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The Waxman Murders
Hugh Corbett series #15

by Paul Doherty



      Paul Doherty is at his best when writing whodunits set during the mediaeval period. He has created his own sub-genre, filled with a powerful brew of history, mystery, and a whiff of the supernatural. The melancholy but loveable Sir Hugh Corbett is one of his most enduring creations, and here he is once more in his fifteenth adventure. This time he is on the trail of a mysterious map, said to reveal the whereabouts of a vast treasure (actually Sutton Hoo, and therefore safe for over six hundred more years). This was formerly in the possession of fearsome pirate Adam Blackstock, but both he and his cog The Waxman were scuppered more than three years earlier. Now his brother wants revenge, but who is he, and why were Wilhelm Von Paulents and his family murdered in such a bizarre fashion?  

Draw the curtains and stoke up the fire, then curl up with this most enjoyable yarn full of murders, pirates, bounty hunters, lepers, mysterious maps, and bloody deeds. Purists will probably find a historical error or two in here (whether there are any to be found or not), but I was too busy enjoying the story to nitpick, and it doesn’t stop for a moment. Nobody does this sort of thing like Doherty, and as always this is a potent mixture of historical fact, lively characters, and a rattling good plot that moves at a rollercoaster pace. A good example of this author’s work - read and enjoy.

The Book

Headline
4 December 2006
Hardback
0755328825
Historical Crime - 1303 Canterbury, Kent, England
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Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2007
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© 2006 MyShelf.com