Holy Fools – Joanne Harris

Another easy read from Joanne Harris, and the first one I’ve read whilst in France where the novel is set. Timewise, the setting is the renassiance (although the feel is more middle ages) with the murder of King Henri IV throwing the tranquil world of the Abbey of Ste Marie de la Mer into chaos, and in particular that of the lead character Juliette, a former actress and rope dancer who had taken refuge in the convent to protect herself and her baby daughter after the betrayal of the troupe of travelling players she’d grown up in.

I have to agree with the Amazon reviewer who describes Joanne Harris’s leading ladies as being as predictable as the Model-T [Ford]…. and whatever else the reviews say, Joanne Harris is no Dorothy Dunnett.

Buy it: Amazon link