The Vault of Bones

Brother Petroc #2

by Pip Vaughan-Hughes

Who will own the greatest treasures of all...? In the darkness of 13th Century Europe, the most precious wonders of the Christian world lie in a small church in the great ruined city of Constantinople, the spoils of a failed Crusade. The crown of thorns, the spear that pierced Jesus' side, the shroud bearing the imprint of Christ - all lie in the mysterious Chapel of Pharos, untouchable treasures beyond earthly price. On the other side of the globe, Petroc of Auneford sails into the sprawling Pool of London for the first time. He has left his old monastic world behind for that of the enigmatic Captain de Montalhac - purveyor of fine relics and other exotic trinkets to anyone with sufficient money and desire. But for Petroc, the trip is soon blighted by tragedy. Grief, however, is no guard against greed, and with rumours of the sale of the relics of Pharos growing, the Captain needs Petroc's help. The great powers of Christendom are gathering - all covet the power of the relics - and Petroc finds himself right in the eye of the storm. Stretching from the streets of London to the brothels of Venice and all the way to ruined palaces of Constantinople, THE VAULT OF BONES is an epic tale of faith, power, money and revenge.

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

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Pip grew up in South Devon. He studied medieval history at London University and later worked as a reader for a literary agency when he wasn't dabbling as a bike messenger, saxophonist, food critic, gardener and restaurant owner. He now lives in Vermont with his wife and children.

Reviews

[Aileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although (according to goodreads) this took me 43 days to read, I really quite enjoyed it. The story is set between Italy & Constantinople during the 13th Century and follows Petroc an ex-novice monk on his quest to sell holy relics. This is really simplifying the story as it's full of murder & intrigue all set during a very interesting time in history. If you like CJ Sansom you'll definitely like this too.

[Keith Currie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another roller-coaster adventure story set in the Thirteenth Century, featuring the same relic hunters as the author's Relics. The fast moving narrative ranges from London to Rome to the ruins of Constantinople under the Franks and concludes in Venice. The story is delightfully complex with interesting characters in a fascinating period of history. Better, I think, than the first in the series: a meatier more plausible plot, very well done.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Quite a slow read but builds up very well. Characterisation is good and about right for the period. Set in the 13th century and between Italy and Constantinople. The plot moves along well and the setting seems real and matches the period. I can see folk giving up as it is a slow start - but that makes it quite enjoyable.

[Margareth8537 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always like it when they get to Constantinople

[Jamie Carracher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave Relics a four star and this three to average out as they're a solid 3.5 across the board.

I'll be honest, I picked these books up at a charity book sale for a few dollars each and thought they'd be filler more than anything and was pleasantly surprised.

Interesting characters flowing through an engaging story line which is set in a period of time I know shamefully little about. This book sent me off to the internet to read up on the history more than I would care to admit but I feel all the better for it.

An engaging read and will happily continue onward to Painted in Blood.
Seeing that Vaughan-Huges hasn't published anything after the third and fourth installment of these books (with the last being in 2010) makes me wonder what else he could have done.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sale” of the treasures of Constantinople. Hidden in a tiny chapel are what people believe to be relics of Christ - the crown of thorns, the Mandylion of Edessa (the shroud that bears a complete image of the body of Christ), Mary’s milk amongst a large range of other things. People are prepared to pay the worth of half a kingdom to acquire them, and some are prepared to commit murder to possess them in order to make a profit. An interesting story, spoilt a bit by too much detail and description. There are also meetings of characters that would seem to be too much of a coincidence and require a real stretch of the imagination.

[Andrea Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly longer read than usual but still wanted to continue and find what happened. Petroc and Captain de Montalhac move around Constantinople and from London they are pursued by enemies and tragedy in equal parts as the Crown of Thorns, the Holy Spear and the Shroud become central to a power struggle in the 13th century. If you are a slow reader you will enjoy the pace if a fast one try to enjoy the atmosphere of a time where life and travel were much slower than this book but life still changed in a moment.

[Alba Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit meh. Not terrible, but not memorable either. I thought it would be a historical thriller, or maybe something a little like The Name of the Rose, but it was just okay. The one part that did stand out to me is the main characters walking journey from Rome through Narni, Terni, Spoleto, past Spello (where my parents house is!) and onto Foligno, where sh*t hits the fan. I've extensively travelled that region as I've been to Spello loads, so that was fun. But otherwise, I definitely expected more excitement than I got, sadly.

[Elena K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard language. Sometimes the plot was disappear from my gaze and such unnecessary details of filthy relationships between men and women...

But it has a good idea about treasures, religious, history.

I can’t say what I feel about this book exactly, but I was happy to finish it as fast as I could!

[David Stringer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Vault of Bones is a follow up to 'Relics', which I unfortunately haven't read, and is about our lead character Petroc who is an ex-monk. The story involves the hunting of religious relics, from around Europe, which involves; Dignitaries like the Pope, various murders and mysterious priests.

In genre terms I guess this would be labelled as an historical thriller, however in my opinion the pacing is way too slow to be a real 'thriller' and as such it never maintained any excitement with me. I was never really gripped and I, as with the pace of the book, meandered my way through at times long sections of...nothing.

That been said, it wasn't a book that contained absolutely no interest to me. The bits of action, when they do occur, are reasonable and the insight into the time period is good. But my interest to pick up the first or last instalment is low and unlikely.

[Bryan Richard]

What an exciting action-packed read. I enjoyed every page of it. In one sense it seemed slightly similar to Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code". Yet in so many other ways it was totally different. I would highly recommend this book.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medieval adventure/mystery read involving the attempt to sell holy relics and a lot of bloodshed.

[Velvetink · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10/2013 1 of 20 books @ $10

[Alon Hirsch]

Loved it!
Thrilling and very well crafted.
Couldn't put the book down.