Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael have just commenced morning service when they are interrupted and requested to attend another church. There the Chancellor informs them that a body of a friar has been found in the university chest on top of the documents. How he got there is unknown.
Examining the locks on the chest, Matthew discovers a small blade on one of them. Earlier he had noticed a small cut on one of the hands of the friar. He deduces that the blade had poison on it, and that caused the death.
The Chancellor instructs Matthew and Brother Michael to investigate the death, plus the death of his clerk who had died and been buried. Could his death have been caused by the same poison? Matthew is aghast that he will have to examine a body that has been buried.
As the pair go back to their college, they are told of a murdered woman. She had been found in a nearby churchyard with her throat slashed. Matthew notices a mark on one of her feet. He had seen a similar mark on another murdered woman recently.
The next morning, a dying woman is found in the orchard of Michaelhouse. Matthew is called to help, but she is at death’s door. She tells him that it was not a man who did this this to her.
As their investigation continues, more mysterious events occur and more questions arise. What ensues in author Susanna Gregory’s medieval mystery involves subterfuge, kidnapping, satanism, witchcraft and of course murder. Matthew and Brother Michael make a formidable team of detectives. An enjoyable read.
No comments:
Post a Comment