The Service of the Dead

Political unrest permeates York at the cusp of the fifteenth century, as warring factions take sides on who should be the rightful king--Richard II or his estranged, powerful cousin in exile, Henry Bolingbroke. Independent minded twenty-year-old Kate Clifford is struggling to dig out from beneath the debt left by her late husband. Determined to find a way to be secure in her own wealth and establish her independence in a male dominated society, Kate turns one of her properties near the minster into a guest house and sets up a business. In a dance of power, she also quietly rents the discreet bedchambers to the wealthy, powerful merchants of York for nights with their mistresses.But the brutal murder of a mysterious guest and the disappearance of his companion for the evening threatens all that Kate has built. Before others in town hear word of a looming scandal, she must call upon all of her hard-won survival skills to save herself from ruin.


Genre: Historical Mystery

"The Service of the Dead is a tasty brew of political intrigue, larceny, and murder set within the walls of medieval York. Candace Robb s latest historical mystery is steeped in the atmosphere of the late fourteenth century, and in Kate Clifford she s given us a no-nonsense heroine and sleuth who is not only smart, but fierce when those she cares about are threatened. You re going to love her." - Patricia Bracewell

"Candace Robb has created another wonderful, strong character in Kate Clifford, a widow of York. Brought up in the border wars of Scotland, Kate is tough but also knows the grief of sudden death. When a body is found in her guest house, she fears that the English struggle between King Richard II and his cousin Henry has reached her town and family. Kate is aided in her search for answers by her unusual household, including the bastard children of her late husband. With plot twists as tangled and unexpected as the streets of medieval York, this gritty story kept me enthralled and guessing up to the end. Robb s thorough knowledge of the time and place brings a texture to her portrayal of York that brings the reader into Kate s life as if transported through time." - Sharan Newman

"Who to trust in a world of treachery, when the wrong decision can end in death? At the end of the 14th century, as young widow Kate Clifford is determined to survive and prosper in a man's world on her own skills, she has no choice but to solve a murder that could split the kingdom and spell her ruin. Candace Robb gives us a plot with serpentine twists and turns, and in Clifford she's created a powerful but compassionate heroine, with her rag-tag, loyal and deadly family around her. Historical crime that's not for the faint-hearted." - Chris Nickson