Thursday, November 9, 2017

Book review - "Murder Wears a Cowl" by P. C. Doherty


Murder Wears a Cowl, the sixth installment of P. C. Doherty’s medieval mystery series featuring Hugh Corbett, clerk to King Edward I, is a convoluted tale with more twists and turns than any of his previous stories.  It also has a bit more character development on the main characters.  Hugh is now more spy than clerk for Edward I.  Maeve, although still in the background, is much more present since their daughter is about three months old.  Ranulf, Corbett’s faithful servant, falls in love and thinks about escaping his current station and bettering himself.  At the end of the story, Ranulf exacts some revenge in a calm, cold, ruthless scheme.  I was a bit surprised at Ranulf’s actions, thinking what happened to our lusty lad who’s only mission in life was to bed someone else’s wife or mistress?

In Murder Wears a Cowl, Edward I commands Hugh to investigate murders of prostitutes in London, which have occurred once a month for over a year.  Edward isn’t interested in the women, but Lady Somerville, the widow of one of Edward’s friends has been murdered in the same fashion.  Is there a connection?  And what does her message “a cowl does not make the monk” mean?

Hugh had planned to take Maeve and the baby to Wales to visit her family, but the king is most insistent that he postpone the trip to investigate the crimes.  To add insult to injury, Hugh’s nemesis and French spy de Craon is in London along with a notorious criminal is a master at the art of disguise.

In the previous novel, The Prince of Darkness, we had naughty nuns.  In Murder Wears a Cowl, we have naughty monks.  Early on, Hugh suspects a connection between the murders and the monks and priests at St. Paul, but he finds more than he expects. 


Doherty has a knack for bringing fourteenth century London to life in all its fetid, foul and malodorous glory.  Despite the stomach-churning details, this novel delivers several surprises and keeps the reader guessing until the last page. 

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