Official Review: The Prophet's Grief by Pamela Gordon Hoad

[melissy370]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Prophet's Grief" by Pamela Gordon Hoad.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Set in fifteenth-century England, The Prophet’s Grief by Pamela Gordon Hoad continues the story of a physician named Harry Somers. Harry tries to locate a safe place for his wife, Kate, to convalesce while she suffers from a mental breakdown. He dreams of living a quiet life taking care of patients and his spouse. Unfortunately, the politics of the day and meeting old enemies again frustrate his plans. Soon Harry finds himself tangled in the conflict between prominent noblemen and coerced into spying for the Duke of York. Known for his ability to investigate circumstances, Harry also solves mysteries along the way. 

Hoad brings this era to life by adding historical figures like Jack Cade, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, and Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, into the storyline. As an American, I admit I had no clue who these people were until this book, and I enjoyed learning about them. All the characters were believable and well developed. Harry was a guilt-ridden doctor whose past dalliances and decisions opened him up to be manipulated. He was most human in his many flaws. But he could be commended for his commitment to others. People told him to put Kate away and get on with his life, but he felt honor bound to take care of her. Kate’s manic moments and depressed episodes strain the love between them. 

This is the fifth installment of this series, and although I had never read the preceding books, I could follow along with what was happening. Harry is a character with such a complicated past though, and Kate’s fragile state stemmed from previous abuse that made me feel I was still missing some pieces. Because of that, to get the most out of the story, it would have been better if I had read the other ones first.

Harry’s penchant for getting into trouble caused a lot of action in the book, but it also caused it to be predictable. He would get out of one scrape, rest, and then find himself in hot water again. Even the characters’ lack of fidelity in their relationships was unsurprising. It appeared most of them didn’t care to have a few indiscretions. These obvious outcomes were the weakest points for me.

Pedophilia is discussed, but like the other sexual content in this work, it was not in graphic detail. Besides those, other trigger warnings readers need to know about are violence, coarse language, and suicide. Kate’s struggle with her mental illness could be uncomfortable for some as well.

I liked that this book was not one-dimensional. There were depth and many layers to the plot. The author does well at wrapping up everything at the end but leaving enough room for continuing the series. I found a few punctuation mistakes, but they did not compromise the reading. I give The Prophet’s Grief 3 out of 4 stars. Anyone who likes historical fiction and complex characters would want to read this novel.










 






 

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The Prophet's Grief
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[Jaime Lync]

Wow, jumping into the fifth instalment in a book series is quite bold of you. I often find it hard to even just start a sequel without having read the first book. This sounds like a nice read. Your review is very informative. Thanks for sharing.

[Kanda_theGreat]

When I read the books title, I thought this was a spiritual book until I read your comprehensive review.
Thanks.

[Nisha Ward]

Ah. Starting at book 5 is a bold choice, I will say that. It's kind of interesting how rhe author manages to showcase mental illness in this period without falling back on old tropes of the time to do so. I like it. It's very refreshing.