Paul Doherty: The Treason of the Ghosts (2000)

Edition: Headline, 2000
Review number: 806

The medieval town of Melford is a dangerous place for young women. A serial killer is stalking the lanes around the town, which has grown quickly from a village after local farming has changed to the profitable business of sheep rearing. When local magnate Sir Robert Champelys is hanged, found guilty of the killings, they stop. However, questions are raised after his conviction - the jury included several men he had cuckolded, and there seemed to be irregularities in some of the evidence. Sir Robert's son petitioned the king for an investigation and maybe a pardon, and when the killings start up again the king's clerk Sir Hugh Corbett is sent to Melford to find out the truth.

In many ways The Treason of the Ghosts is not quite typical of the series of novels in which Corbett is the detective. It is as meticulously researched as ever, but the fact that there is more plot than usual (with a large number of murders requiring simultaneous investigation) leaves less room for the evocation of background which is one of the principal merits of the series. Like many of Doherty's novels, particularly those written as Paul Harding, this one contains a locked room mystery, but it is only perfunctory and easily solved in a few pages. It is in fact quite easy to work out who the murderer is, with Corbett ignoring some very obvious leads. The poorer plot and lack of background make The Treason of the Ghosts one of the least successful novels in the series.

Paul Doherty: The Demon Archer (1999)

Edition: Headline, 1999
Review number: 395

It is a pleasure to read this new Hugh Corbett novel. Paul Doherty, with a doctorate in medieval history, knows the early fourteenth century extremely well and, moreover, conveys the background convincingly and unobtrusively. Corbett is a good central character, and the mysteries he investigates usually interesting and complex enough to please any crime fiction aficionado.

This particular novel is set in Ashdown Forest, in Kent, then thickly wooded. ("Forest" in medieval English refers to land set aside for hunting, usually but not always covered with trees.) One of the foremost nobles of the kingdom, Henry Fitzalan Earl of Surrey is killed here by an assassin who has only made a minimal attempt to disguise the death as a hunting accident. Since he was about to lead an embassy to France to negotiate the treaty accompanying the marriage of Prince Edward (later Edward II) and Isabella daughter of Philip IV of France, his death could have important political consequences, but his private live could equally provide a motive for murdering him, as seduction was his chief hobby. In addition, he had just refused to pass on some of the family estate to his brother and heir to make him financially independent, a move not calculated to endear William to him.

P.C. Doherty: The Devil's Hunt (1996)

Edition: Headline, 1996
Review number: 80


This is the seventh Hugh Corbett mystery, part of the series set in England during the reign of Edward I. This particular novel is set in Oxford, where Corbett is sent by the king to investigate the serial murder of the masters of Sparrow Hall, a small foundation forming part of the University and the mysterious proclamations of "The Bellman", who calls down curses on the king in the name of his old enemy Simon de Montfort.

When Hugh arrives in a city full of memories of his own youth, he discovers that Sparrow Hall is involved in other suspicious activities: students from the hall are believed to be part of a satanic coven meeting outside the city and ritually murdering beggars.

In this rather unpleasant situation, Hugh sets to work. The king is unconcerned about the murders themselves, just about the activities of the Bellman. He fears that proclamations in the name of Simon de Montfort might spark a rebellion, even after many years of Edward's rule.

The book is typical of the series, which I like in general because it conveys a much more accurate reflection of the medieval period than many members of this genre - in particular, the Ellis Peters' Cadfael books, which present a heavily romanticised and modernised version of the twelfth century, with Cadfael a twentieth century detective in thought and word and deed. The level of violence is quite high, and the investigation proceeds slowly enough to allow several more murders to take place before Corbett knows what is going on. I prefer, as detective stories, the Brother Athelstan mysteries written by Doherty under the name of Peter Haining.