Ernestine--A Tale of Love, Honor, and Intrigue

 

Historical fiction brings the reader into another time period and can also tell a special story. Ernestine is Kate Reynolds's debut novel, but she is no amateur when it comes to crafting a fascinating story that draws readers quickly and holds them right up to the end using beautiful and descriptive prose.

 When only a child in the early 1500s, Ernestine learned how to cheat at betting games and became a fine bunco artist at her father's tutelage. Once a young woman, she marries the man she loves, helps him run an inn in France, and is happy being nothing more than a loving wife. When Sebastian dies, she flees with documents he and his brother had hidden, documents that could be world-changing. 

Ernestine takes the vows of a Clarissa nun and finds her way to an abbey in Spain near Granada. She knows she is being followed by a man who wants the documents she carried away. Hoping for safety in the abbey, she hides the documents but finds one problem after another amongst the 90 nuns. The Abbess is a kindly woman whose greatest love is caring for the olive groves the abbey owns. Keeping the accounts book is beyond her, and when she learns that Ernestine can work with figures, she begs the new nun to take over the Accounts Book. Reluctant to do so because of a problem with an account book in her past that might have led to her husband's death Ernestine demurs but is finally persuaded. 

Add to the story a priest who plays a betting game with Mother Faviola every week, always winning, a young novitiate who is hopelessly in love with a young man, a festival and parade which the Abbey has always won but is suddenly in peril, and Ernestine mixed up in all of it, and you have a very fine novel.

Taking place at the time of the Great Trials, or Inquisition, we see the effect on the everyday world of those whose vocation is often riddled with fear. 

The supporting characters in the novel are realistic and also of interest to the reader. In particular, Luz, the oldest nun who is blind, draws Ernestine's story from her as they work together in the cellary bit by bit and relates many of her own. As they work with the abbey's foodstuffs in a series of caves, Luz tells Ernestina the Spanish term 'pundonor' which means 'point of honor' and is an integral part of Ernestine's story.

 I enjoyed learning more about this period in history where no nun or priest was protected from the Inquisition. I found the nun's language of the fans fascinating as well as the beauty of the Alhambra surrounding the nuns who toiled in the olive groves and merely subsisted rather than thrived. 

This is a many-faceted tale that has much more than what I have written here. Unpeel the many layers as you read. Find it on Amazon with both a Kindle edition and a paperback. I look forward to reading more novels by Kate Reynolds.

For Readers Who Like Mystery Series

                                                       

Many authors write mystery series moving the protagonist from one adventure, or misadventure, to another. When we enjoy a book of this type, we often want to read more. The author has created a character that we like, one we perhaps can relate to, and one with whom we want to spend more time.

I first got hooked on the mystery series books when, at age 10, I started reading the Nancy Drew mysteries written by Carolyn Keene, the pen name of Mildred Wirt Benson. My husband read all the Hardy Boys mysteries written by Franklin W. Dixon when he was a child. We both continue to read mysteries to this day.

Two of my favorites are Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge series and Louise Penny's books that feature Inspector Armand Gamache of Montreal. Both have been extremely popular, although I think Louise Penny's books are the more commonly known. Still, if anyone reads a Charles Todd mystery, he/she is likely to go back for more. 

Charles Todd is actually a mother/son writing team. Their character, Ian Rutledge, is a Scotland Yard Inspector in the early years after WWI. Rutledge fought in France and arrived home suffering from what we now know as PTSD. He had to shoot one of his soldiers while in France, and the man has never left his mind. Hamish goes with Rutledge on all his assignments, making both good and bad comments throughout an investigation. Sound weird? Well, it works. Even though the Inspector's job is in London, many of his cases take him to small villages in England. The reader follows the clues right along with him and tries to work out the mystery. A combination of Mystery and Historical Fiction. Charles Todd has another series about Bess Crawford, an English nurse in WWI. Also well done.

Louise Penny takes her readers on many an adventure with Armand Gamache and the many regular characters that appear in the books. Among them are Jean-Guy Beauvoir, his assistant detective, his wife Reine-Marie, and several memorable characters in the small village of Three Pines who appear in many of the books. The village itself is a character. Louise Penny has mastered the art of storytelling and keeping her readers interest as a mystery evolves. Her readers can hardly wait for the next book in the series.

There are a great many other mystery series that are from way back and ones that are current. To name only a few:  Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple. They are all from series written in the 1800s and early 1900s. Another well-known author of contemporary mysteries is Daniel Silva who writes about Israeli spy-art restorer, Gabriel Allon. Fascinating and suspenseful. 

When you read a mystery series, do you have to begin with Book 1 and move on with each book in succession? It's probably helpful but not fully necessary. The authors generally put enough background story to allow a reader of Book 12 to know what has happened to the protagonist in the earlier books. It's not always possible to read the books in perfect order. One thing I find is that, when there is a reference to an earlier book or experience the main character has had, it makes me want to go back and read the earlier books. 

We come to know the character well. His/her habits, fears, loves, friends, and more. He/she becomes almost a friend after we have read several books in a series. We fear for them. We cheer for them. We care about them. The author has a difficult job in keeping us interested in the character and devising new mysteries to be solved. I greatly admire them.

Will all mystery series appeal to all readers? No. If you read one book in a series and it leaves you ok but not wanting to pursue any others, that's alright. Authors who write these kinds of books are ones who write character-driven stories. Not all people appeal to us and neither will all characters in one of these mystery series. 

Do you have a particular favorite mystery series? Share in the comments section if you would like to recommend a series to other readers.