Mystery In The Minster
The Seventeenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
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4.4 • 22 Ratings
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
For the twentieth anniversary of the start of the Matthew Bartholomew series, Sphere is delighted to reissue all of the medieval monk's cases with beautiful new series-style covers.
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The seventeenth chronicle in the Matthew Bartholomew series.
In 1358 the fledging college of Michaelhouse in Cambridge is in need of extra funds. A legacy from the Archbishop of York of a parish close to that city promises a welcome source of income. However, there has been another claim to its ownership and it seems the only way to settle the dispute is for a deputation from Michaelhouse to travel north.
Matthew Bartholomew is among the small party which arrives in the bustling city, where the increasing wealth of the merchants is unsettling the established order, and where a French invasion is an ever-present threat to its port. But soon he and his colleagues learn that many of the Archbishop's executors have died in unexplained circumstances and that the codicil naming Michaelhouse as a beneficiary cannot be found...
'A first-rate treat for mystery lovers' (Historical Novels Review)
'Susanna Gregory has an extraordinary ability to conjure up a strong sense of time and place' (Choice)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1358, Gregory's superb 17th whodunit starring Cambridge physician Matthew Bartholomew (after 2010's The Killer of Pilgrims) takes Bartholomew and several other fellows of Michaelhouse College to York, where they try to resolve a dispute over a legacy of the city's late archbishop. Six years after the death of Archbishop William Zouche, the fellows of Michaelhouse learn that he bequeathed them a chapel, which would go a long way toward addressing their financial woes. Unfortunately, there appears to be only oral evidence for the bequest, and executors of Zouche's estate, who might have confirmed its existence, have been dying off at an alarming rate. The pace never slackens, despite the book's length, and Gregory again proves adept at weaving a plot complicated enough to be baffling but not so intricate as to become confusing.
Customer Reviews
Mystery in the Minster
Very good read
Mystery in the Minster
Number 17 in an enthralling series. You are with the characters as the mysteries unfold. You can see and smell the streets and houses. You feel that you know ALL the people; some you like and others are so infuriating that you want them to be guilty. There is a blend of bigots, comedians, whimps, bullies, saints, sinners, evil ones and good, honest, hardworking folk who are doing their best to survive in a harsh world. The plot thickens as more clues emerge and the two "detectives" struggle to add one and one together successfully. Matthew and Brother Michael are a Medieval "Odd Couple" who complement each other so well. Both characters have developed as the series has progressed with some surprising twists and turns. But my all time favourite has to be my countryman Cynric. I can here his voice and see him so clearly as time after time he comes to the rescue. Well, it could only be a Welshman couldn't it? Roll on the next installments and thank you "Susanna" for entertaining me so regally since your first Matthew Bartholomew case back in the mid-nineties.