Book review - "A Spy in Chancery" by P. C. Doherty

When I started reading this series, I thought Doherty had discontinued his Hugh Corbett mysteries, but I found out he’s still going strong.  These books are great short reads, and they are exciting enough to keep the reader interested.  Hugh is also a character that the reader can sympathize with and cheer for.

A Spy in Chancery takes place some four years after the events in The Crown in Darkness.  Hugh is still mourning his late wife and daughter, and Alice, the conspirator who was burned as a traitor.  Edward I is also still faced with enemies all around, and has realized there is a spy in his chancery. 

Corbett’s boss Royal Chancellor Robert Burrell has passed away so Hugh is feeling a little lost.  Edward I sends Corbett to Wales, unfriendly territory, to find out what their plans are.  Are they plotting war?  Are they siding with the French? Do they know who the spy is in Edward’s chancery?

As with the previous two novels, Corbett’s life is in danger and it appears that everyone around him want him dead.  Fortunately, he escapes all the assassination attempts, even the ones in France, where Edward sends him next.

This book dragged a little because while Hugh is in Wales, he makes little progress so reading became slightly tedious.  Once he makes his escape from Wales, the novel picks back up.  It is a satisfying read and, of course, the surprise ending is worth the wait.

Book review - "The Crown in Darkness" by P. C. Doherty

The Crown in Darkness is a satisfying follow-up to P.C. Doherty’s first Hugh Corbett novel, Satan in St. Mary’s.  Where the first one was more of intrigue and action, the second was whodunit and action.  In The Crown in Darkness, Corbett is sent by the Royal Chancellor Robert Burrell to the Scottish capitol Edinburgh.  The Scottish king Alexander III has just died under mysterious circumstances and Burrell wants to know what exactly happened.  Was the king murdered or did he die in an unfortunate accident?  With Alexander dead and no heir, the throne appears to be up for grabs and powerful families are beginning to jockey for position.

Corbett is sent to find out what will all of this mean for England and King Edward I.  He starts asking questions as soon as he arrives and subsequently, attempts are made to kill him.  In the previous novel, Doherty gives Corbett a sensitivity and vulnerability by falling in love with a femme fatale, but there is no such depth in this one. 

Corbett is all business and realizes there is more to his mission than Burrell has let on. 

I enjoyed this story much more than the first one, but the formatting in my hardback version of The Crown in Darkness was non-existent.  Usually, there is a new paragraph each time the speaker changes but in this version, the publishers or whoever did not believe in hitting the ’return’ button.  I had to re-read many passages to realize who was talking.

The story was great but the formatting took away from the enjoyment.