Book 1: A Plague on Both Your Houses

TITLE: A Plague on Both Your Houses

AUTHOR: Susanna Gregory
STARTED: December 28, 2009
FINISHED: January 9, 2010
PAGES: 408
GENRE: Mystery

FIRST SENTENCE: The scholar waited in the black shadows of the churchyard trees for the Sheriff's night patrol to pass by, trying to control his breathing.

SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] A Plague on Both Your Houses introduces physician Matthew Bartholomew, whose unorthodox but effective treatment of his patients frequently draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional colleagues. Besides his practice, Bartholomew teaches medicine at Michaelhouse, part of the fledgling University of Cambridge. In 1348, the inhabitants of Cambridge live under the shadow of a terrible pestilence that has ravaged Europe and is traveling relentlessly towards England. Bartholomew, however, is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse, a death University authorities do not want investigated. His pursuit of the truth leads him into a complex tangle of lies and intrigue that forces him to question the innocence of his closest friends, even his family. And then the Black Death finally arrives.

THOUGHTS: Too. Many. Names. I don't know why, but I had a rather hard time keeping track of who was who in this book. Interestingly, that did not make me loath this work. In fact, I enjoyed spending time with all of the characters - enough so that I would be open to reading the next book in this series.

What I loved most about this book was the setting. Hello, middle ages! Collins gets the imagery right. Everything is grimy, sticky, stinky, and full of all manner of activity and grossness that would make us wretch today. Beyond the "elements" of the time, Collins does a rather fine job of making her characters seem real. They are not over written, nor are they perfectly good or perfectly bad. I love gray. Bartholomew is admirable without being an angel - the characters he encounters clearly have their own, full backgrounds and are not simple, throw away characters. Even figures who are only mentioned in passing seem fully realized.

If this book has an Achilles heel, its because the whole mystery felt overly complicated and forced. Granted, all the confusion is explained well in the end, but it still felt as if the author was trying a tad bit too hard to impress her readers.

RATING: 6/10 [Good]