Last year, newcomer Keith Souter introduced histmyst fans to Sandal Castle with The Pardoner’s Crime (also reviewed on this site).  Now he is back with a second helping of murder at the same place... but over 150 years later.  Now Sir Giles Beeston is the new judge of the Manor Court, and soon both he and his able assistant Will Holland have a crime to investigate.  The castle is filled with suspects, for Richard III’s heir John de la Pole is there, presiding over a meeting of the Council of the North.  The first death could be put down to accident, but what about the others?

Having a venue as the constant in a series instead of a person is an unusual idea; presumably the next book will be set in Tudor times.  Books featuring the charismatic and rather mysterious figure of Richard III are invariably interesting, and I tend to judge them particularly on how well this figure is portrayed.  Here he comes over as sympathetic, though perhaps less multifaceted than in some other novels.  But ultimately this is a whodunit, and the crimes are certainly the main point of the story and not easy to guess.  This is a lively tale, mixing history and mystery with gusto, and producing a pacy, easy-to-read and well-rounded novel with some engrossing surprises.