‘Outstanding… Doherty keeps the action brisk, the crimes baffling, and the deductions and solution fair’ – Publishers Weekly Starred ReviewPast crimes lead to new murder in the latest gripping Brother Athelstan mystery, set in 14th century London.November, 1381. London has been rocked by a series of bizarre and brutal murders. The corpses of a number of prostitutes have been discovered, their … prostitutes have been discovered, their throats slit, their bodies stripped; in each case, a blood-red wig has been placed on their heads. At the same time, a mysterious explosion rips through a royal war cog bound for Calais, killing all on board. Could there be a connection? Summoned to assist in the investigations by Sir John Cranston, Brother Athelstan uncovers rumours that the mysterious Oriflamme is responsible. But who – or what – exactly is he … and why has he suddenly reappeared after almost twenty years?
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Not The Brother Athelstan Novel That I Am Used To
The novel opens during the Hundred Years War in France with two incidences of the torture and murder of women.. Others present were just killed. There are 16 novels of this series that I have not read, so it is not what I was used to, but I cannot say if the author had swam through these literary waters before.
Shift the timeframe forward 18 years, and a royal ship surreptitiously transporting gold to Calais blows up in the Thames. Only the master survived for a while. He rambled about a red-haired demon garbed like a woman with a painted white face. Then, there appears to be a serial murderer loose in London who is killing prostitutes, strips them naked, puts a red wig on them and sets them adrift in a small boat on the Thames. Unfortunately, the murders expand beyond prostitutes and closer to Brother Athelstan. The novel takes off from here with Brother Athelstan and the Lord High Coroner, Sir John Cranston in the thick of it.
The main storyline proceeds with many twists and turns to keep the reader’s interest. The author weaves several parallel storylines including a treasure hunt in the Brother Athelstan’s church cemetery and group of French Officials seeking the leader of the torture and killings of 18 years earlier.
The B-storyline now in the 19th novel in the series appears to be well set. There is some history revealed about Brother Athelstan, Sir John Cranston, his bailiff, Flaxwith. The Parish Council is there along with the housekeeper. Making an appearance in this novel is the Fisher of Men and his crew who ply the waters of the Thames looking for those poor souls who drowned or whose bodies were disposed by dumping them into the Thames.
It is true that there is much violence and most of it described in the present tense, i.e., as it is happening, vice being described later. The description of violence is not overly graphic or gratuitous. There is some swearing, but of the 14th century kind. Readers who do not want to read novels with graphic sex, violence, and offensive language should not have any problems with this novel. The one thing that reader should be warned is the use of medieval terms. The author uses these terms quite often. Having access to the Kindle dictionary is a blessing. While this dictionary holds its own for modern British police procedurals, but more often than not I had to go to the Internet to ensure I knew the meaning of words. I strongly recommend that not only this novel but probably all of this series be read on a Kindle for the above reasons.
All of the various threads were tied up nicely by the end of the novel and with a nice twist at the end to top it off. Make sure you read the Author’s Notes at the end. The one problem I did have with this novel in that it did not grab my attention and hold it so that I could not put it down. To be honest, this problem may have its roots in events happening around me, but the fact remains, it took me much longer to read this novel than usual. I still strongly recommend reading it even if this would be the first novel of this period. I rate this novel with four stars.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Severn House with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Severn House for the opportunity to read this novel early.