A Vein of Deceit - Susanna Gregory - 30/06/09
The Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles are in many ways like a medieval Morse...
Both series of novels are set in university towns, they are essentially all about solving mysterious murders and the plots are extremely cleverly woven with plenty of twists and turns before the final denouement.
There are some major differences…while Morse is a police inspector based in Oxford, the major protagonists in the A Vein of Deceit - the 15th chronicle - are a physician and a monk who live in Cambridge.
And while Inspector Morse is a modern-day detective novel, Susanna Gregory's sleuths do their crime solving in the 1400s.
As a former police officer who is now an academic in Cambridge, the author is clearly in a prime position to write about the various elements of her subject matter – and she does it with authority and excellent story telling skills.
What emerges is a tale of murder, mystery, lies, love and intrigue which is at times complex and yet still easy to follow.
Matthew Bartholomew is the doctor of medicine at the College of Michaelhouse, while his best friend, Benedictine Brother Michael, is the University of Cambridge's senior proctor and a master of theology.
Their challenge in A Vein of Deceit involves, among other things, pigs, coal, missing herbs and a dispute over an inheritance claim.
There is plenty of scratching of heads and dangerous moments along the way, which of course all adds to the suspense.
It is reassuring to hear both Bartholomew and Brother Michael admit - even towards the end of the book - that they still have no idea who committed what crime because even Morse might have struggled to solve this one!
Brother Michael admits: "We have murder and deception taking place right under our noses but we do not have enough clues and evidence to stop it. I cannot recall when I have ever felt so helpless in a tide of unfolding events."
And even at the end of it all, after various puzzles have somehow been solved, there is still an unfinished storyline which leaves you wondering and looking forward to the 16th chronicle.
(Sphere, hardback, 18.99)
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