The Garderobe of Death

Howard Matthews
Works of: Fiction

England 1067: Henri de Turold, King William’s favourite hunting companion has been murdered. How anyone actually did it, given the remarkably personal nature of the fatal wound, is a bit of a mystery.

Lord Robert Grosmal, of disordered mind, disordered castle and Henri’s host at the time, knows that King William gets very tetchy when his friends are murdered. He sends to the nearby monastery of De’Ath’s Dingle for a monk to investigate.

Medieval monks are usually good at this sort of thing.

Brother Hermitage is a medieval monk but he’s not very good at this sort of thing. Motivated by the point of a sword he and his companion Wat the weaver set off to solve the crime.

Oh, by the way, King William is arriving that night so they better get a move on.

Brother Hermitage’s second criminal investigation reveals many things. Improvement is not among them.

If you are looking for a poignant evocation of the medieval world, an insightful exploration of the characters of the time, buy a different book. Ellis Peters is quite good.