The second in the Belinda Lawrence Cozy Mystery series. Two startling murders that replicate the death of a mediaeval English king and the discovery of a mysterious ancient tapestry lead Belinda Lawrence and her associate Hazel Whitby into a vortex of suspense involving a bizarre religious cult, an enigmatic academic, a group of monks devoted to aggression and clues to a thrilling conspiracy nearly a thousand years old. Are the Godwins, self-proclaimed spiritual leaders, really devoted to their religious group? Is Sir Gerald Taylor, revered university don, as benign as he appears? What is the origin of the puzzling tapestry discovered in the old country house? It is the murder of a local villager that ensnares Belinda and Hazel in this web of intrigue and as they follow up each clue they little realise that their own lives are to a greater extent in danger. Although pessimistic, Mark Sallinger, Belinda's lover, is coaxed into aiding the women as they attempt to solve the riddle, a riddle that creates more uncertainty at every turn. And each perilous turn brings the trio closer to an electrifying climax and imminent death. Following on from Capable of Murder, this is the second in the Belinda Lawrence Mystery Series and continues the lively young Australian's adventures in England with the same degree of wicked humour and heart-stopping excitement.   Excerpt MAN FOUND MURDERED Police last night were baffled by the unexplained death of William de Montfort, whose body was found in his ancestral home of Kidbrooke House in Yorkshire. Mr de Montfort, whose family has been in the area for four hundred years, was discovered in a pool of blood by visitors on a day-tour to the historical house. Police are treating the case as one of murder but have not been able to establish a motive for the killing. A police spokesman said it was a particularly violent crime and they are looking for a sadistic murderer. Mr de Montfort had been stabbed in the eye and his thigh slashed.

Professional Reviews
Mystery
Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews
www.absolutewrite.com
When Belinda Lawrence comes into possession of a piece of aged tapestry through her attendance at an estate auction with her friend Hazel Whitby, neither woman is aware of the significance of the scrap, or the lengths some will go to get their hands on it.
Through her efforts to determine the provenance of the fabric, Belinda finds its roots may be related to the famed Bayeux Tapestry commemorating the coronation of William the Conqueror. Belinda’s fascination soon turns to fear as her safety and security and that of her friends are jeopardized. It appears that a religious sect believing that William was improperly crowned and that King Harold was, and remained, the true king of England may be going so far as to commit murder to try and get their hands on that piece of tapestry.
Does the figure of the corpse embroidered into the fabric Belinda holds depict a long-ago death, or a portent of things to come?
Readers with an interest in British antiquities and heritage will find Brian Kavanagh’s The Embroidered Corpse an especially interesting mystery. While the book does have a modern setting, British medieval history plays a great role in the development of the plot. Kavanagh does an excellent job of retelling the history of William the Conqueror’s rise to rule and the affects of William’s rule on his contemporaries throughout the book as the plot moves forward.
With extensive use of highly descriptive terms, it’s clear that the author spent considerable time and effort in selecting just the right terms to differentiate between subtle shades of meaning. While occasionally the reader notices the word more than the action it’s describing, overall, Kavanagh demonstrates great command of vocabulary.
Brian Kavanagh has created quite a likeable protagonist in Belinda Lawrence; independent, strong willed and smart, she’s more than a match for some of the more unsuspecting adversarial characters in the book. The author does an excellent job of hooking the reader in the very beginning of the book, as the story opens with Belinda and her boyfriend Mark shortly after she’s received a phone call from an old boyfriend in Australia. Unfortunately, we never hear any more about the old boyfriend, and the characters’ personal lives remain on the periphery of the story. Greater development of the personal lives of the characters would have provided a nice balance to the historical and mystery threads of the book. Kavanagh has written into existence some memorable characters, and it would be wonderful to see more of them.
With a nice variety of mystery, mayhem and murder, The Embroidered Corpse delivers a well-written tale to mystery readers, antiquities aficionados and history buffs.



Reviewer's Choice
Reviewer: Barbara Buhrer
Antique dealer Belinda Lawrence and her associate, Hazel Whitney, stop
at Kidbrooke House to look for antiques. There they see a piece of
antique tapestry which depicted a section of the Bayeux Tapestry. Its
owner, William deMontfort refuses to sell it. Belinda is fascinated by
the tapestry.

Shortly after their visit deMontfort is found murdered. At the sale of
his estate Hazel buys an antique desk and Belinda finds the tapestry in
one of its drawers.

She asks her pastor, Rev. Lawson about it as he is knowledgeable about
antiques. He in turn seeks further information from his former
university mate, Sir Gerald Tayton. On his return from that visit, he
is murdered. There are several men trying to find the bit of tapestry
which seems to have a hidden message.

Belinda together with her lover, Mark, attempts to find the connection
between the tapestry and King Harold and the murders.

A pleasant fast moving story with much local color, witty dialogue, and
much historical background about the Bayeux Tapestry and English
history. The characters are portrayed with their eccentricities, their
sinister designs and their charm.




British Mystery
Antique Dealers Belinda Lawrence and Hazel Whitby find themselves sidelined on their return trip from an antique fair to take a tour of Kidbrooke House. Here Belinda falls in love with the owner’s antique tapestry, but Hazel feels it is no more than a copy of the famous Bayeaux Tapestry. However, William de Montfort has no intentions of selling it. When Belinda learns that the elderly man has been murdered, she and Hazel return to his estate sale.



There Hazel is thrilled with a few purchases, but Belinda is saddened to learn that the tapestry is not on the auction list. When their goods are delivered, they discover the tapestry in the bottom drawer of a cabinet.



Belinda delves into the tapestry’s history to discover if it is, in fact, a missing panel to the famed Bayeaux Tapestry, and she comes into contact with the Fellowship Of St. Augustine, a religious sect that devote themselves to King Harold, overthrown in 1066. Soon, Belinda realizes that this group and their dangerous leader may be willing to do anything to gain possession of this tapestry. Belinda must discover the significance of the tapestry before harm befalls her.



The second Belinda Lawrence mystery contains layers of deception, greed and murder. Readers were introduced to Belinda and Hazel in CAPABLE OF MURDER (9/01), and THE EMBROIDERED CORPSE gives the reader greater insight into their careers.



THE EMBROIDERED CORPSE incorporates so many layers to this story from the lively characters to the history surrounding King Harold’s death; it is easy to miss important details if you rush. Look for your copy at www.jacobytebooks.com



Tracy Farnsworth


Administrative, Mystery & Inspirational Coordinator for
www.theromancereadersconnection.com

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