Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. When young bull leaper Martis finds Duzi, the newest member of the bull leaping team, dead in the bull pen early one morning. Made to look like he met his end on the horns of the bull, it's clear to Martis that this was no accident . . . Martis once again finds herself thrown into a dangerous game of hunting down a murderer as the deaths start to mount. An old friend of Martis' sister, and possible lover to Duzi, is the next person to be found dead, and Martis' investigations lead her to believe love and jealousy are at the heart of these crimes against the Goddess. Is someone targeting the bull leaping community? Or is there something else at play? With only the Shade of her sister Arge to confide in, Martis struggles to untangle the growing web of secrets which stretch around her.
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1 primary bookAncient Crete Mystery is a 1-book series first released in 2024 with contributions by Eleanor Kuhns.
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A continuation from “In the Shadow of the Bull”, “On the Horns of Death” brings a more interesting and, personally, more thought out mystery. There is a higher focus on the mystery element than there was in the previous book, with Martis at the centre of it all.
Taking place about seven or so months since the end of the first book, this book focuses more on the bull leaping team and their relationships. We delve deeper into some existing characters mentioned in Book One as well as new ones, seeing this all occur through Martis' eyes as she tries to solve the mystery. The world building is as good as it was in the first, with a good description of the way people lived and their customs. The details on the clothing and jewellery are also a nice touch.
The downside to this has 100% got to be the ending. It was very abrupt, very rushed and felt highly unfinished. There was no closure, the big reveal and event happened, Martis was told what happened, and then it just ended. It just felt like a huge letdown, since I did not know who the killer was until the reveal and was brought to a high to just be doused in cold water.
Overall, a decent read and a good sequel though. I look forward to a third if there will be.
