The Green Man

By: Kate Sedley

Narrated by: Robbie MacNab

In the summer of 1482, an English army, under command of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, invades Scotland. They plan to win back the border town of Berwick-on-Tweed and to put King James III's renegade young brother, the Duke of Albany, back on the throne. Roger the Chapman, called upon to be a member of Albany's personal bodyguard, finds himself, by royal decree, a part of the invading forces.

But a series of sinister events, centred round the mythical Green Man, makes Roger question Albany's true motive for requesting his presence. Then, once in Edinburgh, he is required to investigate a murder - and begins to realise that his own life could be in danger.

©2008 Kate Sedley (P)2008 Soundings

My Initial Encounter With Roger Chapman

I've been reading historical mysteries for years. Many authors are good, some are great, few make me anticipate another work by the same author mid-listen. Yet this was the case with The Green Man. It is well written. It is also true to the voice and character of it's historical figures. More than that, it's a fun book to be swallowed by. I pretty much guessed the main course of both mysteries, but not any of the details.

You don't need to know anything about Glouchester or Albany because Sedley presents their true characters accurately. She accurately sets the political scene and the social scene of England and Scotland in 1482 without being pedantic. I thoroughly enjoyed The Green Man and am looking forward to hearing The Three Kings of Cologne.

Good

This book takes place a few years into the married life of Roger Chapman, the chapman (peddler). The plot is a bit different from the other books but interesting. A pleasant book to listen to while sitting in traffic.

Kate Sedley fan dissapointed.

I love the Roger the Chapman series by Kate Sedley. I've been collecting them since I first discovered them a few years ago, and as a woman from Somerset, who knows Bristol well, I have been thrilled with each adventure. I was excited to see The Green Man as an audio book. I know quite a bit about both Scotland, and the Green Man in all of his forms (most especially in the West Country) ....but this book failed me. Roger was not quite his usual self, the story limped along until it reached the mystery portion, and even then, it lacked the lustre and feel of her other novels. So sad. I think Kate Sedley was trying to cash in on the whole Dan Brown phenomenon of a few years ago ...it fell flat. She was also somewhat insulting to the Green Man followers ....so perhaps her research was not as fine this time.
The reading was good. Solid reading, very well done by Robbie McNab.
If this is your first Kate Sedley ...her other books are SO much better. The mysteries well done, the descriptions are wonderful, she has the ability to transport you into the past . She just didn't quite make it in this book, sadly.