The Atwelle Confession

Excellent ! Enthralling , atmospheric and engaging
Review scheduled for publication date.

4 stars

Odd premise aside, this is a pretty good book.

The opening of the book is set in Atwelle, Norfolk in 1532. It is the twenty-third year in the reign of King Henry VIII. Two men are accused of having to do with something they shouldn’t have and are sentenced to confess publicly in front of crowds. The men say that that will be their ruin.

We then move forward to the present day. A vicar is murdered just after he posts a letter. The murder is committed by someone the vicar knew.

Margeaux Wood is an historian researcher. She is currently looking into the old Atwelle church and has some interesting questions about it and some problems. Don Whitby is an architect who is restoring the Atwelle church. They meet and begin to discuss the church and its interesting history. It was being built in 1532. A major concern of the Catholics being asked for money to build the church is the outcome of King Henry’s squabble with the Pope. Demanding a divorce while the Pope equivocates, it remains uncertain what Henry will do. If he breaks with the Church, what will happen to the Catholics who donated heavily to the building of the new church? They fear for their businesses, even for their very lives.

As Don and Margeaux begin to explore the inside of the roof of the old church, they notice strange carvings. They’re gargoyles! And they’re holding the on to the heads of various individuals. Margeaux also gets a visit from a police man wanting information about Don.

As they continue to examine the gargoyles, strange murders begin to occur in and around the church. People are being killed according to the gargoyles’ predictions! The reader knows that these same crimes were also committed in 1532, in the same manner. Margeaux and Dan suspect that the gargoyles have something to do with the whole situation, but who is going to believe this?

It all comes to an exciting and startling conclusion on All Hallow’s Eve…it was a dark and stormy night…I was surprised that the main “bad guy” covered their tracks so well. Mr. Gordonson did a masterful job in obscuring their identity.

This book is well written and the plotting is pretty good. There were some rather unbelievable twists in the plot, but when the denouement is concluded, it all makes more sense. There wasn’t much relationship conflict or background given on any of the major characters. This book is just straight story. While the book starts out rather slowly, the suspense picks up a little further into the novel and then builds nicely from there. I’m not sure I would call this a mystery, for it is almost a horror novel. I’ll look into Mr. Gordonson’s other books as well.

I want to thank NetGalley and SelectBooks for forwarding to me a copy of this interesting book for me to read and enjoy.

I truly liked not only the premise of this book, but all the characters as well... be they good or evil. The protagonists are well-drawn, and the dialogue thought-provoking and credible. Yes, it's a bit whimsical, but that just adds to the overall enjoyment.. A great way to spend some weekend hours! Highly recommended.