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Title: Tainted Innocence

Author: Joss Alexander

Narrator: Lauren Irwin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-17-12

Publisher: Carina Press

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

England, 1524: In Cambridge, the College of the Young Princes brings together all manner of people - with all manner of secrets. Among them is Bryony, an illiterate laundress and a stranger to the town, who lives in constant fear that her unusual upbringing and lack of friends will leave her vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft.

When Matthew Hobson, a scholar at the college, is found murdered and wrapped in linen that Bryony lost, she immediately becomes a suspect. But she is not the only one. Luke Hobson, a taciturn local tradesman who has sacrificed much for his charismatic but selfish brother, also has a motive for the murder.

With the university authorities eager to solve the crime, outsiders Bryony and Luke are forced into a wary alliance, knowing they have to track down the killer if they are to escape hanging. But can they trust in each other's innocence in order to uncover the truth?

Members Reviews:

Tudor mystery, with a difference

I really enjoyed this one (which was provided to me by netgalley), that went on sale yesterday (it's currently priced at $1.99, which I think is great value). It's not really a romance, more like historical fiction/mystery with strong romantic undertones, but this doesn't do the complexity and range justice.

Honestly, I can't think of anything I didn't like with this book. I enjoyed it from the moment I picked it up, right until I finished it, and would have read it straight through if I hadn't had to get some sleep in there.

The author has created an incredibly tight mystery, involving a very diverse and well-rounded cast of characters, but there is so much more to it than that. It weaves Tudor history, Cambridge history, the inevitable pull between town and gown in any relatively small town or city swamped by a large and powerful University, and the struggle between religious duty and political expediency which is such a huge part of Tudor and Wars of the Roses history. The focus of the story is really only on one tiny slice of life, but it sucks in all these themes to come up with something really special.

It also has a wonderful look at other themes. Who do we trust? Why do we trust them? Why do we not trust others? Can you still have love without trust? What was life really like for the common man in the 1500s? What was it like for women? What was different between common men and others who weren't royalty or aristocracy, but were in the middle?

The characters are incredibly well chosen and well-described, although they are all flawed to some extent. The heroine is trapped by her inability to get over the past of a mother she never knew, and can't see herself as others do. The hero is too determined, too dour and too strong to elicit much sympathy. One other character is too blinded by ambition and duty to understand where his duty really lies, and another is too docile to make the reader feel anything at all, even though she is probably the most deserving of pity. Ironically, the ultimate murderer is probably the most sympathetic character, although bundled with cruelty and selfishness. Throw in a few real oddballs, and you have a wonderful story.

I can't wait to read other work by this author. 5 stars. I loved it.

Tainted Innocence

"Tainted Innocence" by Joss Alexander.

Set within a frame of romance, this book is far from sentimental.