Christian Stern, an ambitious young scholar and alchemist, arrives in Prague in the bitter winter of 1599, intent on making his fortune at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, the eccentric Rudolf II. The night of his arrival, drunk and lost, Christian stumbles upon the body of a young woman in Golden Lane, an alley hard by Rudolf’s great castle. Dressed in a velvet gown, wearing a large gold medallion around her neck, the woman is clearly well-born—or was, for her throat has been slashed. A lesser man would smell danger, but Christian is determined to follow his fortunes wherever they may lead. He quickly finds himself entangled in the machinations of several ruthless courtiers, and before long he comes to the attention of the Emperor himself. Rudolf, deciding that Christian is that rare thing—a person he can trust—sets him the task of solving the mystery of the woman’s murder. But Christian soon realizes that he has blundered into the midst of a power struggle that threatens to subvert the throne itself. And as he gets ever nearer to the truth of what happened that night in Golden Lane, he finally sees that his own life is in grave danger.
This was a pretty good read. It was a straight intrigue crime drama that takes place in 1599, not my normal read. The author does a great job of weaving a great crime story for anyone that loves mysteries. I really enjoyed everything that Christian unravelled as the tries to figure everything out with the resources he’s given. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

No sooner had young German Christian Stern arrived in Prague in November 1599 than he stumbled across the body of a young woman and found himself accused of her murder. Fortunately, he had come to the notice of Emperor Rudolf, so his imprisonment didn't last long. Unfortunately, though, his release had a condition. The Emperor expects Stern to investigate the young woman's death and identify her murderer. Stern's investigation is half-hearted at best. When he's not busy pursuing an affair with the Emperor's mistress, Italian Caterina Sardo, he is fending off the attempts of the Emperor's high steward, Felix Wenzel, and the Emperor's chancellor, Philipp Lang, to force him to take a side in their ongoing power struggle.

Benjamin Black paints a vivid portrait of Prague at the turn of the 17th century. No secret is safe from watching eyes and listening ears. Fictional characters mix seamlessly with historical figures such as Edward Kelley and Johannes Kepler. The murder investigation takes a back seat to the eccentric characters and court intrigues. It will appeal to readers who like historical mysteries that lean toward the thriller end of the spectrum.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Circa 1599 – 1600, Prague. I often ponder how people survived in these tales of old. Lodging consisted of lice ridden straw mattresses. Today’s lodgings have plush mattresses, with maybe some bedbugs. Food was rancid, moldy. Today we have sanitary conditions, refrigeration and FDA recalls because of contamination, listeria, salmonella, metal fragments, bits of glass, plastic particles, sawdust supplemented parmesan cheese and on and on. But the story itself was good, sprinkled with nuggets of fact. People were mostly of several classes, expendable, royalty, fakes, servants and the devious. But in searching for the perpetrators of a crime there arose a new class, clueless. There was no forensic science in the day, so in effort to solve a crime the investigator often just drew a name from a hat, (remember the class expendable). Success at solving the crime was often rewarded with death, imprisonment which resulted in death or exile as in run for your life. But as a modern-day tale of old this story will entertain. It could have been greatly improve had the author refrained from using five dollar words. Having to look up the definition of a word greatly detracts from reading enjoyment. It perhaps lends authenticity but antiquated language just does not fit in modern day speak.

1599. Christian Stern, illegitimate son of the Prince Bishop of Regensburg, came to Prague to win Emperor Rudolf II's favor. Before the Bishop's death, he provided references and gold coin to help Christian quench his thirst for knowledge among learned men like Kepler. Christian journeyed to Prague to study philosophy and the occult arts, instead, he was forced to study evidence surrounding two murders.

After checking into the Blue Elephant, Christian imbibed too much alcohol and then took a walk near Hradcany Castle. He discovered the body of seventeen year old Magdalena Kroll, daughter of Rudolph's court physician. Gashed across the throat with no cloak for protection, Magdalena's death, seemed to the castle sentry, to be that of a murdered whore. Returning to the Blue Elephant, Christian was accosted by soldiers sent by Felix Wenzel, cunning advisor to the Emperor. Wenzel ordered Christian to be held in the castle tower accused of Magdalena's murder. Dr. Kroll interceded on Christian's behalf suggesting that he leave Prague and go to Dresden, a safer, untainted city.

Released from the jail cell, Christian was introduced to Philipp Lang, Emperor Rudolf's Chamberlain. Philipp, the Emperor's chief man, was a liar and extortionist. Both Wenzel and Lang had their own agendas. Wenzel achieved his success using threats and force while Lang was charming and cajoling. Christian needed to choose a side in this political intrigue or a side would be chosen for him. Perhaps Christian should have left Prague as per Dr. Kroll's suggestion.

Emperor Rudolph wanted to speak to Christian. He recounted his dream that a star would be sent from the west as a talisman. Rudolph stated that Christian was the personification of his dream and put his trust in Christian to investigate the death of Magdalena and find the culprit. The plot thickened. A second body was found, the body of Jan Madek, Magdalena's betrothed before she started an affair with the Emperor.

