As usual, Ken Follett knock’s it out of the park with a historical fiction novel set in the middle ages - a prequel to his excellent Pillars of the Earth. I love the characters, in particular the female heroine Ragna, a noblewoman with courage and grace, and a the son of a boat builder, Edgar, equally as respectable. Then there are the awful brothers, both high-ranking in the church, who are deceitful and who I absolutely loathed (which indicates great writing). Can’t wait to read the next books and you don’t have to have read Pillars of the Earth to enjoy this - a stand alone, unforgettable novel by a world-class writer who will drop you into middle ages so you feel like you’re part of that time period.