Forsaken Soul
āļ¸āˇāļ¸ āˇāˇâāļģāˇāˇâāļē āļ´āˇāļ āļāˇāļą
The summer of 1273 is peaceful for most of England, except in the village of Tyndal, where Martin the cooper has been poisoned at the local inn. Martin had enough enemies, so the killer could be anyone. It could be his usual whore, who is about to be tossed aside for another woman; it could be the innkeeper's niece, who has secret reasons for fearing him; or perhaps it's the blacksmith, a man whose temper might have exploded when he was mocked once too often.
This crime has naught to do with the priory, but Prioress Eleanor grieves for her friend, the newly bereaved Crowner Ralf, and offers what help she and former apothecary Sister Anne can. But when her own problems multiply, Eleanor has good reason to regret her kindness. Her new anchoress terrifies her servants and welcomes visitors to her window at night. One of those visitors has been Brother Thomas, a man the prioress secretly loves and whose loyalty to her as head of Tyndal Priory is now suspect.
Bodies multiply. Suspects disappear. No one likes the direction the evidence points, but God's justice must be renderedâeven for the forsaken soul.
āļāļģāˇāļāˇ āļ´āˇāˇ āˇāļļāļŗ
Priscilla Royal grew up in British Columbia, earned a degree in world literature from San Francisco State University, and worked for the federal government in various positions. She is the author of the Medieval Mystery series featuring Eleanor, prioress of Tyndal, and she is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, California Writers Club, and Sisters in Crime.
Vanessa Benjamin (a.k.a. Roe Kendall) is a native of the British Isles. Some twenty-five years ago she moved to the United States with her family and set down roots in Maryland. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, receiving their silver medal as well as the Sir Emile Littler and Caryl Brahms awards. Benjamin has performed on stage in the Washington, DC, area for several years and at many venues and has performed at the Kennedy Center as Mrs. Schubert in the long-running show Shear Madness. An accomplished actress and narrator, she has recorded over two hundred books. Her work as a freelance voice-over artist and narrator has led her in many interesting directions, from technical government materials to eighteenth-century romance novels to hotel advertising, but narrating books is what she really enjoys. âI really love playing all the parts when I narrate a book. Itâs an adventure, a challenge, and above all I feel that I learn something new with each book I read. I do a lot of reading for the Library of Congressâ Blind and Physically Handicapped program, and it is so rewarding for me especially when I get a letter from a patron; itâs a great service for the listener.â
