CONWAY, Sara 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born 1962. Education: Attended University of Washington.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Kingston, WA. Agent—c/o Cumberland House Publishing, 431 Harding Industrial Dr., Nashville, TN 37211.

CAREER:

Edmonds Community College, Edmonds, WA, teacher of ancient and medieval history.

WRITINGS:

Murder on Good Friday, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2001.

Daughters of Summer, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sara Conway is the author of medieval mystery novels featuring ex-Crusader and sleuth Lord Godwin, a character she introduces in her debut novel, Murder on Good Friday. Set in thirteenth-century England, the novel is based on actual cases of ritual murder. History reveals that in towns throughout England charges against Jews accused of complicity in the deaths of young Christian boys were usually dismissed, but a number of those arrested were found guilty and put to death. It was believed by some that a pagan ritual was held every year in which Jews crucified a Christian boy, causing hysteria not unlike that seen in connection with the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts; many of the presumed victims were considered saints or martyrs by other Christians.

In Murder on Good Friday Godwin, the bailiff of Hexham, investigates the Good Friday death of a little boy named Alfred, whose palms bear puncture wounds and whose side has been pierced in imitation of the crucifixion of Christ. A mob descends on the nine-member Jewish family that lives in the town, and Godwin must first protect them, then find the actual murderer. Lori Tucker, who reviewed the novel for the Monroe, Louisiana News-Star online, wrote that Conway "has found a theme that reminds us that some pressing current issues have been with the human race for a long, long time." Tucker called Murder on Good Friday "a good, thought-provoking read."

In a second novel, Daughters of Summer, Godwin investigates the poisoning of a wealthy merchant in the summer of 1221.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, February 26, 2001, review of Murder on Good Friday, p. 63.

ONLINE

News-Star (Monroe, LA), http://www.thenewsstar.com/ (September 30, 2001), Lori Tucker, "Medieval Mystery Helps Readers Grapple with a Few Current Issues."*