I like historical mysteries anyway, but this is a good solid series. Arthur was a good leader, but his greatest strength was choosing good advisors. Malgwyn is faced with a choice between truth, justice, and the greater good at the end. ( )

This is the second book in the Arthurian legend mystery series following The Killing Way.

Malgwyn ap Cuneglas is a counselor to King Arthur. He’s asked to accompany the King to Glastonbury Abbey to investigate reports of rebellion. What he finds on his arrival is a dead monk, accusations of heresy, and while investigating one murder, finds himself entangled in a second. The second murder becomes the more problematic one as the dead man is a well-known and revered man of the church. While trying to find a murder, or murderers, Malgwyn uncovers a conspiracy to overrun the church and the kingdom.

I’m not a mystery person but I’ve been trying to read more of them. I always have the same problem with all mysteries though --- I spend all my time trying to figure out who did it that I don’t always enjoy the story itself. I don’t have this problem with other genres, although I do read ahead a lot and of course I do that with a mystery too but I just get caught up in it too much. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy this book because I did find it a fun read but I think I’m coming to a realization about mysteries themselves. They might just not be for me.

There was a small thing that did bother me about this book. All the men are rough and stay true to their nature throughout which I appreciate. I don’t expect 5th Century warlords to be overly kind but when an old murder --- rape and murder of a young girl actually --- is mentioned, it’s treated so casually and coldly that it bothered me. It’s a brutal murder but somehow having taken place so many years ago means nothing to all the people involved. It irked me too much.

I will say this though, I was surprised by who did it in this book. It was hidden well behind a name I didn’t connect. Of course, by this time I was too busy trying to figure out who did it that I had completely overlooked the connection and was annoyed by several of the characters reactions to past events to pay attention to this person at all. Then again, maybe that was the master plan of the author. Overall, this quick read was good and if you like historical fiction mixed with your mystery, it’s not a bad aside. ( )

Who knew that the olden days were teeming with detectives? You apparently couldn’t stick a knife in a worthless servant, serf or slave without some private oculus trying to solve the case. This is a very good example of the “dark age” detective story featuring King Arthur, Merlin and many other characters from the legends. The main character of the story is Malgwyn, a one-armed advisor to Arthur, who also solves crimes in his spare time. He is asked to investigate the death of an elderly monk but there is more going on that just one murder. Malgwyn eventually teams up with Saint Patrick who is visiting England. Everyone has secrets and no one, it seems, is telling the truth or at least the whole truth. Interesting characters, a good mystery, a little sex and some sword fighting—what's not to like. An enjoyable second entry in the series. ( )

When an elderly monk is found murdered in his cell at the abbey of Ynys-witrin, King Arthur's counselor Malgwyn ap Cuneglas is asked to investigate. On their arrival at the abbey, however, Malgwyn and Arthur are surprised to find that St Patrick is also about to arrive from Hibernia in order to root out heresy in the monastery. Is there a connection between the death of old Elafius and the presence of St Patrick at the abbey? As Malgwyn begins to unravel the mystery he discovers something which could threaten not only Arthur but the future of the country.

The Divine Sacrifice can be enjoyed on different levels as an Arthurian story, a historical fiction novel and a murder mystery, although it's the combination of all three that makes the book so compelling. I have read a lot of mysteries and a lot of historical fiction but this book really stands out as something new and different.

I love the character of Malgwyn, who is one of the most unusual detectives I've ever encountered in a book. As one of the other characters in the novel observes, he's an 'uncommon man with an uncommon clarity of vision'. We also meet Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin and others who will be familiar to anyone with even a basic knowledge of Arthurian legend, athough they are not depicted in the way you might expect. It's important to understand that this is not a retelling of the famous Arthur legends - it's actually an original historical mystery with elements of the legends cleverly woven into the story. Arthur is shown here as a powerful leader who is working to unite the warring tribes of post-Roman Britain.

The mystery unfolds at just the right pace and there are enough twists in the story to keep the reader guessing all the way to the end. Tony Hays has obviously done a lot of research on his subject and is able to portray life in 5th century Britain in a realistic and convincing manner, meaning that I came away from the book feeling I knew a little bit more about the time period than I did before.

Although I hadn't read the first book in the series, The Killing Way, the author provided enough background information relating to the events of the first book that I was quickly able to pick up the threads of the story and understand what was going on. However, I enjoyed The Divine Sacrifice so much I now want to go back and read The Killing Way and I'll look forward to more books in this series in the future. ( )