Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge? - Ellen Kuhfeld

   2011; 157 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Alternate History; Murder-Mystery; Historical Fiction.  Overall Rating : 4½*/10.

 

    Once upon a time, every grade school student learned that Columbus discovered America.  Oh, there were a few folks who said Leif Erikson did it a half a millennium earlier, named the new world “Vinland”, and left a few artifacts here to confuse the archaeologists before packing up and going back home.  But it was agreed that Leif’s trip, even if it happened, didn’t count because the Vikings never established any permanent settlements.

 

    But what if they had?  If so, it’s reasonable to assume that once the rest of Europe found out, other European countries would jump at the chance to explore this brave new world, particularly France and England.

 

    True, sailing technology in 1000 AD wasn’t as advanced as it would be in 1492, so the pace of colonization would be slower.  And since the Black Plague hadn't happened yet, the natives in America would be spared being ravaged by the pandemics that germ-carrying European explorers would later inflict upon them.

 

    It is logical to assume that the Vikings would settle in the north, mostly in Canada.  How the French and English and “Skraelings” (the Viking term for indigenous Americans) divvied up what is presently the United States is anybody’s guess, but some sort of equilibrium would be established.  And trade between the various factions would commence.

 

    That's the basis for this tale.

 

What’s To Like...

    Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge? is an ambitious blend of historical fiction and murder-mystery, set in an alternate world where Northmen (read “Vikings”), French, English, and Skraelings coexist and trade with one another.  The exact place and time are unclear, but probably somewhere along the present-day US-Canada border (most likely Minnesota since that’s the author’s home state), and in the 1200s, give or take a century or so.

 

    Our protagonist is Ragnar Forkbeard, a merchant down from the (Canadian) Northlands to participate in, and hopefully gain a big profit from, a weeklong trading fair.  There’s bad blood between him and another Northman there, the banished Thorolf Pike, but both keep a somewhat civil tongue since they’re in English territory, where English law prevails.  Things are tense but peaceful, until Thorolf is found dead with an arrow in his chest.

 

    The book opens with a prologue that details the Alt-History scenario described above, and since I'm a history-buff, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The settings are limited to the trade fair and a nearby abbey, plus the surrounding forest area.  There’s almost zero cussing, no sex, a minimum of onstage violence, and lots of mead to wet everyone’s whistle.  I'd definitely call this a cozy mystery.

 

    The historical element seemed well-researched.  Ellen Kuhfeld uses a lot of Viking terminology which gives a nice “feel” to the storyline.  Some of the terms are defined, some not. so it would’ve been nice if either a glossary or footnotes had been utilized to explain things like Ringerike, liripipe, nithing, etc.  Nonetheless, at 157 pages, Secret Murder: Who Will Judge? is a quick and easy read.

 

    The title reference, introduced at 33%, is a Northland law covering a justifiable homicide situation, and which I’m presuming is historically factual.  There are a couple of poem/chants woven into the story; I thought the one at 86% was particularly stirring.  Thoughts by any of the characters are given in italics; I’ve always liked that way of handling them.  I enjoyed the mention of a gleeman; I don’t think I’ve come across one in a story since when I read Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Misliked (v.; archaic) : considered to be unpleasant; disliked.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.1*/5, based on 22 ratings.

    Goodreads: 3.27*/5, based on 11 ratings and 1 review.

 

Excerpts...

    “We must plan the rest of our investigations.  Matilda might solve this for us – but when have we ever been fortunate enough to have the answer drop into our laps like that, hm?”

    “Last fall.  Remember we stopped at the Dancing Bear to ask if travelers had seen the robber we were after?  And there he was, drunk as a monk in the corner.”  Dirk had a weakness for interrupting.

    "Hm.  Thank you, Dirk.  That’s once, men, once in the last year.  The rest, we had to work for.”  (loc. 370)

 

    “Thorolf was outlawed – who cares who kills him?  It’ll be a bother, but we’re only here for a week.”

    “The baron cares.  Why do you think that Southerner was talking about Thorolf taking companions onto his pyre?”  Ragnar saw Olaf still didn’t understand.

    “You’ve mostly traded to the east, where customs are more reasonable.  The laws are different here.  Except for self-defense, you’ve got to be some kind of lawman or soldier before you’re allowed to kill people.  Do it yourself, and they’ll hang you.  It’s called justice.”  (loc. 538)

 

Kindle Details…

    Right now Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge? is priced at $3.99 at Amazon.  Ellen Kuhfeld has written a number of other books, mostly hard-boiled detective tales and cozy mysteries, all under several different pen names.  She is also a coauthor of Minnesota Vice, a collection of short stories, along with Mary Kuhfeld. 

 

 

“Finns are strange.  Half of them are enchanters, and the other half think they’re enchanters.”  (loc. 1093)

    Sadly, Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge? has a lot of weaknesses.  We’ll skip the nitpicky stuff and just list the major issues.

 

Murder-Mystery Aspect.  This was poorly done and slow-moving.  The key clue is an arbitrary one and not convincing.  The perpetrator could have simply denied everything and no one would be able to prove otherwise.

 

Alt-History Aspect.  Largely undeveloped.  The entire “new world” consists of a trade fair and an abbey.  We don't even get to visit Ragnar’s home turf, the Northlands.  Fans of Alt-History are going to be disappointed with the scant attention paid to world-building.

 

The Historical Fiction Aspect.  The Norsemen and English factions are both done well, but the French and Native Americans are barely mentioned.  The story could have just as easily been set along the east coast of medieval England without any “alt” plotline needed.

 

The Ending.  Weak at best, disturbing at worst.  Ragnar figures out who the actual murderer is, obtains a confession, but doesn’t turn his findings over to the English authorities.  Instead, he allows an innocent rival to be framed for the murder, where the punishment will be death-by-hanging.

 

    What kind of moral to a story is that?!  I suppose you could call it “Viking Justice”, but the crime was committed on English soil, and the people reading this aren’t Medieval Norsemen.  Should we really have our protagonists framing others for capital offenses just because they’re bullies?

 

    4½ Stars.  Despite its flaws, I still enjoyed reading Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge?, but that’s probably because I love all the three genres covered in this book.  Perhaps it would have been better to pick just one of those genres (hint, hint!!  Alt-History!!) and narrow the story’s focus.  I for one would love to read a book, or even a series, chronicling the adventures of English, French, Native American, and Viking heroes and spanning the entirety of pre-Columbian North America.