BLOG TOUR: A Brotherly Devotion - Jill Bray

York: July 1224

On a hot July night, Brother Clement is savagely murdered when returning from administering to Lady Maud de Mowbray.

Simon de Hale, Sheriff of Yorkshire, is in his office when Abbot Robert visits to inform him of the murder, and request that he take responsibility for investigating the killing.

Simon is unsure whether the murder is a crime against the Abbey, or if it is a more personal matter against the monk.

Commencing their investigation, Simon and his deputy, Adam, ride out to see Lady Maud de Mowbray at Overton - the last person to see Brother Clement alive. When they encounter her son, Roger de Mowbray, they both take an instant dislike to him.

Lady Mowbray reveals to Simon that she intends to leave her money to the Abbey, and Simon can see this being a motive for the monk’s murder, if her son was aware of this.

The investigation gathers pace and a murder weapon is found.

A banquet is held at the castle to honour the Royal Justice - during which, one of the guests is exposed as the murderer and apprehended. But that will not be the end of the story for Simon and his family.

 

What did I think?

I really enjoyed my visit to 13th century York in Jill Bray's debut novel, A Brotherly Devotion.  With a dual storyline of a murdered monk and an arranged marriage, it's intricately plotted and incredibly gripping.  I couldn't read fast enough to both discover 'whodunnit' and how the story would end.

Simon de Hale is the Sheriff of Yorkshire and he is arranging the marriage of his youngest daughter Katherine whilst investigating the murder of Brother Clement.  You'd think the murder investigation would be the most challenging but Katherine is a strong-minded young lady and she wants to marry for love, in fact she has found just the man and it's not the man her father has chosen.  

I loved Katherine from the start but really couldn't see a way out of her arranged marriage as the King's permission had already been granted.  What a quandary for Simon, especially when he is determined to bring the monk's killer to justice.  With a bucketful of red herrings strategically placed in the prose, I didn't guess who it was until very late on and the way that the killer is revealed is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie.

Atmospheric, authentic and riveting, A Brotherly Devotion is a fabulous debut novel and a must-read for fans of historical fiction.

I received a gifted paperback to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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About the author:

Jill lives on the Island of Guernsey now, but is originally from Yorkshire. She has a love of early medieval history which led her to study the subject at Huddersfield College in the 1980's. Working in Leeds at the time, meant that she had access to the Yorkshire Archaeological Society on their late night opening and following research, she wondered what the lives of the people she read about were actually like. This started a love of writing historical fiction, but her initial stories were never sent to a publisher. Life and work then intervened and writing was put to one side. It was only following a workshop held by the Guernsey Literary Festival in 2024 on writing historical fiction, that her love of writing was reignited. Her first novel 'A Brotherly Devotion' was published in July 2025.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: Jill Bray – Author 

Twitter/X:  @JillBray67

Website: https://www.jillbray.co.uk

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BLOG TOUR: The Final Reckoning (The Shadow of the Raven Book 3) - Chris Bishop

Despite Alfred's great victory at Edington, Wessex is far from secure.

With the threat of an imminent Viking attack, Matthew, now a warrior, is sent to fortify and defend the ford at Leatherhead. There, hopelessly outnumbered, he faces his sternest test as he and a small band of barely trained Saxon warriors strive to hold out long enough for help to arrive or resolve to die trying.

In a time ravaged by political uncertainty, Matthew is placed in intense personal danger as he is also ordered to investigate the tyranny of the Ealdorman's stepson and dispense justice as he sees fit.

With his life still threatened by the wound to his chest, what is asked of him seems more than any man should endure as he faces . . . The Final Reckoning  

What did I think?

I have loved the previous two books of the Shadow of the Raven series so I was really looking forward to this final chapter, albeit that would mean closing the book on Matthew's life.  What an eventful life he has had thanks to Chris Bishop's descriptive writing painting this Anglo Saxon history in such vivid colour.

It's troubled times in Wessex with Vikings camped on the banks of the Thames in Mercia, it's only a matter of time before they head south into Wessex.  King Alfred (the Great) of Wessex tasks Matthew, a former novice monk who was once known as Edward, to defend the ford at Leatherhead.  Accompanied only by his trusty companion, Aelred, he must turn the villagers into warriors if they are to survive the inevitable Viking attack.

You could of course read The Final Reckoning as a standalone book but to fully appreciate Matthew's story, it's best to read the series in order.  If you have read the earlier books, you will definitely remember the unforgettable opening passage of the first book, Blood and Destiny, so it was with a heavy heart (and one or two goosebumps) that I read the final chapter that brought us full circle to the start of the first book.

What an outstanding historical trilogy!  Chris Bishop has written such a riveting edge of your seat account of such a turbulent time in England's history.  I absolutely love the character of Edward/Matthew; he has such an eye for the ladies that he was never going to be able to live his life as a monk!  I am definitely going to read these books again to bring Matthew to live once more.  As the warrior with the pierced heart, he is reputedly immortal and he has indeed been given immortality in literature.

As an historical fiction lover, I think it is unusual to find such a colourful account of the Anglo-Saxon period.  In my opinion, Chris Bishop rivals Bernard Cornwell as my favoured author of the period; if you like Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, you will LOVE Chris Bishop's The Shadow of the Raven series.  Don't just read The Final Reckoning, read all three books in this very highly recommended series.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon




About the author:

Chris Bishop is a retired chartered surveyor who has pursued his love of writing for as long as he can remember. He is an intrepid traveller and a retired Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is married with two children and four granddaughters and lives in London.

Website: theshadowoftheraven.com

Twitter: @CBishop_author

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