The Mansions of Murder
The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan #18
by Paul Doherty
A murdered priest, a missing body, stolen treasure: Brother Athelstan tackles his most challenging investigation to date.
October, 1381. Brother Athelstan is summoned to the church of St Benet’s in Queenhithe to investigate the murder of a priest. Parson Reynaud has been found stabbed to death inside his own locked church. Other disturbing discoveries include an empty coffin and a ransacked money chest. Who would commit murder inside a holy church? Who would spirit away a corpse the night before the funeral – and who would be brave enough to steal treasure belonging to the most feared gangleader in London?
Meanwhile, the death of one of Athelstan’s parishioners reveals a shocking secret. Could there be a connection to the murdered priest of St Benet’s?
Athelstan’s investigations will lure him into the dark and dangerous world of the gangmaster known as The Flesher, whose influence has a frighteningly long reach …
REVIEW
5 out of 5
I *LOVE* historical mysteries, especially those that take place pre-1900s. I officially need to go and read all the books in the series, because this was a well-developed story with characters that felt real. It was like stepping through a time portal and watching the mystery unfold in front of you. Athelstan is an amazing character and a great detective. I cannot recommend this enough to historical fiction and mystery lovers alike.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-East England) in 1946. After A-levels, he went to Ushaw College in Durham for three years to study for the Catholic priesthood. In 1967, he was admitted to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford. While there he met his wife Carla Lynn Corbitt. He continued his studies but decided that the academic world was not for him and became a secondary school teacher.
Paul worked in Ascot, Newark and Crawley, before being appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green, Essex, in September 1981. Trinity is a large comprehensive (1700 on roll) which teaches the full ability range, ages 11-18. The school has been described as one of the leading comprehensives in the U.K. and has been awarded “Outstanding” in four consecutive OFSTED inspections. All seven of Paul and Carla’s children have been educated at Trinity.
Paul’s other incarnation is as a novelist. He finished his doctorate on the reign of Edward II of England and decided to start writing about the “undergrowth of history”, beginning with THE DEATH OF A KING, published in 1985. Since then, Paul has written over 100 books and has published a series of outstanding historical mysteries set in the Middle Ages, Classical Greece, Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages and are available in several formats, including large print, audio books, and more recently e-books.
He has been published under several pseudonyms: C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, Michael Clynes, Ann Dukthas and Anna Apostolou, but now writes only under his own name. Paul has also written a number of non-fiction titles, among them: ISABELLA AND THE STRANGE DEATH OF EDWARD II, a scholarly study of The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303, THE SECRET LIFE OF ELIZABETH I, and a study of the mystery surrounding the death of Alexander the Great.
Paul lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries, many of which later feature in his writings. A born speaker and trained lecturer Paul loves to tell stories and “bring history to life.”
