Official Review: The Company of Stonemasons. The Chichest...

[Mwatu]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Company of Stonemasons. The Chichester Diamond" by Graham Williams.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The family of Callwen Llewelyn travel together across towns in England to various places of work that he is assigned. Callwen, who prefers the name Cymry, is a stonemason. He does repair or building works on monasteries, cathedrals, abbeys or churches. His eldest son, seventeen-year-old Edward, is his apprentice, while Adam, his fourteen-year-old son, is an artist who loves to paint. The family travels together with Aceiln, Cymry’s wife, Carolyn, their seven-year-old daughter, Aelfegar, a stone cutter and Cymry’s helper, and Hunter, the family dog.

The Company of Stonemasons: The Chichester Diamond - Book 1 by Graham Williams is Edward’s account of their trip to the Chichester Cathedral in 1545, where they are to conduct repairs. On their way, they learn of a legend involving a diamond stolen from the cathedral during its consecration. Rumours have it that a mason labourer stole it and hid it somewhere in the cathedral. Adam sets his mind on finding the diamond once they arrive. Upon arriving at Chichester, the family inspects the cathedral and repair works start. It is a task that will have the family stay in Chichester for about a year. During this time, Edward and Adam find themselves drawn into a string of mysterious murders. They are unsure if the murders are related to the legend of the diamond and their desire to find it. They have to be extra careful.

I loved that the first chapter is action-packed and ends in suspense, making for an effective attention grabber. The action in the book tapered off, but it was sufficient to keep me engaged. My favourite part of the book was the relations between the Llewelyn family members. The author does a good job developing their characters and incorporating their personalities into the book. Cymry is a very understanding and respectful father, while Edward and Adam are very close and aren’t afraid to show emotion. Edward and Adam shed tears or even sob several times, either from the beauty of the scenes they see from the tops of towers or when they are afraid. The family is very expressive of their feelings and emotions and hug, snuggle or give each other kisses on the forehead or cheeks regularly.

I felt like I was a part of the investigations as the characters gained more clues on the murders. The ending was pleasant and unpredictable, an excellent finish to an excellent book. The author uses descriptive language to paint mental pictures of the activities and places in the book. The chapters are short and sweet and transition well from one to another.

I faced a few minor inconveniences. The book mentions black and grey friars without a clear explanation of the differences. At first, I thought the term black referred to their race. However, with further reading, I deduced that black and grey referred to their dressing. There is a scene where a Father abuses his power, and the only seeming rebuke is for him "to take confession of what he has done." I found this disgusting and would have loved more options for punishment. However, given the nature of such vices in the real world, the author portrayed reality accurately. The English in the book mimics the story’s timeline, and a few sentences needed a second read to comprehend. The descriptions of the masonry work escaped me at times due to the terms. Google, however, solved this for me in most cases. At times, I also found Edward’s and Adam’s camaraderie uncomfortable. However, this is due to biases brought about by my experiences and has little to do with the author or the storyline.

I encountered more than ten errors across the book. These mostly had to do with tenses or punctuation and did not distract my reading. For this reason, I rate this book 3 out of 4. I enjoyed how the story developed and reading Edward’s and his family’s time at Chichester. The book’s description mentions that Graham writes books as a hobby. I had low expectations as I began reading this, but I was impressed by his work. I loved experiencing his hobby through reading this.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories aligning with history, crime or social values such as family. The book contains mild scenes of violence and one or two profanities. There is also mention of sexual content in passing. However, I feel it is okay for teens and adults to read this. If you are looking for romance or an action-packed crime story, this is not it.

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The Company of Stonemasons. The Chichester Diamond
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