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A Summer of Discontent

The Eighth Matthew Bartholomew Chronicle

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A Summer of Discontent

By: Susanna Gregory
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

Matthew Bartholomew jumps at the chance to travel to Ely with Brother Michael, as it will give him a unique opportunity to study in the richly stocked library of the Benedictine priory.

Michael has been summoned to the city by his bishop, but it isn't until they arrive that they discover the reason - the bishop has been accused of murder. The charge seems ludicrous, but Michael takes the investigation seriously and energetically sets about his task. Almost immediately he discovers that there appears to have been a series of unexplained deaths in the area.

At the same time, Bartholomew comes across an underground movement of rebellion against the church and the tithes they demand from the laity, and the two men also learn that there has been a spate of burglaries which are being blamed on a band of travellers.

Then a fellow of the priory is murdered almost under their noses. Can this death be connected to the others? Are all the killings linked to the burgeoning rebellion in the city?

Once again Susanna Gregory has created a superbly crafted mystery narrated with wit and style against a perfectly realised period background.

©2017 Susanna Gregory (P)2017 Little Brown Book Group Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Crime
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l love a good mystery and have read all the Cadfael novels so was really looking forward to this, I'm new to Pillipa Gregory books. I'm sure the story is great and from what I actually heard the plot was good with rouses, eed herrings and plot twists. I found it hard to listen to as some if the narrator's characters were more than a little annoying. Finally made myself finish it.

annoying character voices

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loved it .Great writer , great narrator .really enjoyed this audible book , David Thorpe really brings the characters to life .

GREAT BOOK

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Really enjoyed this one even though the ending wasn’t really a surprise. Fantastic characters and good historic context.

A great listen

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If you could sum up A Summer of Discontent in three words, what would they be?

Historical + detective = interesting

What did you like best about this story?

The mystery, although slightly predictable, was nevertheless interesting, in some places amusing and the interplay between the two main characters had depth. I feel as if the author has finally got into her stride and, having already listened to the newly published books, this is the first book I can say I thoroughly enjoyed all the way through.

What about David Thorpe’s performance did you like?

Thorpe does a pretty good job of Bartholomew but has a strange interpretation of some of the other characters, especially female voices and one of the monks who is small in the previous book. Nevertheless, in A Summer of Discontent this is one of Thorpe's better performances.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not a comedy but there were moments between Bartholomew and Michael that did make me laugh, other than that it was an interesting read/listen.

Any additional comments?

If you have found the earlier books hard to get through then start with this one as both the books and the narrator get significantly better from here on in.

A good listen with nice historical detail

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Easy listen, frequent summaries of the plot makes it easy to keep track of what's happening if you get distracted.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I guessed the ending, so many people get killed it isn't too hard to work out.

Any additional comments?

The Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles are pretty formulaic. Someone gets killed, Matthew and Michael investigate, more people get killed and then Matthew eventually works out who did it. Every so often Matthew reviews the plot so if you've drifted off you get a reminder about what's going on. I thought the body count was a bit too high in this one meaning that there weren't too many people left who could have committed the crime at the end.

Another medieval murder mystery

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