The death of Lord Henry Fitzalan on the feast of St Matthew, 1303, is a matter widely reported but little mourned. Infamous for his lecherous tendencies, his midnight trysts with a coven of witches and his boundless self-interest, he was a man of few friends. So when Hugh Corbett is asked to bring his murderer to justice it is not a matter of finding a suspect but of choosing between them. Immediate suspicion falls on Lord Henry’s chief verderer, Robert Verlian. His daughter had been the focus of the Lord’s roving eye in the weeks before his death and Fitzalan was not a man to take no for an answer. But the culprit could just as easily be Sir William, the dead man’s younger brother. It is no secret that Sir William covets the Fitzalan estate, but would he kill to inherit it? For Sir Hugh Corbett the possibilities are endless, but even he could never have imagined the real truth behind the murder…
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Reviews
'The maestro of medieval mystery... As with all Doherty's historical whodunnits, it is packed with salty dialogue, the smells and superstitions of the 14th century, not to mention the political intrigues' Books magazine
'The best of its kind since the death of Ellis Peters' Time Out
'Medieval London comes vividly to life' Publishers Weekly
'Wholly excellent' Prima
'Paul Doherty has a lively sense of history ...evocative and lyrical descriptions' New Statesman
'Vitality in the cityscape ...angst in the mystery; it's Peters minus the herbs but plus a few crates of sack' Oxford Times
'As always the author invokes the medieval period in all its muck as well as glory, filling the pages with pungent smells and description. The author brings years of research to his writing; his mastery of the period as well as a disciplined writing schedule have led to a rapidly increasing body of work and a growing reputation' Mystery News
'this book is written well with a great deal of self-assurance. I liked the period detail and the characterisation of the large cast of suspects' Deryn Lake, SHOTS
Demon Archer: 'For those who are keen enthusiasts of medieval murder stories the name Paul Doherty will need no introduction...He writes with enthusiasm about an era he knows well' SHOTS