Susanna Gregory - The Hand of Justice

The year is 1355, and two convicted felons are granted a pardon by the King and return to Cambridge, much to the shock and dismay of the affected citizens.  When a popular scholar and a merchant are found brutally murdered, naturally the finger is pointed at Mortimer and Thorpe.  As Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael unravel the mystery, all they can find at first is cast-iron alibis and confusing testimonies.  More seemingly unrelated deaths occur, but they all seem to centre around the so-called holy relic - supposedly the hand of a saint - the presence of which is making people believe it can perform miracles.

My rating: 7/10

First (I think) that I've read in the series, although I believe Gregory did write a short story for at least one of the Medieval Murderers compilations (which I like, but can never seem to find).  This one suffers a little from the, um, how can I describe it, somethingexcitinghappens -plod, plod, waffle -somethingexcitinghappens- plod, plod, waffle......get the idea?  That said, again, it suits my favourite style, a basic detective story - murder-detectives-suspect in the library and within the medieval context which I love.  So I guess that if it hadn't been written in a historical context, I probably would have rated it lower :-).  No, seriously, it is good, I haven't quite finished it yet (the story is wrapped up, I'm in the process of the 'epilogue' which is always an enjoyable part of a crime novel) but I don't think my opinion is going to be swayed by much else.  A surprise perpetrator as well, the puzzle is brilliantly brought together.  Also, I was surprised to learn it was the 10th in the series, and you do not feel at any time that you needed to read any previous book to this one (a BIG bugbear of mine).  It could have been 200 pages shorter, my only specific criticism.

Next: more modern, but I'm afraid on safe, biased ground again - Reginald Hill, The Death of Dalziel