Review:- Paul DOHERTY – “The Mysterium”

Year Published: - 2010
Where the book was from:- My own copy
ISBN: - 978 0 7553 5457 3
Pages: - 312pp
Genre: - Historical crime
Location:- London 1304
How I came across it: - Continuing to read this author
Rating: - ***** **
One sentence summary:- It is 1304 and London is in crisis following a succession of brutal murders when Walter Evesham, Chief Justice of the king’s Bench, falls from grace.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:- It appears the Mysterium, a killer once brought to justice by Evesham has returned. Sir Hugh Corbett is ordered to investigate.

General comments:-
This is the seventeenth Hugh Corbett mystery.

AUTHOR Notes:- See Paul Doherty

Review:- Paul DOHERTY – “The Poison Maiden”

Year Published: - 2007
Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: - 9780755328789
Pages: - 294pp
Genre: - Historical mystery
Location:- Westminster, 1308
How I came across it: - Serendipity
Rating: - ***** **
One sentence summary:- Another Mathilde of Westminster mystery involving Edward !! and his wife Isabella.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:-
It's 1308 and England hovers on the brink of civil war. Edward II, his wife Isabella and the royal favourite Peter Gaveston Earl of Cornwall, have been forced to retreat to the King's folly. Just an arrowshot away lie the Great Lords and Philip IV of France, who are demanding that the Earl of Cornwall be charged with high treason. Edward is trapped, and worse, he has learnt that Philip has the 'Poison Maiden' on his side, a formidable spy who did untold damage during his father's reign. As Edward tries in vain to unmask the identity of the spy, Mathilde, handmaiden to the Queen, also attempts to identify the source of this threat.


AUTHOR Notes:- see Paul Doherty

Review:- Paul DOHERTY – “The Waxman Murders”

Year Published: - 2006
Where the book was from:- Pensby library
ISBN: - 978 0 7553 2882 6
Pages: - 314pp
Genre: - Historical Crime
Location:- Kent / Essex 1303
How I came across it: - Seeking Doherty novels
Rating: - ***** **
One sentence summary:- A rollicking good tale of Edwardian crime in Canterbury.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:- Sir Hugh Corbett is sent by Edward I to collect a map showing the location of a hidden treasure but a few murders get in the way.   Sir Hugh and his staff arrive at Canterbury to find that the owner of the map – and his family - have been hanged. A tangled web of deceit seems to point to the murderer harking back thirty years to an attack on a manor during riots in 1272.

AUTHOR Notes:- see Paul Doherty

Review:- Paul DOHERTY – “Nightshade”

Year Published: - 2008
Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: - 978 0 7553 3839 9
Pages: - 295pp
Genre: - Historical Crime
Location:- Essex - 1304
How I came across it: - Chasing Paul Doherty books as he is my current ‘fad’
Rating: - ***** ***

 
One sentence summary:- Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal and devoted emissary of Edward I has been charged with collecting a cross that an unscrupulous manor lord has promised to hand over to the king but a few bodies get in the way.


General comments:- Although this is the first Hugh Corbett novel I’ve read it is around the 16th in the series. I’m looking forward to reading more.

AUTHOR Notes:- see Templar

Review:- Paul DOHERTY – “The House of Death”

Year Published: - 2001
Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: - 0-7531-6795-6
Pages: - 380pp
Genre: - Historical mystery
Location:- The Hellespont 334BC
How I came across it: - New book shelf
Rating: - ***** **

One sentence summary:- Alexander the Great is poised to launch an invasion of the Persian empire of Darius III but first he has to have the murder of his guides solved.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:-
It is 334 BC and the young Alexander the Great waits with is troops by the hellespont, poised to att many sacrifices, but the omens are not good. Worse still, his guides are being brutally murdered.

General comments:-
This is not my favourite period of history and there seems to be less historical detail thatn in some of Paul Doherty’s novels.

