The Girl in the Ice (A Stephen Attebrook Mystery) Paperback – October 8, 2013

This is the fourth book of a series with events occurring mid 13th century in Ludlow, England and surroundings. The hero of the stories is Sir Steven Attebrook, a former army oficer in Spain, where he expected to collect enough fortune to come back to England as a Lord and live in splendour. He also married a beautiful Spanish woman Taresa, but bad luck stroke. His wife died from a fatal illness, his leg was maimed by a Moorish axe and he had to come back to England, poor and destitute. Due to his gentry upbringing he landed a job as deputy coroner of Herefordshire, with some prestige and a poor pay. He lives in the Broken Shield inn in Ludlow in a cold and uncomfortable attic room and starts to solve his cases with the help of his clerk, Gilbert Wistwode, a former priest and now husband to Edith, who runs the inn. His great friend, beggar Harry, living in the stable of the inn, is his spy, as Harry hears gossips while standing at his post at the gate. All four books have similar schemes: a difficult crime is presented to Sir Steve, he is always attacked by superior forces, comes out of the dire situatuons with skill and obtains the results needed, but somehow he never gets enough money to improve his financial problems. The books, this one in particular, give a very vivid picture of medieval England, are fun to read and inspite of the recurring plots, they are a good entertainment. There is no need to read the former three books in order to understand this one, but as there are frequent references to the other books, it is convenient to read them in order. Perhaps the extremely detailed description of the streets of the medieval villages and small towns could be shortened, but otherwise this book and the former three are recommendable and can be purchased at a very cheap price,

I love this series from Jason Vail and I always look eagerly forward to new books. The series is about a knight, Stephen Attebrook, who returns to 13th century England from the Crusades, missing half a foot. With such an injury, he can no longer serve as a knight or fighting man, and facing dire poverty, he takes a position as deputy coronor in a small English town. His job is to investigate un natural deaths and, if murder has been done, bring the killer or killers to justice. The novels are set against a period of great unrest in English history, with nobles plotting against the king and Welsh raiders coming across the border to steal, kill and burn houses and villages. In The Girl in The Ice, the murdered body of a young girl is discovered on Christmas Day, frozen in the snow in the local churchyard. Stephen and his deputy (and landlord) Gilbert, must try to identify the dead girl in order to find her killer and they travel to a nearby town, encountering old enemies and attempts on their lives along the way. The characters are multi-layered and complex, change over time and I really enjoy them. The history (the author is described as a history buff) is accurate, although a reader must suspend a little disbelief that a man of that period could prevail over social norms and the Church to use somewhat modern forensic techniques on dead bodies. The character's background of having gone to war is used to explain his familiarity with death and what causes it.You do need to start with the first novel and read them in sequence - there are now 4 - as things that happened in a previous book (and spoilers) are referred to in later books. Amazingly, the Kindle editions of these books are priced at just 99 cents each, too low, in my opinion. However, it means a reader can buy all 4 for the same price as one book from another author.

I was glad to see a fourth book in this series. The main character is very likable and the book gives a feel for the time period. I do wish there was a little more character development not only of the main character, but the supporting characters. I would have also enjoyed a little more historical detail.Another reviewer mentioned Brother Cadfael and Sheriff Barringer. If you haven't read the Ellis Peters books, you should give them a try. (I don't think the books are in a Kindle version, and they were published some time ago.) Like this series, the Brother Cadfael series needs to be read in order. Ellis Peters' characters have more depth; and as a historian, she puts more historical information into her books. This is what I wish Jason Vail would add to this series.I hope Jason Vail continues with this series. It is a fun read and very reasonably priced.If you like historical mysteries set in England, check out P.F. Chisholm's Sir Robert Carey series set in Elizabethan times. These books are based on the memoirs of a real man (possibly a cousin of Elizabeth's by way of one of Henry VIII mistresses.I would also recommend P.C. Doherty's Hugh Corbett series, and Bernard Knight's Crowner John. I liked all of the Crowner John books, except the last one, which is really the first one for this series explaining how John met Richard the Lion Heart.

