Hello,
Welcome to The Cozy Book Blog by Diane-Lyn. I am thrilled to be today’s stop on the book tour for the new release, The Riverwoman’s Dragon by Candace Robb. Enjoy reading about this great new novel, and an excerpt is included! Many thanks to Amy Bruno at HFVBT for the invite! Thanks for visiting and enjoy the tour!
Best, Diane-Lyn
THE RIVERWOMAN’S DRAGON BY CANDACE ROBB
Publication Date: October 1, 2021
Severn House
Series: (Book 13 in the Owen Archer series)
Genre: Historical Mystery
When the wise woman Magda Digby is suspected of murder, Owen Archer sets out to prove her innocence in this intricately plotted medieval mystery.
May, 1375. Owen Archer returns from London to find York in chaos. While the citizens are living in terror of the pestilence which is spreading throughout the land, a new physician has arrived, whipping up fear and suspicion against traditional healers and midwives. With the backing of the new archbishop, he is especially hostile towards Magda Digby, the wise woman who has helped and healed the people of York for many years. At the same time, Magda is uneasy about the arrival of two long-lost kinsfolk. Though they say they are seeking her help, she senses a hidden agenda.
Magda’s troubles deepen when she discovers a body in the river near her home – and finds herself under suspicion of murder. Days later, fire rips through a warehouse in the city. Amongst the charred debris lies the body of a man – not burned, but stabbed in the back. Could there be a connection to the corpse in the river?
Determined to prove Magda’s innocence, Owen sets out to find answers – but the more he uncovers, the deeper the mystery becomes…
Excerpt:
The Riverwoman’s Dragon © 2021 Candace Robb
Timkin held his head as he cried out, “Old Bede’s house is burning!”
There was more, but Owen was already up and moving toward him, thinking of Bede’s
widowed daughter Winifrith and her young children, who lived with him. He bent to the man
who was now doubled over, gasping for air. “Did the family escape?”
“Don’t know,” the old man sobbed. “I saw folk running to the river calling ‘Fire!’
Rushed after them, saw what was burning. Someone said the men who lit it called it a plague
house. A lie!”
Owen need hear no more. In a moment he was pounding down Coney Street, his
companions falling back—Crispin needed a cane. At King’s Staithe he joined Ned Cooper and
several other young men who often worked for the bailiffs. He saw the flames now, licking at a
much larger space than Old Bede’s small cottage. Several small buildings in the lane behind the
staithe were on fire, moving close to a large warehouse.
He whispered a prayer of thanks when he spied Old Bede, Winifrith, and the two children
among a group huddled together as they watched the fire. Ned had paused by them, his fellows
rushing on to grab the pots and buckets that neighbors were carrying out of their houses and
rushing down to fill them with river water.
Some men were hacking at a burning wall near a warehouse. Beyond them folk were
stretched along the staithe and down onto the mudflats to reach the water at low tide, passing
along filled buckets in one direction, empty buckets in another.
Owen grabbed two of the axe-wielders and tossed them toward the shore. “Water, you
fools. Water is what you need.”
“We are paid to watch the warehouse.”
2
Picking up an axe, Owen growled, “Water.”
The men stumbled off toward the staithe, sputtering curses.
A woman was wrapping Winifrith, Bede, and the children in blankets.
“You can sleep with us tonight,” she said. “Devils, the ones who did this. We’re all out
on the street every day. We’d know if the great sickness was here. Someone did this for spite,
they did.”
But who was the target? “Did you see anything?” Owen asked.
Old Bede shook his head. Winifrith was busy with the children.
“No,” said the woman. “I knew nothing until my son shouted ‘fire’.”
“Is your house far enough from the flames?”
“I pray so, Captain. Go. Help with the fire. I will take them home.”
Four buildings burning, and the sparks were catching the thatch on a fifth. Owen directed
a few buckets there, enough to wet it. “Keep watch on that,” he ordered a young woman working
the line, skirts hitched up, her eyes aglow with the fire. He moved through the crowd, helping
where he could. So far it seemed everyone had escaped their homes, most of them working to put
out the fire. Homeless, frightened, but safe. Owen helped the water-bearers until Crispin limped
down to tell him that the fire appeared to be under control.
“Hempe says leave it to the men,” said Crispin. “You need to rest up. You will be busy
tomorrow chasing down the culprit.”
After passing a few more buckets, Owen sought out the woman sheltering Old Bede’s
family. “Did your son see who started the fire?” he asked the woman.
A young man stepped forward. “I heard someone shout ‘plague house,’ and ‘burn out the
Death’, but there was so much smoke.”
3
“Did you see or hear anything else that might help us find them?”
“No. I can ask my friends. Should I come to you if I hear anything?”
“Me. Or Bailiff Hempe. Good work, calling out your neighbors.”
Hempe waited beneath Ouse Bridge. “Ned’s taking charge for the night,” he said “They
will watch the fires, keep them low. That’s one of the Graa family’s warehouses at the staithe.
His men complained that you ordered them about. I set them straight who you are. They whined
that in the smoke they hadn’t recognized you. As if I believed them. They’d note the patch no
matter the smoke.” He spit off to the side. “I set them to stand the watch with Ned and the others,
told them if I heard they’d wandered off I would fine them.”
“Unwilling helpers can be more of a nuisance than a help,” said Owen.
“I don’t much care if they guard only the mayor’s warehouse. The others will be free to
watch the rest.”
“Clever.”
“So off home with you.”
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND
About the Author
I’m Candace Robb, a writer/historian engaged in creating fiction about the late middle ages with a large cast of characters with whom I enjoy spending my days. Two series, the Owen Archer mysteries and the Kate Clifford mysteries, are set in late medieval York. The Margaret Kerr trilogy is set in early 14th century Scotland, at the beginning of the Wars of Independence. Two standalone novels (published under pseudonym Emma Campion) expand on the lives of two women in the court of King Edward III who have fascinated me ever since I first encountered them in history and fiction.
I am a dreamer. Writing, gardening, walking, dancing, reading, being with friends—there’s always a dreaming element.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, October 18
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Tuesday, October 19
Excerpt at Books, Ramblings, and Tea
Thursday, October 21
Interview at Passages to the Past
Friday, October 22
Excerpt at I’m All About Books
Tuesday, October 26
Excerpt at Books & Benches
Wednesday, October 27
Review at Bookfrolic
Excerpt at The Cozy Book Blog
Thursday, October 28
Interview at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals
Friday, October 29
Review at Coffee and Ink
Monday, November 1
Review at Passages to the Past
Giveaway
Enter to win a copy of The Riverwoman’s Dragon by Candace Robb! We have 1 copy available to the US and 1 to the UK.
The giveaway ends on November 1st. You must be 18 or older to enter.
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Thank you!