"Unusual but nonetheless fascinating tale"
In 1392 in what is now the quaint town of Shere in Surrey,
England Christine Carpenter willing locked herself away
from the rest of the world in an attempt to reach a state
of oneness with God while still living on the mortal
plane. Almost six hundred years later, fanatical Catholic
Priest Michael Duval became fascinated with what Christine
and other Anchoresses like her tried to do and decided to
flesh out her story in a novel. However, Michael's muse has deserted him so he is going to
do what he has tried to do five times before. He is going
to kidnap a young woman and incarcerate her in a specially
created cell in his basement. He is then going to teach
her about religion so that she can become "his" modern day
Christine and he will able to finish his book. He
successfully kidnaps Marda Stewart who, unlike her
predecessors, intends to live to tell the tale about the
killer priest. Paul Moorcraft captures the atmosphere of fourteenth
century England to perfection while telling
Christine's "story". He also shows the mindset of a serial
killer through his actions and thoughts. Though six
centuries separate the two stories, they are held together
by an intriguing plot that will keep the reader turning the
pages until they finish this very unusual but nonetheless
fascinating tale. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 1, 2002
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