The Sempster's Tale (Sister Frevisse Medieval Mystery Series #15) » (Unabridged, 10 CDs, 10 hrs. 30 mins.)

Margaret Frazer was a finalist for an Edgar(r) Award for both The Servant's Tale and The Prioress' Tale.

The latest medieval mystery in the acclaimed series finds Dame Frevisse on a mission in London to recover gold from the coffers of the murdered Duke of Suffolk and give the gold to her cousin.

Frevisse's co-conspirators in this secrecy are seamstress Anne Blakehall and her lover, a Jewish trader smuggling the gold through Anne's shop. But their mission is jeopardized when a crucified body is discovered, supposedly scarred with Hebrew letters, stirring up anti-Semitic sentiment in the populace.

Publishers Weekly

In Frazer's engrossing 15th historical (after 2005's The Widow's Tale), Dame Frevisse leaves her rural convent for London in the summer of 1450 to procure some vestments from the titular sempster ("seamstress," as Frazer explains in an author's note, didn't come into use until the 1600s). But on arrival in London, she learns that her errand is twofold: in addition to the vestments, she must convey a secret stash of gold from the sempster, a widow named Anne, to Frevisse's cousin, Lady Alice. Alice has more to hide than gold. She's having an affair with Daved, a Jewish merchant. Because Jews have been long expelled from England, Daved pretends to be Christian, while continuing to practice Judaism behind closed doors. Frevisse is drawn ever deeper into intrigue when she accompanies Anne to identify a body that some priests believe shows the marks of a Jewish ritual killing. As usual, Frazer offers careful historical detail and characters you'll want to befriend. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.