Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Mar 2015
352 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Hildegard, no longer a member of the Cistercian order of nuns, has returned to the priory after more than a year from her pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Still unsure whether she will rejoin the Order, the Prioress suggests that a visit to Handale Priory might help provide some clarity. Used as a house of correction for sinning nuns, it lies in the north of the county in the middle of a vast wood and is run by the ambiguous Abbess Basilda and her close group of hard-faced acolytes.
While walking about the grounds, Hildegard discovers the corpse of a young man in the morgue. His body bears deep gashes from neck to groin. His wounds appear to be the ravages of claws, but larger than any animal Hildegard knows of. Is it possible that the young man was killed by a dragon, as Hildegard's been told? Of course, Hildegard does not believe in dragons, and despite being warned against it, she goes for a walk in the woods. There she discovers a secret tower, locked and barred, with armed men on guard.
What is so valuable that it needs such protection? Has it anything to do with the mystery of the young man's death? And why have assassins been pursuing the King's courier across the savage moor land only to murder him at a lonely wayside tavern? Hildegard risks all dangers to seek out the truth.
The Dragon of Handale is the fourth novel in Cassandra Clark's acclaimed mystery series set in the 14th century.
Click to the right or left of the sample to turn the page.
(If no book jacket appears in a few seconds, then we don't have an excerpt of this book or your browser is unable to display it)
"Starred Review. Clark pulls everything together neatly in a moody, atmospheric whodunit while sustaining a high level of tension throughout." - Publishers Weekly
"A dramatic mystery lavishly studded with period details: Clark's best to date." - Kirkus
"Clark's fifth historical installment (after A Parliament of Spies) can be read as part ofthe series or as a stand-alone. However, this latest addition is likely to disappoint readers, as the wise nun foolishly places herself in dangerous positions one after the other...Still, Clark's fans and medieval mystery aficionados may enjoy." - Library Journal
The information about The Dragon of Handale shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Cassandra Clark was awarded an M.A. from the University of East Anglia, and went on to teach for the Open University on the Humanities Foundation course. Since then she has written full time as a playwright and has been the author of many contemporary romances as well as the libretti for several chamber operas. She lives and works in London, and explains that her childhood in the East Riding of Yorkshire was her inspiration for the stories.
The Volunteer
by Jack Fairweather
The true story of one man, an underground army, and the secret mission to destroy Auschwitz from within.
Reader Reviews
Patsy
by Nicole Dennis-Benn
A haunting depiction of immigration and womanhood, and the silent threads of love.
Reader Reviews
The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake
"An American epic in the truest sense."
—Entertainment Weekly
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
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.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info, and giveaways by email.
