The King's Corrodian

Gil Cunningham #10

by Pat McIntosh

'The tale seems very improbable,' Gil Cunningham said. 'How should the Devil enter a religious house and carry off one of its members?'How indeed? But Arnold Fleming, the widely dislike pensioner, or corrodian, lodged in the Dominican's house in Perth, has vanished from a chamber, and a local knight and his mistress claim to have seen the Devil abroad that very same night. Three of the friars are accused by their fellows of involvement, documents found in Fleming's lodgings suggest he was blackmailing somebody, and when Gil is called in to investigate, he reveals theft, ancient murder - and more recent secrets.Then a body turns up - then a second one. Are these deaths connected to Fleming's disappearance, or to the victim of his blackmailing activities? Gil's questioning uncovers some of the truth, but it is Alys who discovers the answer, with the help of the Dominicans' redoubtable lay-brothers and the priory kitchens.Praise for Pat do for Glasgow in the fifteenth century what Ellis Peters and her Brother Cadfael did for Shrewsbury in the twelfth.' Mystery Reader's Journal.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Scotland, Historical, Crime

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2013

About the author

McIntosh was born and raised in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Having begun to write at age seven, she credits the author who inspired her to write as "probably Angus MacVicar!" She lived and worked in Glasgow for many years before moving to the west coast of Scotland. Prior to making her mark as an author, she worked as "a librarian, a receptionist for an alternative therapy centre, taught geology and palaeontology, [and] tutored for the Open University."

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2013, and its the 10th wonderful volume of the delightful "Gilbert Cunningham" series.

The year is AD 1495, and our main protagonists, Gilbert Cunningham and his Alys in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, and once more this mystery is interwoven with Scots to make it really authentic.

Over there in Perth within the Dominican's house the widely hate pensioner, or corrodian, Arnold Fleming, has vanished from a chamber, while a local knight and his mistress claim to have seen the Devil that night.

Accusations will be thrown at three of the friars by their fellows of involvement, while also documents are found stating that Fleming was blackmailing someone.

When Gilbert starts to investigate, at first he will come across theft, an ancient murder, and some more secrets, until a few dead bodies turn up suddenly.

Do these deaths connect with Fleming's disappearance, or has it something to do with the victim of the blackmailing activities.

After some early small progress by Gilbert, it will be Alys to come up with the answer to their determined questions, with the help from the Dominican's lay brothers and its kitchen staff.

What is to follow is an amazingly intriguing Scottish mystery, in which Gilbert and Alys will need to go to any length to uncover the truth about Arnold Fleming, the corrodian, and after some twists and turns, followed by a superbly executed plot they will be able to reveal the culprit of all these foul and deadly crimes.

Highly recommended, for this is another wonderful suspenseful addition to this brilliant series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Stunning Corrodian Mystery"!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very satisfying book, and I will hope there may be others to come. Gil and Alys are easy to take to your heart and their fates become important to readers of this series. I am so glad I happened on these books at the library. I bought a few of them in kindle format including these last two as they are not owned by the library yet. The books have murder and mercy and ignorance and wisdom, conflict and resolution, religion and wickedness and all in a setting and time not written about much. There is quite a lot of scariness in the dark in this book, so I would highly recommend it for Halloween reading.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The never predictable Pat McIntosh does it again, with a cracking Gil Cunningham/Alys Mason mystery with science & religion & daily life of Medieval/early modern Scotland all worked into the lovely plot. This time they travel to a Dominican Priory where a wealthy man has disappeared - perhaps taken by the devil. But mystery soon arrives upon mystery when the infirmary is burned down and a novice who's confessed to the disappearance goes with it. Not as much of the secondary characters as usual, but they're still there gathered around the fire in the evening, working out what happened. Worth the lengthy ILL wait.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent series. I reluctantly have to agree with some other reviewers that the use of Scots should either be more sparing or its meaning made clearer via context. I had no problems myself - apart from the title - "Corrodian" was a new one on me - but this may limit Pat McIntosh's audience a bit, and I'd really like to see her get the acclaim she deserves for a very good and original series.
I've read them all, and found them not only thoroughly enjoyable and extremely readable, but well-researched and informative. So, maybe a wee bit more of a Glossary next time, Pat? Otherwise, this chapter in the series is every bit as good as the others. Looking forward to the next one!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and will be seeking more from this author, as there are several other books in this series. The period details are wonderful, making an immersion into the world easy for the reader. The author uses some Scots dialect, but I found I could intuit what was being said without having to stop to look up words. I did have to look up what a Corrodian was (someone who made a large donation to a monastery in exchange for room and board for life). Gil and his very smart wife Alys are wonderful heroes and investigators, and I loved that Alys got to use some science to work out a solution to one of the aspects of the case. It is always nice to see an author who can exhibit how the Dark Ages weren't always dark, as there were always still some folks, including women, who were getting educations and aware of science and history and even psychology.
Gil is sent in by the bishop to solve a locked room mystery, with the titular corrodian having disappeared from his locked residence. As he and Alys investigate, other crimes are uncovered and more murders follow, requiring our investigators to pull together several threads to solve the crimes.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I skipped this and read the most recent one by mistake, remedied that now. Luckily this is a self contained story, without any major character arc updates.
This is set in medieval Perth, and by coincidence, I was IN Perth today, AND there was a medieval market on! #Spooky
Gil has been called to solve the mysterious disappearance of the titular character from the Dominican Priory, witchcraft and the Devil are panicking the town, as neighbours saw Auld Nick rising from his little house spiriting him away to hell!
*Spoiler Alert* the thing you think happened, IS what happened.
While Gil and Alys are guests of the Brothers investigating the disappearance, two Brothers are killed, the infirmary is burnt down, causing the old Infirmary Brother to die from the shock, and another Brother is stabbed . . . It's always nice to be kept busy!

