The Stolen Bride

Starred review from January 30, 2012
Utterly convincing characters and a perfect balance between action and sleuthing distinguish Hays’s suspenseful fourth mystery set in King Arthur’s Britain (after 2011’s The Beloved Dead). When Arthur’s chief adviser, Malgwyn ap Cuneglas, inspects the scene of a village massacre, he can’t help thinking of a similar scene from years before, when he returned home to find the ravaged body of his wife, Gwyneth. That tragedy set Malgwyn on the violent path that cost him an arm and transformed him from farmer to warrior. Despite Arthur’s titular position as “High King of All Britannia,” Arthur’s grip on power is in fact tenuous, and the butchery of the villagers is yet more evidence that his kingdom is vulnerable to attack. Besides identifying those responsible for the slaughter, Malgwyn must solve a tribal leader’s murder that threatens serious political repercussions. Hays just keeps getting better with each entry in this intriguing historical series. Agent: Frank Weimann, Literary Group International.

February 15, 2012
King Arthur's counselor must wear many hats, including a deerstalker. Malgwyn ap Cuneglas is awaiting the arrival of his child when Arthur, High King of the Britons, calls upon him to broker a peace among several warring tribes. Together they travel to the kingdom of Doged, a wise man who's recently married a young woman in a final effort to secure an heir for his throne. On the way, they come upon a village sacked by unknown raiders where only one young girl survives. When they arrive, Doged announces his willingness to sign over the rights to gold and other minerals recently found in his kingdom to the consilium to be used for the good of the entire kingdom. Because Arthur must go to Tyntagel to see his ailing mother, it's up to Malgwyn (The Beloved Dead, 2011, etc.) to sort things out. Soon after the arrival of Arthur's troops, Doged is murdered and Mordred is suspected of the crime. Although Malgwyn hates Mordred, he does not think him guilty of this murder. Doged's bride first claims, then denies, that she's pregnant, leaving a group of ambitious and warring enemies to claim Doged's kingdom. The presence of a Saxon delegation and the arrival of several of Arthur's counsel members, all eager to usurp the king's position, make matters ever more dangerous for Malgwyn, who must be both brave and clever to keep alive Arthur's dream of a law-abiding kingdom. A realistic portrait of post-Roman Britain as no Camelot but a down-and-dirty home to warring factions--complex, exciting and well worth your time.

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April 1, 2012

King Arthur sends Malgwyn (The Beloved Dead) to investigate the murder of Doged, a local ruler who had potentially rich gold deposits in his region. Relish Hays's new take on legends.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
The latest entry in the popular and critically acclaimed Arthurian historical mystery series finds the king's investigator, Malgwyn, on a case that brings back memories of his lost wife and child. Arthur's kingdom is fragile, and the current unrest among the western tribes after the murder of their leader could be the final straw for Camelot. Can Malgwyn find the real killer of King Doged in time? The combination of traditional PI mystery and Arthurian mythology is thoroughly refreshing and bound to appeal to fans of both historical mysteries and Arthurian fantasy fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)