Title: Unhallowed Ground
Author: Mel Starr
Copyright Year: 2011
Publisher: Monarch Books
A
man who commits suicide or was he murdered?
Buried where? Why? The year is 1360 something in an unfamiliar
land and unique sounding words describe people, positions, and responsibilities. Never before has such a novel attracted my
attention…until now.
Mel
Starr has written “chronicles” of a character named Hugh de Singleton. This character has more than one job in his
village. What the name of the village is,
I can’t say. What is this character’s
occupation? I can’t spoil the book and
reveal what he does.
He
is caught in a web of intriguing mystery that twists many times almost like a
rope. Maybe that is why there is a
picture of that on the cover. It sure
grabs one’s attention doesn’t it? In the
language of the setting, it seems like one is transported to a time where words
such as almoner, farthing, bailiff and Cow-ley were ordinary words.
When
I first looked at the book and read the words and definitions, I was thinking I
bit off more than I could chew. Would I
understand the story or not? Would I be
able to follow the characters while trying to figure out the plot? After the first few pages of chapter 1, I
was hooked. I had to know how this
medieval novel ended. I kept reading as I
was carried away to Bampton, following the actions of priests, sires, bishops,
and carpenters. There are many more
fascinating people in this story who travel to other lands to seek answers.
Sometimes
when one reads a novel the characters seem so unreal; however, Mel Starr has
done a superb job of helping his readers “feel” the human part of mankind in
the story. Never before have I read a
book where the setting has taken place in medieval times. Prior to Unhallowed Ground, I would have just
looked past the book to genres I am more familiar and comfortable with reading.
I
cannot recommend the Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton enough. If Mel Starr wrote his past and future novels
with the same brilliance as he did this one, he has found a loyal fan
indeed! Most novels are based on some
known, unknown or little before known fact in history; Mel Starr’s writings are
no different. There are other books in
this series of chronicles, though each one stands alone, and are titled: The Unquiet Bones, a Corpse at St. Andrews
Chapel; A Trail of Ink and then the
forthcoming book, The Tainted Coin.
These
are stories you will surely read more than once, maybe even getting them for
family members, friends or coworkers who love a good mystery. I don’t want to spoil the suspense felt as the
book is read so I won’t let the preverbal “cat out of the bag” by saying
more. Get the book, curl up, turn off
the noise, and get lost for a while in Unhallowed Ground. You will never regret it!
Note: I
received a complimentary copy as a blog tour participant for
Kregel
Publications.
