Litany of Lies: The must-read medieval mystery series (Bradecote & Catchpoll)

by Sarah Hawkswood

Midsummer, 1145. Walter, the steward of Evesham Abbey, is found dead at the bottom of a well pit. The Abbot, whose relationship with the lord Sheriff of Worcestershire is strained at best, dislikes needing to call in help. However, as the death appears to have not been an accident, he grudgingly receives Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin. The trio know to step carefully with the contentious undercurrents at play.

As the sheriff's men investigate the steward's death, they discover that truth is in short supply. With the tensions between the Abbey and the local castle guard reaching boiling point, another killing will force the investigation down a dangerous path.

• ISBN10: 0749031972
• ISBN13: 9780749031978
• Publish Date: 23 May 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Allison & Busby
• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Litany of Lies is the 12th book in Sarah Hawkswood's medieval Bradecote & Catchpoll mystery series. Released 23rd May 2024 by Allison & Busby, it's 275 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is an intricately crafted and well engineered mystery wrapped around a meticulous and accurate historical framework. The characters are well established with realistic and believable internal motivations and agendas. The author is gifted at providing the necessary information without spoon-feeding readers (or drowning them with floods of unnecessary back story). The pacing is well measured and the whole is an engaging and delightful read. It works very well as a standalone mystery. 

When the steward of Evesham Abbey is found dead at the bottom of a well-pit, Bradecote, Catchpool, and Underserjeant Walkelin are called in to untangle the circumstances surrounding the death. The language is fairly clean (PG rated) and the prose is very well written. 

This is one for one to readers of the historical murder mystery genre, especially fans of Sharon Kay Penman, Ellis Peters, Candace Robb, and Susanna Gregory (and similar). Fans of well written character driven mystery from any period will find much to enjoy here.

Five stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.