The Night of the Wolf

What a great series by C Clark. In this the last of the Brother Chandler series, we meet again familiar loved characters. Chandler is on the run this time and is embroiled in another murder which he must solve. Against the background of the dastardly usurper King Henry, the story takes us through England and to Wales before Chandler can once again return to London where his own personal trials exist. I have spent very late nights reading these three books and enjoyed every moment. Clark has the gift of painting such real and gripping drama that I am in awe. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read and review the Night of the Wolf by Cassandra Clark.

The Night of the Wolf, Cassandra Clark's third volume in her Brother Chandler series, offers a portrait of England at the time that Henry IV usurped and murdered Richard II and the divided loyalty of the English people. Most of my sense of Henry IV comes from Shakespeare's work, in which Henry starts out callow, but turns into a heroic type by the end of the two-play sequence. Richard II I know mostly from Conn Iggulden's Wars of the Roses series, which is sympathetic to Richard personally, but presents him as an unreliable ruler troubled by serious mental illness.

In Clark's Brother Chandler series, we see an England in which Henry IV has won, Richard II is dead—and much of the country mourns his killing and is appalled by the brutal tactics Henry uses to keep the crown. Henry's brutality is contrasted with Richard's generosity of spirit. For me, this is a new—and very interesting—way of looking at this historical moment.

Ostensibly the Brother Chandler series is a group of mystery novels about Chandler (of course) and Chaucer, whose mockery of the religious and the upper classes is seen as a threat to Henry IV's hold on power. The plots revolves around Chandler's attempts to protect Chaucer's manuscripts by keeping them out of the hands of those in power and finding secure places where they can wait out the years until they are no longer as controversial.

As in previous volumes in this series, the central mystery is marginal, which is part of what makes these books so interesting. Just watching characters attempt to make their way through a time of violence and turmoil, without Shakespeare to prompt us to see Henry as the good guy in the narrative, is a refreshing and intriguing experience. This is a series best read in order: The Hour of the Fox; The Day of the Serpent; and then The Night of the Wolf. The books are accessible even if not read in order, but getting to observe Clark's version of the unfolding of history is treat enough that it's worth taking chronologically.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

Having only realised when I started reading this book that it is the third book in a series I wondered whether I would have missed anything. And although I enjoyed I now wish I had read the first two books before reading this one.

I did enjoy the story and the period in which the book was written. With kings, religious overtones and more this medieval mystery is interesting, exciting and not too long. It is full of history but also murder mystery with twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I know need to head to the library to read the first two and then maybe reread this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “The Night of the Wolf.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Brother Chandler is lucky to be alive, still guarding banned books; Henry IV sets on the throne. To be safe, Chandler must stay away from London, far away, from his beloved and the child she carries. Wales would probably be a good place to hole up in, and the books would be safe, too. But “murder will out,” as even Master Chaucer knows, and in “The Night of the Wolf” Chandler soon finds himself caught up in a mystery -- a wool merchant’s licentious young wife is dead, from a fall from a roof. An accident, or something else? Well, dear readers, what do you think?

Interspersed with this investigation is the historical background of the time, the trouble that Henry had with consolidating his tenuous hold on the throne. The followers of Richard II did not go quietly into the night. The “wolf of the west” -- Glyn Dwr, who rules in Wales -- is expected to make his presence known, and Chandler spends a goodly portion of the book tooing and froing, trying to get in touch. There are basically two parts to this book, the mystery part and the historical one. This is also not a book that rushes through its narrative.

As mentioned, the “murder mystery” is important, but it is not the focus of the book, although the identity of the murderer remains a question until close to the end; “The Night of the Wolf” is a story of Chandler trying to stay alive and find out how his family and friends are doing, while reminding us the lengths that Henry IV would go to, to secure his rule. But Chandler, above all, feels he has to be the bringer of justice. And finds a way to accomplish his initial task, and we come full circle.

“The Night of the Wolf” reminds us that Brother Chandler is a complex character, perhaps more adventurer than detective, and especially, perhaps more sinner than saint. And the book is definitely a history lesson for the times, too. Author Cassandra Clark includes a Historical Note that explains more about her narrative and includes ideas for further reading. I look forward to reading more about Brother Chandler’s journey.

Incredible adventure!

I have to admit, there is a gap in my knowledge in medieval history around the reigns of Henry IV and Henry V. I have never liked Henry IV, despite the fact I love researching his father, John of Gaunt. I don’t know why? I have read some a handful on the first two Lancastrian kings, but never delved deeper into their lives and reigns. So, The Night of the Wolf by Cassandra Clark is a refreshing and fascinating story set in a period that is unfamiliar to me, though I may now have to look more deeply into Henry IV and the attitudes towards his usurpation of the throne from his cousin Richard II.

The Night of the Wolf is an intriguing murder mystery – if it is murder, that is, rather than an unfortunate accident – set after the accession of Henry IV and the death in Pontefract Castle of Richard II. The lead character is a monk who has fallen foul of King Henry in the past and is trying to stay under the radar of the authorities and stay alive.

Cassandra Clark’s hero of The Night of the Wolf, Brother Chandler, is a fascinating character, a renegade friar who has left his lover and child to keep them safe, and travelled north with a book written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Having escaped the pyre once, Chandler must find somewhere safe to secrete Chaucer’s works, and to keep himself out of the reach of the new king’s men. His personal mission is hampered when the lady of the house in which he is staying falls from a roof garden – or was pushed.

Brother Chandler is drawn into a web of lies and deceit that he must unravel.

Poor Brother Chandler tries not to get involved in the murderous events in Chester, he has enough problems of his own. But he cannot refuse the pleas of a grieving husband and embarks on an investigation that uncovers the divided loyalties and various intrigues of the leading citizens of Chester. Chandler is a sympathetic character, so easy to like that the reader finds themselves egging him but at the same time urging caution.

It is fascinating to read a murder mystery set in a time that must have been very unsettled for the ordinary Englishmen. A political coup and change in monarch that leaves the realm divided between the rightful king – as there had been rumours of Richard II’s death, but no confirmation – and the man who seized the throne. Cassandra Clark clearly demonstrates the suspicion and fear that must have abounded in 1400. No one knowing who to trust nor where individual loyalties lay. Betrayal lurked around every corner.

The Night of the Wolf is a fabulous, fast- paced, murder mystery that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat, or sitting up, reading, late into the night, desperate to discover the murderer and learn that Brother Chandler is safe, or not. With such a clever, intriguing plot, I defy any reader not to be mesmerised by Brother Chandler’s story.

After escaping the pyre, Brother Chandler is indebted to his rescuers and agrees to take a valuable manuscript away for safekeeping. Ambushed on the road, he is rescued by a Chester merchant, but when the merchant's wife dies in suspicious circumstances, Chandler is asked to look into the matter. Keen to get back to London but also needing to avoid the forces of Henry Bolingbroke, Chandler is forced to move between Chester, an Abbey near Leek and the hideouts of the renegade Owain Glyn Dwr.
Clark is an excellent writer of historical fiction. Here she turns to the years after the usurping of the throne by Henry IV and the uncertainty of the fate of Richard II. This is a time not often visited in stories and definitely not from the Riccardian perspective which makes the story interesting. The fact that it is also a really good mystery helps as well!