AUTHOR Notes:- see Paul Doherty

Review:- Paul DOHERTY – “The House of Shadows”

Year Published: - 2003
Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: - 0 7553 0776 3
Pages: - 312pp
Genre: - Historical crime
Location:- London 1380
How I came across it: - Looking for Paul Doherty novels
Rating: - ***** ***

One sentence summary:-
Brother Athelstan investigates murders which may have their source in a daring robbery twenty years earlier.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:-
A series of brutal murders at a Southwark tavern interrupts Brother Athelstan's rehearsals for the annual Christmas mystery play. He resolves to solve not only these grisly deaths, but also their source - the Great Robbery of the Lombard treasure, which occurred in Southwark some 20 years earlier.

General comments:-
This is the first Brother Athelstan book I have read but it won’t be the last. A cut above the average cosy crime.

The previous list of -
Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan
1. The Nightingale Gallery (1991) (writing as Paul Harding)
2. The House Of The Red Slayer (1992) (writing as Paul Harding)
aka The Red Slayer
3. Murder Most Holy (1992) (writing as Paul Harding)
4. The Anger Of God (1993) (writing as Paul Harding)
5. By Murder's Bright Light (1994) (writing as Paul Harding)
6. The House Of Crows (1995) (writing as Paul Harding)
7. The Assassin's Riddle (1996) (writing as Paul Harding)
8. The Devil's Domain (1998)
9. The Field Of Blood (1999)
10. The House of Shadows (2003)

AUTHOR Notes:- see Paul Doherty

Review – Paul DOHERTY – “The Darkening Glass”

Year Published: - 2009
Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: - 978-0-7553-3852-8
Pages: - 304pp
Genre: - Historical crime
Location:- Northern England in the year 1312
How I came across it: - On the new books shelf
Rating: - ***** ***
One sentence summary:- Edward II is in conflict with his Earls over his favouritism towards the Gascon, Gaveston, and everywhere that Gaveston goes his faithful retainers drop like flies; deaths investigated at the King’s request by Mathilde of Westminster.

General comments:-
This is not just a cosy historical crime novel – it is too well-researched to be called that. The use of language, the way in which the atmosphere is set and the detail in the book all demonstrate Doherty’s love of history and his knowledge of his subject. His skill at creating a who-dunnit is equally good and the mystery of who is carrying out the murders and why is maintained right to the end.

I shall certainly be seeking out more Paul Doherty books in the near future.

Paul DOHERTY see :- The Templar

Review – Paul Doherty – “Murder’s Immortal Mask”

Publ: 2008 Headline
Pensby Library
ISBN: 978 0 7553 3842 9
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 308p
Found by Serendipity
Rating: ***** *

What led you to pick up this book?
It was on the new books shelf at Pensby Library

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
In 314 AD, Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, turns to her most trusted agent, Claudia, to find out who killed Attius Enobarbus, henchman of the former Emperor Maxentius. Attius was killed in a room with a door locked from the inside and the plot is further complicated by a search for the grave of Peter and the serail killings of a large number of prostitutes. In the fifth book of the series, 4th Century Rome comes to life in the hands of Paul Doherty.

What did you like most about the book?
Easy reading and a good mystery plot.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
The occasional typo (or as the girls in the typing pool used to call them – checking errors) was annoying.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Average. I do wish blurb writers would read the book! Attius is described on the blurb as henchman top the former Emperor Constantine!

Would I recommend it?
Yes, to those who like an easy to read historical mystery.

PAUL DOHERTY see The Templar

Paul Doherty - “The Templar”

 

Another historical novel and another one of quality. A trip on the first crusade called for by Pope Urban II in 1097. As chronicled by Eleanor de Paynes this draws on a large number of contemporary documents and forms a most realistic and horrific account of the hardships, treachery and bloodshed.


PAUL DOHERTY was born in Middlesbrough and studied history at Liverpool before doing a Doctorate at Oxford. He is now a headmaster in N E London and lives with his wife and family in Epping Forest. He has written dozens of historical novels but this is the first I have read.