The Bone Thief by V. M. Whitworth

I'm a firm friend of historical mysteries, especially those more on the cosy side, but I've read -and liked- even some more hard core (murder) mysteries set in the past. V. M. Whitworth's first Wulfgar-mystery falls somewhere in between.

"Wulfgar, a young priest in training, more at home with his books than with a sword, has been tasked with an impossible mission. He must travel secretly to the badlands of the North and find the bones of a long lost saint.
But the Northern territories are under the rule of Viking invaders. And if Wulfgar is discovered, they will have his head..." 

This book caught my eye at work. I had never heard of the author before, but the cover with an Anglo-Saxon ornament made me pick it up and when I read the text on the back cover and got to the point where Vikings are mentioned I wanted to squeal in delight! I've always been interested in Vikings. In my early twenties I spent a semester in Oslo, Norway, because I wanted to learn more about them. And a novel set in Britain during the Viking rule, well, that was like double the fun!

 

I started the book with great interest and could not get to the end fast enough! Whitworth clearly knows her historical facts. She has a Ph.d. from the Centre for Medieval Studies in York and before the novel she published a nonfiction book called Dying and Death in Later Anglo-Saxon England.

 

The Bone Thief is set in year 900. Some of the characters in the novel are real historical figures, even though Wulfgar himself is a product of Whitworth's imagination. His doubts about his future, however, she writes in the Author's Note, were very real for someone in his position during that time. When it comes to the different societies on the British Isles in 900, the remnants of the old English kingdoms on one hand and the Danish England on the other, Withworth tells us that she exaggerated the differences for the sake of the story. I must say she did that to a great effect.

 

I liked The Bone Thief very much. The historical period was a nice change to all the books I've read set in Victorian times or early 20th century. The plot was nicely done, the historical atmosphere felt right, there was some nice humour in the dialogue and Wulfgar and his companions where interesting, likable characters one would love to learn more about. Luckily Whitworth is in the process of writing her second Wulfgar-novel. The Traitors' Pit should be published in 2013.