The Killer of Pilgrims
Matthew Bartholomew – Chronicles, No 16
By Susanna Gregory
There is always unrest between town and gown,
but following a period of relative peace there is once more trouble
brewing. This time it is between colleges and the poorer hostels,
but who exactly is fanning the flames and why? Then there
is the shrine of a minor saint -- St Simon Stock, -- which is attracting
pilgrims and pardoners as well as a killer thief who steals pilgrim
tokens and murders people. As if this wasn’t enough
for Matt and Michael to investigate, Michaelhouse has the builders
in. During an altercation involving Agatha, a dog and some
meat a body is revealed behind some stacked tiles:; the body of
a wealthy and unpopular landlord.
Nobody writes historical mystery quite like Ms Gregory. If
you like your whodunits madcap and aren’t too worried about
historical verisimilitude then you will find plenty here to entertain.
Bodies galore, a primitive form of football and plenty of cowboy
builder humor are among the treats on offer this time, and of course
we get to catch up with the latest exploits of the series’
characters.
I never think that whodunits are meant to be quite this long and
so there are times when nothing new is happening. and some editing
would have made the whole thing better, but on the whole Ms Gregory
manages to throw all the balls into the air at the beginning and
keep them there. There probably ought to be a special sub-genre
for her work, but as there isn’t I often think that she is
to the histmyst novel what Terry Pratchett is to fantasy.
A flawed, but inimitable mystery.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
A Masterly
Murder, No 6 [review]
The Hand of Justice, No 10 [review]
The Mark of a Murderer, No 11 [review]
The Tarnished Chalice, No 12 [review]
To Kill or Cure, No 13 [review]
The Devil’s Disciples, No 14 [review]
A Vein of Deceit, No 15 [review]
The Killer of Pilgrims, No 16 [review]
Mystery in the Minster, No 17 [review]
Murder By The Book, No 18 [review]
|
The
Book |
Sphere (Little, Brown) |
3
June 2010 |
Hardback |
1847442986 / 9781847442987 |
Historical
Mystery / 1358 Cambridge, England |
More at Amazon US
|| UK |
The
Reviewer |
Rachel
A Hyde |
Reviewed
2010 |
|