Roger the Chapman
2 primary works • 5 total works
Book 12
Book 13
Roger the Chapman is not a superstitious man.
He hears stories of murders and haunted houses around the market town of Bristol, and chooses to believe the more prosaic explanation every time. But when Roger is himself attacked in the very house where a woman murdered her violent husband thirty years previously, he is forced to admit that something strange is going on - particularly when everybody he encounters in the town denies seeing or hearing anything untoward in the notorious house that stormy night. And when his own wife refuses to believe his story, he starts to worry that he is losing his mind.
An indignant - and instinctively curious - Roger puts his detective skills into action once again to find out who made the attempt on his life. He soon learns more and more about the strange old house and about the people of the market town of Bristol, some of whom have much more to hide than he would ever have believed.
The latest title in the acclaimed Roger the Chapman series
When Roger the Chapman discovers he has a hitherto unknown half-brother, he has mixed feelings about the matter. But when John Wedmore is accused of being the young page who, six years earlier, robbed his mistress and murdered a fellow servant, and is thrown into prison, Roger feels obliged to investigate the charge. His enquiries take him into Somerset, to the Manor House at Croxcombe, home of the Bellknapp family.
But his search for the truth is complicated by the sudden and unexpected arrival of Anthony Bellknapp, the elder son - missing, presumed dead for the past eight years - to claim his inheritance. Anthony succeeds in antagonising almost all the Manor's inhabitants; and when he is murdered, Roger finds himself with too many suspects from which to choose. But he is convinced that the past and present killings are linked; and if he can prove the connection, his half-brother's name will be cleared.
Things aren't going too well at home for Roger the Chapman and his wife, Adela.
Their fourth child has died only days after being born and Roger fails to conceal his feelings of relief at having one less mouth to feed. Adela naturally resents his attitude and their bitter arguments become increasingly commonplace. Roger decides that to maintain harmony at home the best thing he can do is take up his pack and cudgel and once again leave Bristol to trade his goods in the surrounding countryside.
Almost as soon as he makes this decision, he receives a message from King Edward IV's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, summoning him to London to assist in the investigation into the murder of Fulk Quantrell, the son of one of the ladies-in-waiting to Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, who is on a triumphant return visit to London. It seems Roger has no choice but to return to the dirty, crowded streets of London, where he soon meets a surprising number of people - royalty, servants and workers alike - who all have a motive for murder.