An easy-read thriller that has shades of Ellis Peters and Antonia Hodgson, with pleasing period details and a satisfying slow-burn mystery. Finished in three days. I look forward to more!!

It’s 1494 and Linnet is on the run from her old life, her abusive ex, and the powerful man who she might have double-crossed. She finds herself at Lindisfarne Priory taking on the role of scribe in the priory’s rundown scriptorium. But just when she is feeling safe again, monks start dying in mysterious ways and it seems her past is coming back to haunt her… A great historical crime read with a complex but compelling protagonist, a richly described and atmospheric setting and some real twists and turns along the way. One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the premise of Linnet being a trained scribe and it brought joy to my book nerd heart to read up about all the steps involved in constructing medieval books. It felt like such a refreshing take on historical fiction from this period to focus on women scribes. My only gripes with this read was that I found the start a bit slow, some threads were left unfinished (although these may be returned to in later books?) and there were some historical errors that most readers wouldn’t mind but pedantic fifteenth century nerds would. Downing however has clearly done her work on learning fifteenth century book production, scribal practice, and so forth. Definitely a good read for fans of C. J. Sansom’s Dissolution, Ariana Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death and Sharon Kay Penman’s The Queen’s Man series, who like their historical crime thrillers set in the messy politics of late fifteenth-century England. Apparently this is going to be a book series and I’m already looking forward to finding out where Linnet’s story goes next.

Linnet comes to Lindisfarne to hide from her past but manages to gain work as a scribe at the Priory. However, the monastery is not an easy place to live and hide away as you would think as the monks have their own hidden agendas, and as a woman Linnet is seen by some as unworthy to carry out the work of a scribe. Danger also lurks in the form of the bursar Oswyn and when an inspector arrives from Durham Cathedral to write a report on the Priory Linnet finds herself in further peril when death starts to stalk Holy Island. Consider the Ravens is a great read for anyone interested in the history surrounding Holy Island and who also love mystery novels. This is the first in what I can see will be a popular series, one to pick up and enjoy the tale.