When I first read the title of this book, I thought ‘treason’ was the collective noun for ghosts, but was quickly corrected. The twelfth book in Doherty’s medieval mystery series featuring King’s clerk Hugh Corbett does not have any real ghosts in it but it does have some spooky settings. Perfect, since the time period of the story is just before All Saints’ Day.
In The Treason of the Ghosts,
Corbett is sent to the village of Melford, where five years prior, Sir Roger
Chapeley was executed for a series of gruesome murders of young girls. Now, more girls are being murdered in the
same manner and the men who sat on the jury that convicted Sir Chapeley are
being murdered one by one. Since Sir
Chapeley was a knight of the king’s, Edward I sends Corbett to Melford to find
out the truth.
Corbett, his manservant Ranulf-atte-Newgate and man-at-arms Chanson
arrive in the prosperous village and find the citizens do not trust him. Nothing new here, but Corbett does manage to
get cooperation out of them. It is clear
from almost the beginning there are two murderers in the story, so Doherty
doesn’t wait to spring this on the reader in the last page.
This novel moved at a quick pace and keeps the reader’s
attention throughout the story. Again, I
have to criticize the editing as in all the previous novels. Other than the ubiquitous head-hops and use
of the phrase “pulled a face”, Doherty over-uses “I know what you’re thinking”
and “in his cups”. The repetition of
phrases, especially in close proximity to each other make reading tedious.
That being said, I think The
Treason of the Ghosts is one of the best in the series so far.
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