Murder and intrigue. A missing strongbox. A fickle Emperor. A meteoric rise to membership in the Emperor's Court could suddenly spiral into a downward descent. Who can be trusted> Who killed Magdalena Kroll and Jan Madek?

"Wolf on a String" by Benjamin Black was more of a historical fiction read than a mystery. The court intrigue, the back stabbing and jockeying for the Emperor's favor was key. There were some slow moving sequences, however, that did not capture my interest. I would have preferred a storyline, without murder, one focusing on the intellectual battle between Chief Advisor Menzel, Chamberlain Lang, Doctor Kroll and Malaspina, the Holy Father's Nuncio to the Emperor.

Thank you Henry Holt & Company and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Wolf on a String".

Published by Henry Holt and Co. on June 6, 2017

When John Banville turns from literary fiction to literary crime fiction, he writes under the name Benjamin Black. Wolf on a String is a medieval crime novel. Benjamin Black’s customary literary prose style is on display, and the story he tells is interesting, although he doesn’t play by the rules that readers might expect a whodunit to follow.

Late on a winter night in 1599, Christian Stern finds the body of a young woman on the streets of Prague. The woman, he soon learns, was the daughter of Dr. Kroll, the emperor’s physician. The young woman was also the Emperor’s mistress. Of course, Stern is assumed to be the murderer.

Stern’s fortunes are reversed after Emperor Rudolf, through his Chamberlain, takes an interest in Stern, who has studied natural philosophy and who, thanks to a dream the Emperor had, is regarded as heaven-sent. With the help of a dwarf, Stern investigates the murder.

So who committed the foul deed? Was it the Emperor’s jealous concubine? Was it the Emperor’s jealous Chamberlain? Was it the dwarf? It falls to Stern to solve the murder … or risk the Emperor’s wrath.

The story is one of medieval conspiracy, as various players plot against the Emperor or each other. The plot is intricate but not unduly confusing. The whodunit is not one the reader will likely solve, however, as key information is revealed from out of the blue (or out of the soot) only at the novel’s end. That might be a drawback for readers who hope to solve the mystery ahead of its resolution. The story is entertaining, however, as much for the setting and characters as for the plot.

As one would expect from a Benjamin Black novel, Stern is a full character occupying a rich world. His chance interaction with Kepler reminds the reader of the difficulty that scientists faced in a world that was intent on clinging to its assumptions (a difficulty that has never been overcome and is particularly relevant today, given the hostility that some politicians feel toward scientists who voice unhappy truths).

Stern also reveals the strengths and frailties of human nature as he deals with attraction/seduction involving a couple of women, including the Emperor’s mistress. As Stern is warned more than once but can’t quite process, he treads on dangerous ground as he pursues both a killer and his own desires.

Other characters are less developed, but this isn’t a long novel, and they have enough personality to bring them to life. The medieval setting seems realistic enough, although the details of Prague and of the lives of its inhabitants at the end of the sixteenth century are a bit hazy. Still, the novel isn’t meant to be an historical treatise. It works well enough as a medieval crime and conspiracy story to warrant my recommendation.

RECOMMENDED

Although very well written, I found this slow-moving, and it didn't really hold my interest.

Wolf on a String
by Benjamin Black
108416
Nancy Cunningham's review Apr 30, 2017 · edit
really liked it
bookshelves: historical

For those of us who learn their history through novels, this was a fascinating crash course in 16th Century Prague. The story takes the reader deep into the court of Rudolph II and the cut-throat (literally) politics among his courtiers.

Our young protagonist literally stumbles upon the body of a young woman and falls directly into the midst of the Hapsburg court: the young woman was the Emperor's mistress. The good samaritan was trapped in a situation he couldn't escape and virtually forced to accept responsibility for solving the murder (which he was poorly equipped to do).

I loved the colorful characters who surrounded Rudolph II in this fictional court. The deformed jester; the wicked councillor; the lusty and unfaithful mistress; and the innocent newcomer who rises to great heights very quickly but is always waiting for his star to tarnish.

Net galley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Christian Stern arrives in Prague, finding the body of a young woman. He's accused of the crime, but Emperor Rudolf frees him so he may investigate the murder. Other bodies crop up. No one trusts anybody. I did not enjoy this book which left me quite bored and which had too much sexual innuendo for my taste. In the author's note, Black describes the book as "historical fantasy," and perhaps it is that fantastical portion which left me with a dislike for the book. I couldn't wait for the novel to end and probably would not have continued reading it if I hadn't seen other reviews more favorable to it. It obviously was not a book for me. I received an advance review copy through NetGalley for review purposes.

I have to admit that I mainly requested this one due to the setting of Prague, as it is one of my favourite places. So obviously I enjoyed the setting of this book. However it did take me a little while to get into and I wasn't a huge fan of the writing. There wasn't anything really wrong with it but something about it didn't quite work for me. I did still enjoy the story and the darker tone was done quite well. Overall it was good but I didn't love it.