Baynard's List (A Stephen Attebrook mystery Book 2)

I don't often bother to post reviews, though I appreciate those who do. But when work like Mr. Vail's pops out of Create Space, I like to support it.The Wayward Apprentice and its sequel, Baynard's List, are fast-paced, intelligent mysteries set in the 13th Century. I want to emphasize the word 'intelligent'. Vail's medieval world is almost palpable in its reality and does the reader the supreme honor of being historically accurate; proof that one does not have to turn history on its ear to create a great story.Vail has produced a cast of fascinating characters, from the sarcastic, legless Harry the Beggar to his protagonist Stephen Attebrook, a crippled knight who serves as deputy coroner to the town of Ludlow. In a world where every man has his station, Attebrook finds himself in a gray area. Born to gentry, he has neither the funds nor the physical ability to pillar his position. Thus, he is neither gentleman nor peasant, but something in between. Vail's characters feel like real people, not medieval stereotypes. Coupled with great fight scenes and an interesting plot, there is much to recommend this writer. I will certainly keep an eye on him.The books do have a few flaws in terms of spelling and punctuation, along with one abrupt point-of-view change noted by another reviewer. I didn't find the errors horrible enough to ruin my experience, though I did deduct one star because of them. Frankly, I think they are the kind mistakes that could be fixed by a diligent critique partner without having to pay for the rather hefty editing cost offered by Create Space.Thanks for good read, Jason Vail. I hope there's more to come!

I like the characters and setting.Fun mystery with a light history and English travel log mix.Swords, martial arts and a little romance

This is really a continuation of the author's first book "The Waywards Apprentice" and brings the story onto its final conclusion. Since I did read that first book earlier the transition was an easy one. It was a fairly light read and all of the charactors were easy to keep track of and the plot line flowed. It tends to overstate life in the 1200's AD and, I am sure, makes the era seem more romantic and easier than it actually might actually have been. I have also read the Oliver Potzach "Hangman's Daughter" series of stories which take place in the 1600's and life seems to be a lot harder and more realistic in his novels. For example, chamber pots being dumped on the streets each morning, dead animals rotting in the gutters and muddy roads to travel on after even moderate rains. These Jason Vail stories kinda remind me of some of the Errol Flynn movies from the '30's and '40's where everyone is clean and well dressed and never seem to have to go to the bathroom

I love historical fiction. Stephen Atterbrook’s adventures are fun. I have read 2in the series & will continue. This is the the first in the series & shows a bit of contrivance, but the later installment was truly good! The author grows more confident & as a result the stories become more enjoyable!

This is book 2 in the medieval mystery series featuring Stephen Attebrook, a lower-level knight who's trying to rebuild a broken life, and has taken a post as "deputy coroner" without any idea of how to do that job.I read the series out of order, and the story stood well on its own, but having now read the earlier book, I think that reading in order would provide an additional sense of menace and suspense.This series features well developed, psychologically sound characters, a good suspense story that's satisfyingly difficult to unravel, and a great sense of place and time, with the details of law and daily life in the specific medieval time (Henry III) helping to build the story (rather than just providing stage setting or color, as in many lesser medieval mysteries).Because of both the interesting focus character and the deft presentation of medieval detail, I'm looking forward to more from this author.

Stephen Attebrook is not the usual solver of medieval mysteries found in other stories, but by wit and wiles he gets the job done!

I just finished the second volume in the series and am about to begin on the third. I think that this is one of the better medieval historical series available. I enjoyed Cadfael, but he became a little too comfortable, too cozy after a while. My favorite author in this genre is Paul Doherty--with all his pseudonyms. He captures, for me at least, the complete otherness of the Middle Ages. Vail also does a very good job of that, too. Medieval mysteries are not supposed to "play fair" with the reader, I believe. Important, for me at least, is that he gets the details correct, i.e. the difference between even prosperous merchants and down-on-their luck members of the nobility. There was no equality then; money meant a lot, but could not take the place of status. Vail gets that absolutely correct.Yes, there are some proofing errors, but really not all that many. I find the characters well-drawn and memorable. And the narrative, for me at least, flows smoothly. An excellent bargain as well as novel.

The story continues from the Wayward Apprentice, and while you could read this mystery without having read the Wayward Apprentice first, I think I would encourage you to buy both books and read them one after the other. Our knight is still struggling with poverty and the only thing he seems to have plenty of are people who want to kill him and questions he has to answer if he wants to stay alive and to reclaim his kidnapped son. His Clerk Gilbert and the legless beggar Harry reappear and assist him in his quest for answers. As the number of deaths and hanging offenses Sir Stephen is forced to commit increase it seems our hero may find a noose waiting him when he reaches the end of his rope. The story is set in medieval England and the author describes the setting quite well. Character portrayal is vivid. I greatly enjoyed the mystery, did not solve it before the end and I greatly look forward to a third in the series.

I thought this book was better than the first in the series but I doubt I'll persist. He's obviously done his research but it still doesn't feel very much like medieval England. I thought the final chapter spoiled the whole book. It was as though he'd got fed up with the story and the characters and just gave us a resume of what happened afterwards (in case you're interested, shrug) Several reviewers have mentioned the 'modern' dialogue but it's impossible to write in medieval English (or more likely Norman French for a man of noble origins like Stephen) because modern readers couldn't read it! But ditch the Americanisms!

This was my first read of a book by Jason Vail and if you can put up with the American spelling,words and forming of sentences then it was quite good.Words like "ass" and "fanny" (for backside) are used liberally and the characters sometimes speak as if they are roaming the range in Texas rather than dodging the Welsh in the marches.The hero Stephen Attebrook is a down at heel knight with a disability who has a job as a deputy coroner.He is tasked by a powerful Lord with finding a list of names of traitors in the time of the war between Simon De Montfort and Henry III.The story is set in Ludlow.If you like Michael Jecks,Bernard Knight,Paul Doherty and Edward Marston you will probably find this acceptable especially if you buy it on kindle for 99p as i did.

Sir Steve Rides Again !! Well what can you expect from an American . Yes I agree with all those reviewers who point out the Yankee twang to this story but have to ask the question -- Do you like Sir Steve or not ?? When I read a story , I like it to entice me in and keep my attention . I like a story to flow , I like there to be a reasonable dialogue and interaction between the characters and I want the improbabilities [that always occur in these stories] to be well camouflaged . Jason has managed to accomplish most of these things but only when Sir Steve really becomes Sir Stephen will Jason manage to earn himself 5*.

Although there are some jarring moments, this is an entertaining read. Americanisms are not a problem; the author is an American and they must be accepted as his normal way of expressing himself. What is a problem, however, is the occasional very modern colloquialism. These destroy the well-created feel of medieval Ludlow.Stephen Attebrook is still very pleasant company for a few hours and more questions have been raised in this book about his past than have been answered. I hope that there will be another book so that some of these can be solved, there are certainly enough loose ends to justify it.

Having read the first novel and and feeling it was lacking, I chose to read the second one and found it to be a lot better. I quite enjoyed the second novel and look forward to reading more in the series.