The Devil's Domain by
P.C. Doherty
hbk out July 98
Published by Headline
at £16.99
Paul Doherty has established himself as a historical writer who can vividly bring to life the sights, smells and sounds of London in Chaucer's day. His stories involve two investigators, Brother Athelstan from a church just south of the river in Southwark, and his friend the Coroner of the City of London.
Athelstan is a well drawn character, somewhat in the vein of Cadfael, but with more reasoning skill and less knowledge of herbs, while the Coroner himself is a wonderful, powerful figure; one has to wonder whether he was taken straight from Falstaff. The Devil's Domain is an intriguing tale: it is in the middle of the Hundred Years' War, and a truce has been agreed. Various hostages are being held in Britain and France, but the King's Regent, John of Gaunt, has an interest in one particular group of five, leaders of a privateer which has recently been captured by one of the knights of his own household, Sir Maurice Maltravers, during a sea battle. When one of the prisoners dies, poisoned, the murder threatens the whole shaky peace.
Gaunt decides to demand the assistance of his Coroner and secretary, Athelstan. But Athelstan and his friend know Gaunt too well, and not only have to discover the identity of the assassin himself, but also have to make sure that they understand Gaunt's own motives. The Regent is far too powerful a man for either of them to want to thwart him accidentally.
And that isn't all that worries the Coroner and his friend: peasants complaining about prices and lack of work are threatening to rebel, and some have gone to far as to collect weapons for an assault on London, and Athelstan has a shrewd idea that some of his own parishioners know more about the traitors than they should.
This is a well-paced, enjoyable read for anyone who likes a fast plot - and if you are interested by the medieval period, you won't be able to put it down!
(
Michael Jecks
- author of the highly acclaimed Furnshill & Puttock series)
The Devil's Domain by
P.C. Doherty