Vail has developed his writing over the past three books and each has shown marked improvement on the last. This 4th instalment in the series is the best yet. Smoother writing with a gripping plot, the characters are strong and all come together into a genuine medieval whodunit page-turner.Attebrook gets out of Ludlow and this break for the character has the added bonus of a breath of fresh air for the novels. It allows for a more fluid, wide-ranging story and seems to give the reader a better sense of the chaos and political instability of the March at this time. The Ludlow bubble that the books have sat in might well have been what was choking off the writer's creativity and caused me to hold back from loving the previous instalments. I liked the fact you didn't know where you were going to go with the character in this.Only real criticism is the fact that (trying not to be a spoiler here) you know the main protagonist in the story who is responsible for what is happening (the weave of the sub-plots here show hints of mastery to come) but, I think in a bid to deflect by the author, the real Dr Evil is mentioned early on with a few other possible rivals thrown in a lackadaisical manner - I spent the whole book expecting a massive twist but it never came. This refers to the overall plot line however and not the main storyline of this particular novel. The author needs a bogeyman so it can be forgiven I suppose. I just hope that the plots and sub plots can be tied together a bit neater in the next novels.Finally, it is good to see the 'hero' having some good fortune as well as bad. You hated to see Sharpe almost hung or kicked out the Army but loved it when he found jewels, killed the bad guy against impossible odds and got the beautiful woman. Attebrook is starting to get this blend of failure-success and it makes him a much more appealing hero.Overall, the stories are getting better and better and I'm getting more enthusiastic about what happens next. I fervently hope this upward trajectory is maintained...the next one already purchased to find out!

Jason Vail is in danger of transforming from a speculative e-author into a bona fide murder mystery writer. "The Wayward Apprentice" and the next three Stephen Attebrook novels have shown a rapidly maturing writing style, plot complexity, historical understanding, and intriguing sense of mystery. All set in the time of King Henry III of England - not bad for a writer from Florida.I came to these novels fairly early in Vail's publishing of them and I have to say they are affable novels where the author has understood quickly that you need both a flawed sleuth and a rotund, sharp-tongued yet utterly loyal sidekick - Gilbert Wistwode in this case. It's something that works perfectly for the likes of Susanna Gregory and worked for Ellis Peters. It works here.Our foot-maimed Deputy Coroner, a man with a pervasive sense of conscience and a desire for the truth, finds himself investigating the frozen dead teenage beauty outside Saint Laurence's churchyard. As Vail's resident humorist, Harry, remarks: "Nice day for finding corpses in the churchyard.". Whilst the inhabitants of Ludlow are falling all over themselves in commercial haste to profit off a new "saint", Stephen finds himself heading back towards Clun - where the action of the last novel occurred - to wrap up the mystery of seven dead people. A mystery set in the last novel, but never followed up by Vail till now. This time the head of the dead family - Adam Saltehus - wants to know who killed them. Lady Margaret reappears ("Baynard's List") when Stephen heads to Shrewsbury and also tasks him with finding the bandits who are robbing and murdering from four of her associates - Bromptone included, another character reappearing from "A Dreadful Penance".What follows is a foray into archery, banditry, thuggery, brutish lords and nasty henchmen. Stephen suffers beatings, tip toes around darkened village, towns and small castles...all in an effort to trace a dandelion emblem on a salt barrel and a cursed ring. With the denouement in a carriage there is a sad confession and an understanding that "the heart is such a odd thing, it goes where it wills and can cause all manner of trouble when not properly disciplined."Indeed.All manner of trouble is precisely what Stephen is good at solving and Jason Vail is turning into a rather remarkable murder mystery writer.

Absolutely loving these books—some of the best of the genre. So well written with well developed characters and great historical detail. Love this area of the country as well and I read the books with an accompanying map!

This is the next installment in Stephen Attebrook storyline and it is well worth a read. It will keep you enthralled until the final pages!

I'm sorry but this is just so muddled I couldn't even finish it. It's set in Ludlow - in United Kingdom - on the Welsh borders, in Medieval historic period. I'm sorry but the last time I checked my history no one in medieval times would have used the phrase 'Godammit' and other such Americanisms. This repeats itself through the book, muddling the storyline and the conversations between the characters. I couldn't warm to the book at all. Not for me this one.