
Priscilla grew up in British Columbia and until 2000, she worked for the Federal government in a variety of positions, all of which provided a wonderful education in the complexity of human experience and motivation.
Her works include Chambers of Death, Covenant with Hell, Favas Can Be Fatal, The Killing Season, Sanctity of Hate, Tyrant Of The Mind, Valley of Dry Bones and Wine of Violence.
When not hiding in the thirteenth century, she lives in Northern California and is a member of California Writers Club, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
