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Kathryn Swinbrooke #6
A Maze of Murders
A violent past haunts Sir Walter Maltravers, the wealthy lord of Ingoldby Hall. As a commander during the War of the Roses, he fought alongside Edward IV at the bloody, fratricidal Battle of Towton. Decades earlier, and thousands of miles away, he served in the fanatical bodyguard of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaeologus.
There, as Turkish Jannisaries breached Constantinople’s walls and set the city aflame, Sir Walter committed what may have been an unforgivable sin: instead of defending the emperor with his last drop of blood, Maltravers fled. But not before scooping up all the treasure he could carry, including the Lacrima Christi---a giant ruby said to be a holy relic of incalculable value.
When the ruby disappears from Canterbury’s Franciscan monastery, Sir Walter fears the emperor’s vengeful loyalists---the Athanatoi---have tracked him to his estate. He doesn’t have much time to ponder his dilemma. Crawling on his bare knees to the shrine at the center of his enormous private hedge maze, the penitent Sir Walter encounters his axe-wielding killer. . . .
Maltravers’s head turns up days later, impaled on a pole.
Gossips in Canterbury whisper of the fabled Athanatoi, come to claim their bloody due from a traitor. But apothecary Kathryn Swinbrooke doesn’t think so. Her Irish fiancée, Colum Murtagh, the King’s Commissioner in Canterbury, is called in to investigate the crimes.
A Renaissance woman in a Middle Age world, Swinbroke comes to believe that all is not as it seems within the cozy confines of Ingoldby Hall. She asks tough questions of the wealthy power-players who seem to hover around the murder case. And before long, the death toll mounts: a maid, a madwoman, a scribe, a retainer. . . .
One thing becomes abundantly clear: if Swinbrooke and Murtagh don’t nail down the killer---or killers---soon, they’ll be next!
There, as Turkish Jannisaries breached Constantinople’s walls and set the city aflame, Sir Walter committed what may have been an unforgivable sin: instead of defending the emperor with his last drop of blood, Maltravers fled. But not before scooping up all the treasure he could carry, including the Lacrima Christi---a giant ruby said to be a holy relic of incalculable value.
When the ruby disappears from Canterbury’s Franciscan monastery, Sir Walter fears the emperor’s vengeful loyalists---the Athanatoi---have tracked him to his estate. He doesn’t have much time to ponder his dilemma. Crawling on his bare knees to the shrine at the center of his enormous private hedge maze, the penitent Sir Walter encounters his axe-wielding killer. . . .
Maltravers’s head turns up days later, impaled on a pole.
Gossips in Canterbury whisper of the fabled Athanatoi, come to claim their bloody due from a traitor. But apothecary Kathryn Swinbrooke doesn’t think so. Her Irish fiancée, Colum Murtagh, the King’s Commissioner in Canterbury, is called in to investigate the crimes.
A Renaissance woman in a Middle Age world, Swinbroke comes to believe that all is not as it seems within the cozy confines of Ingoldby Hall. She asks tough questions of the wealthy power-players who seem to hover around the murder case. And before long, the death toll mounts: a maid, a madwoman, a scribe, a retainer. . . .
One thing becomes abundantly clear: if Swinbrooke and Murtagh don’t nail down the killer---or killers---soon, they’ll be next!
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 11, 2003
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174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 13, 2023
A Maze of Murders
Kathryn Swinbrooke #6
By Paul Dohert as C. L. Grace
Reviewed August 13, 2023
It’s August 1473.
Sir Walter Maltravers of Ingoldby Hall in Canterbury is a man with a violent and troubled past. He was serving in the bodyguard of the Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaeologus, during the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453, barely escaping with his life when the city fell and the emperor was slain, taking with him what treasure he could including a sacred relic, the Lacrima Christi, the tears of blood said to have been shed by Christ that, when they touched the ground, turned into priceless rubies.
Upon returning to England after the fall of Constantinople, Maltravers joins the Yorkist army under Edward of March (or as he’s referred to in this story, Edward of York) and participates in the bloody battle of Towton, where the soldiers under his command massacre a group of prisoners who had surrendered, decapitating them and putting their heads on pikes.
