Summer, 1380. Brutal and sudden death is not uncommon in the foul alleys and streets of London. The corpse of a clerk has been pulled from the Thames. They drowned, but not before receiving a vicious blow to the back of the head.
Then Bartholomew Drayton, a usurer and money-lender, is found dead in his strongroom, a crossbow bolt firmly embedded in his chest: a real mystery because the windowless strongroom was locked and barred from the inside. So who killed him? And how? And are the deaths connected?
Sir John Cranston comes to survey the scene. When other clerks are murdered, each with a riddle pinned to his corpse, Cranston enlists the help of Brother Athelstan – and together they must pit their wits against a deadly adversary bent on murder and mayhem.
Another thrilling historical mystery from a true master of the genre, perfect for fans of S. G. MacLean, S. J. Parris and C. J. Sansom.
‘If you like Inspector Morse, you’ll love Brother Athelstan’ Prima
‘The best of its kind since the death of Ellis Peters’ Time Out
‘Supremely evocative, scrupulously researched portrait … vivid, intricately crafted whodunnit’ Publishers Weekly
‘Paul Doherty has a lively sense of history … evocative and lyrical descriptions’ New Statesman
Produktdetaljer
Om bidragsyterne
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough in 1946. He was admitted to Liverpool University to study History, and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford. While there he met his wife, Carla.
He was appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic High School, Essex, in 1981. Paul has written a slew of historical mystery series set in the Middle Ages, Classical Greece and elsewhere. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages.