Eudo – the Lord Bishop of Winchester’s much feared and extremely loathed clerk – is found bludgeoned to death in Pershore Abbey, laid before the altar in the attitude of a penitent. This isn’t an easy murder to solve, as everyone who ever had contact with him had motive, and there are a lot of people who met him in the Abbey. (To be honest, I wouldn’t have been too surprised if this was a Medieval Murder on the Orient Express. Instead, it’s more The Murder of Mr. Wickham.)
Serjeant Catchpoll, the Sheriff of Worcestershire’s thief taker, and his new (and unwanted) superior, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, have to find the answer. But having struck once, is the killer planning to strike again?
To be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure what I thought about this book (or its characters) for most of the story. Catchpol seemed like a combination of Sam Vimes, Nobby Nobbs, and Fred Colon, with Vimes in there mostly for the intelligence, dislike of authority, and world-weary cynicism. Bradecote, who I suppose you could say is the main character in an ensemble cast, was really not as captivating an individual. Second Historical Mystery in a row (after Desolation) to feature a character called Boniface, which if that doesn’t date a time period for the action, nothing will; it’s not really a popular name nowadays. I don’t know if the identity of the murderer or the motive make really a lick of sense, but I guess Hawkswood did the best she could.
Writing is, I want to say, either a tad sloppy or incredibly true to life. There is a clue that is discovered early on that is promptly forgotten about and never brought up again, even when it is discovered that the reasoning doesn’t fit. Also a relationship that starts building is neatly squared away with desire on one side, putting a suit of clothes on someone on the other. Unfortunately, the main feeling I took away was that Hawkswood didn’t want to shake up either character from the paths they were on in their lives which sucks, because the female involved was one of the two most interesting and likable characters, and someone I’m sorry we won’t see more of (as well as Mistress Weaver). Lord Courtney, if no one else deserved to be boot-kicked; his wife, she deserve more/better.
The duel at the end of the book seemed boring, yet over dramatic and overdrawn, while the mystery dragged on slightly longer than it probably should have. Hawkswood seemed to side with the lower classes over the upper, and had a lot to say (not much of it positive) about women. The author’s note says it’s “based on historical fact, architecture, and people”; I’d say based yes, but then heavily embellished. And one of the main points, Stephen and Maud/Matilda’s feud over the throne, was the straw that stirs the drink and yet simultaneously superfluous to the plot.I’m not too sure how she’s going to keep Bradecote and Catchpoll going as an investigative team for another thirteen books, and I don’t know how quick I’m going to be to find that out. But when I do, it’s going to be book by book (boy, I seem to be saying that about a lot of series lately.)
