The Owl Killers

August 24, 2009
In the tiny English village of Ulewic in 1321, a struggle brews between the Owl Masters, who want to bring back pagan worship, and a group of pious Christian women, called beguines, who merely wish to be left in peace. Having suffered from floods and famine, the town takes bitter notice of the Christian women, who are continually spared. As suspicion grows, the Owl Masters find aid from an unlikely source, the village priest, who's determined to pursue the “criminal” women in order to hide his own sins. U.K. novelist Maitland's jumpy narrative is, unfortunately, a poor showcase for the fascinating conflict, and she never seems to decide whether the Owlman is demon or myth, and other loose threads are left to dangle. Still, she produces an interesting examination of an unfamiliar time and place, finding effective lures in lessons on sexism and xenophobia.

September 1, 2009
Told from the viewpoints of multiple characters, Maitland's second medieval novel of suspense (after "A Company of Liars") is a real page-turner. Set in England in 1321, amid famines, plagues, and social conflicts, the story follows events in the village of Ulewic, whose inhabitants, including the priest, are held in thrall by a powerful secret pagan society, the Owl Masters. On the community's outskirts, a small band of women have established a beguinagea safe sanctuary for women, not nuns, who have chosen to forgo the company of men and support themselves. When the villagers' crops fail and animals become ill, even as those of the beguinage are spared, whispers of witchcraft begin, fueled by the Owl Masters and their desire for a return to the male-dominated worship of the old powers. Carefully researched and meticulously crafted, the story enthralls, transporting the reader back to an earlier era that nonetheless seems to echo aspects of society today. VERDICT This gripping work should appeal to readers who enjoy books with medieval settings like Ariana Franklin's "Mistress of the Art of Death" series; those who like novels of suspense will also want to give it a try.Pamela P. O'Sullivan, Coll. at Brockport Lib., SUNY

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2009
Maitland has conjured up a medieval world startling in its brutality and unrivaled in its fury. In the village of Ulewic, a group of disparate women have banded together, forming their own beguinage, an all-female island of prayer and prosperity in a brutish society dominated by the Owl Masters, a mysterious, all-male pagan cabal determined to stamp out any signs of independence and nonconformity. When the economic and spiritual success of the beguinage breeds suspicion, the Owl Killers take action, unleashing a rash of destructive forces from both within and without the cloistered community. Like Maitlands previous novel, Company of Liars (2008), this riveting tale chronicles the clash between Christianity and paganism, while introducing elements of the supernatural into the realistically wrought medieval landscape. The suspense builds as multiple characters narrate this claustrophobic and atmospheric page-turner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)