Tom Fletcher and the Angel of Death

When writing an adventure story with an historical setting it is necessary to have some feel for the period and its events. This book does not. Set in St Wilfred’s monastery and following on from The Riddle of the Poisoned Monk, there are some pretty awful deaths. Two people are eaten by a lion and there is a massacre of Jews, yet the tone of this book is flippant which does not sit well with these events, particularly the latter given there was much anti-semitism in medieval England.

Tom Fletcher, a novice at the monastery which is run under a lax regime, determines to find out who murdered Brother Benedict and to free the Jewish man who is falsely accused of this act. The story moves at a fast pace and there is much detail of monastery life and tradition such as the Lammans Day celebrations. Tom is a likeable rascal as are his fellow novices and friend Bessie, but Matthias needs to make up her mind exactly what she is writing – a true historical adventure treating events such as the massacre of Jews with some gravitas, or a romp not using such events at all. Using lots of historical detail is not enough.