Giving up his martial ways, Sir Walter uses the treasure he brought from Constantinople to help him settle down and become a successful merchant, accumulating more wealth along the way. He buys Ingoldby Hall, marries a beautiful young woman half his age, donates the Lacrima Christi to the chantry chapel of St Michael and All the Angels Church, but still his soul is troubled.
On the grounds of Ingoldby Hall is a maze, in the center of which is a cross called the Weeping Cross. Every Friday, as part of his self-imposed acts of contrition, Sir Walter makes his way on his knees through the maze to the Cross. Then, one Friday, he never returns. His body is later found at the center of the maze, his head struck off and nowhere to be found. Several nights later, part of the maze is set on fire, and in the light of the blaze can be seen Sir Walter’s head, stuck on a pole.
Is this murder an act of revenge against Sir Walter by the legendary Athanatoi, the legendary Byzantine military unit that was said to hunt down those they felt betrayed the Emperor at the fall of Constanople? Is it somehow connected to the massacre of the prisoners at Towton?
More deaths ensue, and the Lacrima Christi disappears. Now it’s up to Kathryn Swinbrooke and Colum Murtaugh, the King’s Man in Canterbury, to get to the root of the matter. This is another well put together story with many different threads woven together as we follow Kathryn and Colum track down the often puzzling clues.
Kathryn Swinbrooke #6
By Paul Dohert as C. L. Grace
Reviewed August 13, 2023
It’s August 1473.
Sir Walter Maltravers of Ingoldby Hall in Canterbury is a man with a violent and troubled past. He was serving in the bodyguard of the Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaeologus, during the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453, barely escaping with his life when the city fell and the emperor was slain, taking with him what treasure he could including a sacred relic, the Lacrima Christi, the tears of blood said to have been shed by Christ that, when they touched the ground, turned into priceless rubies.
Upon returning to England after the fall of Constantinople, Maltravers joins the Yorkist army under Edward of March (or as he’s referred to in this story, Edward of York) and participates in the bloody battle of Towton, where the soldiers under his command massacre a group of prisoners who had surrendered, decapitating them and putting their heads on pikes.
Giving up his martial ways, Sir Walter uses the treasure he brought from Constantinople to help him settle down and become a successful merchant, accumulating more wealth along the way. He buys Ingoldby Hall, marries a beautiful young woman half his age, donates the Lacrima Christi to the chantry chapel of St Michael and All the Angels Church, but still his soul is troubled.
On the grounds of Ingoldby Hall is a maze, in the center of which is a cross called the Weeping Cross. Every Friday, as part of his self-imposed acts of contrition, Sir Walter makes his way on his knees through the maze to the Cross. Then, one Friday, he never returns. His body is later found at the center of the maze, his head struck off and nowhere to be found. Several nights later, part of the maze is set on fire, and in the light of the blaze can be seen Sir Walter’s head, stuck on a pole.
Is this murder an act of revenge against Sir Walter by the legendary Athanatoi, the legendary Byzantine military unit that was said to hunt down those they felt betrayed the Emperor at the fall of Constanople? Is it somehow connected to the massacre of the prisoners at Towton?
More deaths ensue, and the Lacrima Christi disappears. Now it’s up to Kathryn Swinbrooke and Colum Murtaugh, the King’s Man in Canterbury, to get to the root of the matter. This is another well put together story with many different threads woven together as we follow Kathryn and Colum track down the often puzzling clues.
December 28, 2025
Another exciting mystery to solve in 15th century Canterbury. Sit Walter Maltravers, master of Ingoldby Hall, is mysteriously found murdered in the centre of his secret maze, though only he knew the way to the centre. And another mystery, the Lachryma Christi, a valuable relic, has gone missing from the Franciscan monastery where it was housed. Are the two crimes linked? Who can solve these baffling mysteries? Why, apothecary and physician Kathryn Swinbrooke of course, aided by her ruggedly handsome fiancé, Colum Murtagh, the King’s Commissioner in Canterbury. Enjoyable as always to see Kathryn and Colum in action, and to experience the colourful and exciting world of medieval Canterbury. It wasn’t too difficult to guess who the murderer was, the author uses a ploy that has been used rather often before and so is easy to spot, but the story is great fun all the same.
