Books

No Dark Place
The Poisoned Serpent
The Interior
Who's Afraid of Virginia Ham?
Murder on the Gravy Train
Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Novels)
Midnight Clear
A Bloodhound to Die for
Cat Fear No Evil (Joe Grey Mysteries (Hardcover))
Cat Seeing Double: A Joe Grey Mystery (Joe Grey Mysteries (Hardcover))
Cat Laughing Last HB
Lord of the Silent (Amelia Peabody Mysteries (Paperback))
Sacrifice
The Force of the Past
The Samurai's Daughter
Scaredy Cat
Who Killed Tiffany Jones?
Beyond Suspicion
The Vatican Rip
The Gondola Scam (Crime Monthly)
Emily Dickinson Is Dead
Pearlhanger (Penguin Crime Monthly)
City of Glass (The New York Trilogy)
Murder at the Gardner: A Homer Kelly Mystery
Good and Dead

Average customer rating:

NO DARK PLACE - A Medieval Mystery Within A Mystery!
A pleasure to read!
A mean disappointment
Excellent Way to Pass an Afternoon
At points good, at points slow

No Dark Place
Joan Wolf
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Poisoned Serpent
The Arrangement
The Guardian
Golden Girl
The Deception

ASIN: 0061097454
Release Date: 2000-04-04

Amazon.com

How much do you know about 12th-century Norman England? After reading Joan Wolf's perfectly balanced blend of research and imagination, you'll know a lot more. This historical mystery allows us to slip under the skin of a period and its people.

Wolf, best known for her historical romance novels, chooses the setting of her first mystery with care. Norman England was one of those pivotal periods when the old world and the new both clashed and coexisted, when ancient tales of witchcraft could still freeze the blood of even the most modern-thinking men and women.

When 20-year-old Hugh Corbaille loses his beloved adoptive father, the Sheriff of Lincoln, his world becomes dark and saddened. When he is told soon afterward that he may actually be Hugh de Leon, son and heir to the late earl of Wiltshire, his world explodes into a contradiction of doubt and danger--the earl had been murdered on the same day that his young son disappeared 14 years before. Hugh has no memories of his life before his adoption, but a sympathetic woman healer helps him recover pieces from his past--including his presence at Wiltshire's murder. --Dick Adler

Book Description

In the turbulent realm of Norman England, a young man discovers that his identity is the link to an incredible mystery. . . .

Bereft at the loss of his adoptive father, the Sheriff of Lincoln, Hugh Corbaille is unprepared for a further shock from a visiting knight. Hugh may actually be the sole child of the Earl of Wiltshire, mysteriously abducted thirteen years before on the day the nobleman was murdered. With no memory of his early years, Hugh begins to believe he may be the missing heir and sets off to find his past.

The journey, however, is far from easy--or safe. Finding himself caught in a web of death and intrigue, and surrounded by a court of scheming strangers, Hugh must turn to the mother he has never known and a supportive young woman to piece together the truth. A cold-blooded killer stands between Hugh and the answers he seeks, answers that may prove his birth--and his death.

Customer Reviews:

NO DARK PLACE - A Medieval Mystery Within A Mystery!.......2007-05-03

The setting - immediately following the Battle of the Standard, August 1138. Hugh Corbaille's father dies while fighting for King Stephen. Hugh is heartbroken but his life is about to take an unexpected turn. He will be discovered to be the long lost only son and heir to the Earldom of Wiltshire.

It is an honor that Hugh does not want and it takes a long time to convince him that he is indeed Hugh deLeon. Ralf Corbaille the Sheriff of Lincoln has been the only father he has ever known and loved. His foster mother Adela was also much cherished by Hugh.

His life was much simpler and peaceful before finding out his true identity. With this discovery that he is really the deLeon heir he embarks on a deadly and mysterious quest to find out why his real father was brutally murdered in the family chapel.

The current Earl of Wiltshire, Guy deLeon, younger brother of Hugh's father and Hugh's Uncle is suspected of being behind the murder to gain his brother's lands and title. However, things are not as they would seem to be and Hugh begins to investigate. As he delves deeper into the murder mystery he uncovers additional suspects with motives to murder. The murderer isn't discovered until nearly the end of the novel and it is a shock to Hugh.

This is a very engaging novel and I just couldn't put it down. It's a true edge of your seat mystery! I really didn't like Hugh that much in the beginning but quickly warmed up to him as his character became more developed. His situation was difficult at best so his reactions and attitudes were truly understandable.

A pleasure to read!.......2004-04-12

I'm amazed that more people don't like this book! Only three stars overall, were are the literary appreciators in this world, standing behind the door me thinks!

It was a great read from beginning to end, and it reminds me a lot of the Cadfael series of books in that it is set in the same time period but follows the fortunes of the young Hugh Corbaille (de Leon) and his search for his true identity and the murderer of his true Crusader father Roger de Leon.

We are treated to a mystery within a mystery, first there is the mystery of who Hugh actually is and then there is the mystery of who murdered his real father.