[G L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful Gil Cunningham mystery. I loved the fact that Alys did major research during this one, and she solved one part of the mystery.

I love this series. I love the setting (late medieval Scotland) and the author's skill in giving us stories that are historically authentic stories that veer neither into pedantry nor unintelligible obscurity.

She does assume a basic grasp of the political situation in Scotland in the 1490's. I know more about that that most American readers will, but it's easy enough to get an overview from Wikipedia, and I think the books are intelligible without that.

[Julie Durovchic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gil and Alys are in Perth and have several mysteries to solve. Can hardly wait for the next book, the characters and their story is as important as the mystery plus all the wonderful history and detail about Scotland.

[Nance Roepke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series and this was an interesting Tale. I particularly like that Elys had a big part in solving everything. But I did not find it believable that she would keep Gil in the dark. It just didn't fit well with their relationship. And the Occult stuff is not really for me.

[Cindie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never a disappointment. I love this series and am sad to think it does not go on forever. I love the intelligence given to the characters, especially Alys....and the respect Gil affords her....

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pat McIntosh is a huge favorite of mine and I got this as a birthday book..sigh..I had too many reviews for new book later I ever so happily finished last night! Love Gil Cunningham so much and this era..Shortly after this period my own Cunninghams moved into Ireland as overseers.My Cunningham cousins are in Tipperary by 1700.


It was possibly the best of the series, but then I think I always say that! Medieval is my favorite period and Scotland and Ireland the very tops! I love the parts written in Scots and Gaelic and have not a bit of trouble with them, of course.

Gil Cunningham and Alys and their immediate entourage travel from Glasgow to Perth to his kinsman's Dominican priory. A man named Pollock, a Corrodian whose living, called a corrody was paid by the King for unclear reasons has vanished. Not just vanished of course, but evaporated out of a locked and sealed room in a huge puff of fire and black smoke. The Devil apparently!

Gil as Quaestor or criminal investigator for Archbishop Blacador in Glasgow is summoned to the Blackfriars Priory to try to make some sense of it. An enlightened and educated couple Gil and Alys are not buying into the "De'il" story but need to tread carefully with religious beliefs of the times.

My very favorite part was Mistress Buttergask's "voices", which were actually explained as her having "The Sight" and she was able to assure Alys of her childbearing possibilities. Mystery was laid upon mystery and it was so very delightful! A must for historical mystery lovers as well as Medieval fans.

[Stephen Waddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read! Nice addition to series.

Giving it only a 4 because it's somewhat disjointed in places and many of the characters are inadequately introduced, making them sometimes difficult to place in the overall story. However there are several delightfully realized characters, the story moves along briskly, and the mystery keeps the brain cells hopping! Would definitely recommend to an aficionado of the genre.

[Tesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It puts what we think of as a modern issue and shows its roots in the past. Science and logic are not realms of today and the roll of women, though different where not always as limited as we think. McIntosh really makes the 15th century real and shows how people lived within it. The mystery is good and the plot tight. This series just keeps getting better and better.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This continues to be a great series. I found it a bit hard keeping all the friars straight, but the entwined and/or separate deaths (I won't give anything away) makes this a challenge for Gil and Alys, but together they uncover the various threads to see the bigger picture.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gil is called upon to investigate a mysterious death in a friary. More deaths soon occur and it takes all his knowledge and some assistance from his wife Alys to discover the truth. As enjoyable as always.

[Ruhe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all the books in this mystery series. The characters are well developed. I really like the setting and the unusual words. Is everything completely accurate to the time period? Probably not, but I greatly enjoy the books anyway.

[Mrs Barbara D Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cracking good mystery

The last in the series I have read and I had difficulty putting it down to go to bed. The excitement mounts as the husband and wife team and their associates work out seemingly impossible clues . It would make a great tv series.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these. Always a good read, and the use of an admittedly later Scots to separate vernacular from Latin dialogue adds a nice atmosphere. McIntosh shows that the modern belief that your detectives have to be really miserable to be engaging is not necessarily true.

[Ray Melville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, best one of the series I have read so far.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read once, should reread!

[Lynne Tull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, Gil got to solve the case. Alys was involved and played a part. She solved part of the mystery, but Gil takes the honors in this one. I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters and really couldn't place the final perpetrator. Also, the Latin and Erse interspersed throughout was distracting. I think the author sticks close enough to the dialect of the times without the addition of Latin and Erse. Recommend!