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The Embroidered Corpse
(A Fun Yarn, Pun Definitely Intended)
"The Embroidered Corpse, by Brian Kavanagh published by Bewrite Books 2006 (previously published in Australia by Jacobyte
Books 2002) was sent to me on a pdf file. I hate them. So I immediately went to my nearest Staples office supply and copy
center and ran off hard copy, printed on both sides of the paper to save me money. I sat on the couch during a humid Sunday
night; the oscillating fan soothed my sweaty body and cooled my heated brain. I began to read The Embroidered Corpse. My
wife and my eldest child came into the living room, turned on the television to the Disney channel and cranked the power switch
of the fan up high. Pages of The Embroidered Corpse flew through space like confetti on Mardi gras. Frustrated, I gathered
the manuscript pages and put them in my in-tray, where I promptly forgot them. A few days later after finishing another assignment
I read the Embroidered Corpse straight through in one sitting.
The Embroidered Corpse begins when Australian native Belinda Lawrence, with the assistance of her friend and business partner
Hazel Whitby accidentally comes into possession of a piece of tapestry that might be the final missing piece of the Bayeux
Tapestry and the solution to an ancient puzzle. Suddenly, everyone seems interested in her piece of tapestry. The bodies
pile up. Belinda attempts to find answers and looks for a connection between her fragment of tapestry and the murder of an
antique dealer from whose shop she had first observed the tapestry fragment. Later, her local Vicar is killed. She had inquired
from him the history of the Bayeux Tapestry. Hazel, and Belinda’s boy-friend Mark, at first consider Belinda is daft,
thinking that she is being pursued by an order of murderous monks. They further resent Belinda having them running all over
the English countryside chasing down clues to the actual meaning and authenticity of her piece of tapestry. A series of events
occur that can’t be called coincidences; including Hazel’s mysterious disappearance, Mark begins to believe Belinda
may have been right all along.
Before I discuss the Embroidered Corpse further I need to get something off my chest. Dan Brown is a predictable writer when
it comes to plot lines and a bad example for other writers to follow. Yeah, I know Dan Brown and his novel The Da Vinci Code
has nothing to do with The Embroidered Corpse. And I know that The Da Vinci Code is a monstrosity of best seller that has
stayed at the top of The New York Times Best Seller List since the second coming of the Bush Dynasty. There are some similarities
between The Da Vinci Code and The Embroidered Corpse. I want to mention three, the rest I’ll leave to the reader to
discover for their pleasure. First, both Dan Brown and Brian Kavanagh are great researchers. Their novels provide history
lessons that make the reader curious about the past. (If as a reader you don’t find yourself googling and researching
the Holy Grail or Bayeux Tapestry, then you’re probably curiosity-challenged.) The second similarity is how aptly
they were able to blend history with fiction to make a compelling mystery. Anthony Burgess recognized the novelistic potential
of Brown’s subject way back when he reviewed the book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard
Leigh and Henry Lincoln. Burgess writes, “It is typical of my unregenerable soul that I can only see this as a marvelous
theme for a novel. The third similarity is how they reverted to otiose writing to create two clichéd and predictable villains,
Brown’s Sir Leigh Teabing and Kavanagh’s Sir Gerald Taylor. Both are men of academia, obsessed and transparent
characters and give a villainous ‘Goodbye Mr. Bond speech.’ For some reason, when a villain has the hero or heroine
in his or her grasp they suddenly suffer from a case of pleonasm and over-explain their motives on how they will accomplish
their dastardly deeds. This of course allows our hero or heroine extra-time to make a daring escape and save the day and
allows the novelist to write a sequel. Brown has a prequel, Angels and Demons. One can only hope that Kavanagh has a new
book in the works. I’d like to see what Belinda, Mark and Hazel are doing in the future."
OALA Reviews
-Lee Gooden 8-27-06
OALA REVIEWS LINK for full review.
Buying antiques has its dangerous moments as Belinda and Hazel learn after a trip to buy some furniture from the estate of
a man who was recently murdered. They soon receive a visit from a mysterious couple and Hazel's antique shop is broken into.
The question is what were the thieves looking for and why did they scratch up a fine table in the store? Is this related to
a piece of old tapestry Belinda found in a drawer? How did the thieves know the women had it? Is there a connection between
the strange couple and the thieves?
What relationship does the death of the vicar have to the tapestry and a religious group founded by the mysterious couple?
Why do the members of the group look like thugs instead of people who have found religion? And why does Belinda keep seeing
them wherever she goes?
These questions, a kidnapping, more deaths, and deceit all follow the trail of the origin of the piece of tapestry and its
significance. It ultimately leads to a church that existed at the time of William the Conqueror as shown by the tapestry.
A story with lots of action and mysterious happenings to keep you reading and guessing. Join Belinda as she decides to visit
the religious community and meet its members. Just how religious are they?
Talented author Brian Kavanagh uses history to fashion a new type of mystery, combining clues from the days of the Norman
invasion to murders in our own time. Join Belinda as she tries to figure out how it all connects.
I'm pleased to recommend this fresh look at one of the oldest motives for murder to any mystery or fiction fan. A tale worth
the time to read. Enjoy. I did.
Review by Anne K. Edwards 09/24/06
http://www.Mysteryfiction.net
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