Hugh has been raised the as the adopted son of the Sheriff of Lincoln but his early childhood is shrouded in mystery.

The Sheriff took him in after finding him half dead one winter's night and quickly realised the boy was not a Saxon child as he spoke Norman French and for the next thirteen years Hugh lived a happy half life, unable or unwilling remember his past but with the death of his beloved Foster Father, he finds himself travelling down a path that could either free him from his unspoken nightmares or kill him as it had killed his real father so many years before...

Joan Wolf obviously did a lot of research before writing this book and I found it exciting and interesting, even enjoying the romance between Hugh and the 16 year old daughter of the Knight Nigel Haslin along with a cast of other savoury and unsavoury characters such as Hugh's Uncle, now the Earl of Wilshire, a title that in reality belongs to Hugh as his father' heir, and his troubled birth mother, the beautiful Isabel who has many secrets of her own she'd rather keep to herself.

All in all it was a very good book, enjoyable all the way through and well worth reading if you get the chance.

A mean disappointment.......2002-06-22

The first Joan Wolf book that I read was "Born of the Sun" and I absolutely loved it! (THAT one, I highly recommend) Thrilled to have found an author who could touch me like that, I immediately assumed that another book by her hand would be as tantilizing. Nope. This book was a crushing disappointment. It's hard to believe that this could even be the same author. I have great respect for her earlier work, but this book seemed (how can I put it?)....clumsy. It was nothing like the polished, heartfelt dramas she had written before. If you'd like to read Joan Wolf, definitely try "Born of the Sun" or "Road to Avalon" -- that way you'll get a good taste of what her talent truly is. Leave this one on the shelf.

Excellent Way to Pass an Afternoon.......2002-03-13

This novel is entertaining and the author does a good job of moving the story along while also providing information about the time period. This is especially helpful because a major portion of the story revolves around the allegiance of various land-owning families to claimants in a struggle for the throne of England. The author outlines the basic situation without getting too bogged down in minutiae and without talking down to her readers. As another reviewer noted, the novel also develops the romantic side of its plot within the mores of the time rather than having these medieval characters pursue a modern-style courtship. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

At points good, at points slow.......2000-10-10

I am a fan of Joan Wolf's historical romances, so I was interested in seeing her try her luck in the historical mystery market. I must say that she needs to work at it a little more.

Hugh de Leon is bereft at the lost of his foster father, but an unknown knight reveals to him that he may be the long-lost heir to the earldom of Wiltshire, a strategic stronghold in the war between King Stephan and the Empress Matilda. The only problem is, Hugh's father was murdered and he cannot remember his life before he lived with his foster parents. Hugh then journeys all around England trying to find out what really happened on that day thirteen years ago. Along the way he finds friendship and love in an impossible match and the courage to confront his past.

I am sorry, but as I am writing this review, I am realizing how shallow a lot of this story was. Although I liked the character of Hugh, the dialogue was silly and the writing stilted. I felt that each time the characters talked to each other, I was listening to ten year olds. The ending was wrapped up way to quickly and was anticlimatic at best. I never would have thought of the ending simply because it was the most uninteresting option. Definately not something that I expect from Joan Wolf.

Joan Wolf should have stuck to the first-person historical romances that she wrote, they were far more interesting and well-written.

Average customer rating:

No Dark Place
Joan Wolf
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFA0J2

Batman A lonely Place of Dying No. 442 1989

Average customer rating:

Batman A lonely Place of Dying No. 442 1989
Marv Wolfman
Manufacturer: DC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: B000NU3R7U

The Dark Blue Bike at No 17 (Stories from Canterbury Place)

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The Dark Blue Bike at No 17 (Stories from Canterbury Place)
Catherine Mackenzie
Manufacturer: Christian Focus Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 185792732X

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No Dark Place
Joan Wolf
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OELX80

6 Titles by Richard North Patterson - Escape the Night - Final Judgement - Protect and Defend - Dark Lady - No Safe Place - Silent Witness

Average customer rating:

6 Titles by Richard North Patterson - Escape the Night - Final Judgement - Protect and Defend - Dark Lady - No Safe Place - Silent Witness
Richard North Patterson
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KDWAAK

Product Description

6 mass market paperbacks by Richard North Patterson - Escape the Night - Final Judgement - Protect and Defend - Dark Lady - No Safe Place - Silent Witness

Richard North Patterson Collection: The Outside Man, Escape the Night, Private Screening, The Final Judgement, Silent Witness, No Safe Place, Dark Lady, Protect And Defend, Balance of Power, Conviction (Set of 10 Novels)

Average customer rating:

Richard North Patterson Collection: The Outside Man, Escape the Night, Private Screening, The Final Judgement, Silent Witness, No Safe Place, Dark Lady, Protect And Defend, Balance of Power, Conviction (Set of 10 Novels)
Richard North Patterson
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000P3G5GU

Dark Blue Bike at No. 17: Stories from Canterbury Place

Average customer rating:

Dark Blue Bike at No. 17: Stories from Canterbury Place
Catherine MacKenzie
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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