Warning: Contains spoilers!
I don’t know if Margaret Frazer intended this to be the last
Dame Frevisse novel, since she passed away in 2013, the final book ends on a
high note. Without giving away the
mystery, I’ll just say the last words in the book are “Domina Frevisse, prioress
of St. Frideswide’s”. Okay, enough of
the spoilers.
Other than the non-surprising ending, The Apostate’s Tale
was a let-down given the excitement of the previous novel, The Traitor’s
Tale. This final installment lacked the
politics and intrigue of Henry VI’s disastrous reign, but it also lacked its
enjoyability.
The story takes place entirely within the confines of St
Frideswide. Frevisse isn’t sent away on
an errand and her cousin Lady Suffolk isn’t even mentioned. That being said, there really wasn’t much
mystery to this novel. The story
centered around an apostate nun who had fled St. Frideswide nine years before
with a man, and is back with young son in tow.
The sisters are none too happy to see her and send for Abbot
Gilberd, Domina Elisabeth’s brother to help them with what to do with Sister
Cecely. Thrown into the mix are a young woman
who wants to be a nun (much against her mother’s wishes) and Sister Cecely’s paramour’s
family, who think she has stolen important papers from them.
All right, one more spoiler:
There is no murder in The Apostate’s Tale. Only two close calls. And the solution isn’t a total surprise.
I was really expecting something more from Frazer’s final
Frevisse tale.
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