March 17, 2023
Good series. I’m going to try to find the next one.
February 27, 2023
Good read.
Very formulaic but a good read in spite of that. I am spreading the entire series though I like the Corbett books better! I have read all of those as well. I live Paul Doherty's use of language... I spend a lot of time "looking up' words and having phrases decoded and feel somewhat smarter after reading his books! I do enjoy the character's relations with INE another and the development of the characters. I know this man knows his history and gives us a close kook into the periods he writes about. Thanks to him for that. I do recommend these books by Mr. Doherty, as a latecomer to these series...and I plan to read as many of his books as I can. I look forward to the next one each time I complete reading a book. Only a complaint or two...the Amazon versions are not well edited...too many silly mistakes and events that do not
" match"...this could easily be remedied by a good editor. I guess that's it. Editing editing editing would make the books so very much better.
Very formulaic but a good read in spite of that. I am spreading the entire series though I like the Corbett books better! I have read all of those as well. I live Paul Doherty's use of language... I spend a lot of time "looking up' words and having phrases decoded and feel somewhat smarter after reading his books! I do enjoy the character's relations with INE another and the development of the characters. I know this man knows his history and gives us a close kook into the periods he writes about. Thanks to him for that. I do recommend these books by Mr. Doherty, as a latecomer to these series...and I plan to read as many of his books as I can. I look forward to the next one each time I complete reading a book. Only a complaint or two...the Amazon versions are not well edited...too many silly mistakes and events that do not
" match"...this could easily be remedied by a good editor. I guess that's it. Editing editing editing would make the books so very much better.
August 15, 2017
Magnificant
This author is a master at winding and twisting the reader until near the end of the book. The writing is great
This author is a master at winding and twisting the reader until near the end of the book. The writing is great
March 19, 2021
I had not realized this was book 6 in a series. I guess I will have t go back and read the rest. I did enjoy this book though and liked the story.
October 31, 2021
Good plot but very poor character development.
May 27, 2011
one in a series of mysteries set in the turbulent, controversial reign of Edw.IV of england. just after he slaughtered most of the Lancastrians and took the throne. The main character is Kathryn, an investigator for Canterbury and her colleague, Colum, a mercenary working for Edw.IV. A valuable jewel, stolen from the Templars during the fall of Acre is stolen from a local monastery. In addition, the knight who donated the item to the monastery is found murdered in a maze. Killed in a very grisly manner. Kathryn solves both puzzles.
September 1, 2010
This was a-mazing to read as Kathryn wends her way through a tangle of impossibilities to discover the truth behind the murder of a good man and the selfish theft of a religious relic. Less of the medical aspects of Kathryn's abilities and more of her detecting skills in this story.
April 21, 2014
A Maze of Murders
A Maze of Murders
A very good book. Read for the second time. I really enjoy following her thread of logic. That had to be a really bloody period. All in all a very fun book and I heartily recommend it. I really enjoy books by Paul Doherty.
A Maze of Murders
A very good book. Read for the second time. I really enjoy following her thread of logic. That had to be a really bloody period. All in all a very fun book and I heartily recommend it. I really enjoy books by Paul Doherty.
Read
November 16, 2015This proved to be a pretty decent historical mystery, which deals with on the one hand the active role of women in medieval Britain and on the other hand the significance of blood feuds during the War of Roses. Not bad entertainment for a chilly fall evening.
April 11, 2009
These SWinbrooke mysteries rock
Read
January 26, 2013loved it
June 29, 2014
Really enjoyed setting and intricate puzzles solved through astute logic, as well as the strong female character of this series.
July 15, 2015
love the mistress Swinebrook mystries. They need to be a tv series or movie.
June 14, 2016
I love almost all of this writers books. I read another of his when ever I fell that I've hit a reading block.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews