The Demon Archer: A Medieval Mystery Featuring Hugh Corbett [Hardcover]

P. C. Doherty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2001 | Series: A medieval mystery featuring Hugh Corbett

The death of Lord Henry Fitzalan on the feast of St. Matthew 1303 is a matter widely reported but little mourned. Infamous for his lecherous tendencies, his midnight trysts with a coven of witches and his boundless self-interest, he was a man of few friends. So when Hugh Corbett is asked to bring his murderer to justice it is not a matter of finding a suspect but of choosing between them.

Immediate suspicion falls on Lord Henry's chief verderer, Robert Verlian. His daughter had been the focus of Lord Henry's roving eye in the weeks before his death and he was not a man to take no for an answer. But the culprit could just as easily be Sir William, the dead man's younger brother. It is no secret that Sir William covets the Fitzalan estate - but would he kill to inherit it? The possibilities are endless, but the truth is more terrible than anyone could have imagined.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The prolific Doherty brings us another masterful English medieval tale featuring Sir Hugh Corbett, who's still recovering from a bad wound received in his last outing, The Devil's Hunt (1998). It's 1303 and Edward I sends Corbett, Clerk of the Secret Seal, to Ashdown to investigate the death of Lord Henry Fitzalan, shot through the heart by an arrow. Lord Henry was Edward's proposed emissary to Phillip, the king of France, regarding the marriage of Edward's son, Prince William, to Phillip's daughter, Isabella. It was rumored that Lord Henry knew dark secrets about the French king. Shortly after Corbett and faithful manservant Ranulf arrive in Ashdown, they amass a list of possible suspects, since the lecherous, selfish Lord Henry gave many people motive for murder. As they proceed with their inquiries, the arrows continue to fly and the body count mounts. Fearing he'll be the next victim, Corbett coolly uses deductive reasoning to uncover the truth and wind things up in a cleverly wrought conclusion. Authentic historical details enhance a well-told story filled with political intrigues, corruption in the church and personal vendettas. Of particular note are the inquiries conducted by Corbett that not only reveal the souls of the characters but create a vivid portrait of the evil Lord Henry. Though some readers will be put off by the "scholarly" period vocabulary, most fans will gratefully enter, and regretfully leave, Doherty's beautifully realized medieval world.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The latest Hugh Corbett series title places the clerk/spy for Edward I in a quandary. He must find the murderer of a selfish, lecherous, and much-hated lord and has many suspects from which to choose. Another fine historical from a master hand.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (March 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312272871
• ISBN-13: 978-0312272876
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Do Not read the review by Andrew Hoang, June 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Demon Archer: A Medieval Mystery Featuring Hugh Corbett (Hardcover)

..........if you want to read this book. He gives away the ending in his review.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rousing medieval mystery, February 14, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Demon Archer: A Medieval Mystery Featuring Hugh Corbett (Hardcover)

In Ashdown Forest, England in 1303, Lord Henry Fitzalan leads a hunting party that includes his brother and several other aristocrats. Everyone shoots arrows at a deer, but someone sends a longbow arrow into the chest of Lord Henry, killing the despised and arrogant Earl of Surrey.

King Edward summons his friend Hugh Corbett to the court. He tells him that an assassin murdered Henry without the slightest pretense of disguising the homicide with a hunting accident. Edward wants the culprit caught and knows that Hugh has had success with homicides.

Hugh begins his investigation only to learn how loathed Henry was. This complicates a case that initially appeared to have political connections, as Henry was leading an English contingent to France on a peace treaty mission associated with the marriage between the two monarchies. However, aside from the anti-treaty crowd, other suspects are plentiful, from Henry's brother to the father of a young lady Henry coveted to almost anyone who knew the odious ill-tempered noble.

No one does medieval fiction any better than Paul Doherty, who always blends a clever story line with factual tidbits that propel the tale forward and provide depth. The eleventh Corbett historical investigator novel is a taut thriller that centers on an entertaining who-done-it with the typical Doherty touch of historical persona and facts that enhancing a brilliant plot. Hugh remains a huge success as he retains his freshness that few historical detectives can maintain over the life of a series. Fans of the sub-genre will relish this novel and seek the remainder of the Corbett collection as well as Dr. Doherty's sensational Swinbrooke stories.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderfully crafted mystery novel, March 6, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Demon Archer: A Medieval Mystery Featuring Hugh Corbett (Hardcover)

Hugh Corbett, the Keeper of the King's Secret Seal (Edward 1) has miraculously survived the attempt on his life in the "The Devil's Hunt" and is back to unravel another mystery that features murder and political intrigue in 14th century England. And in this latest Corbett adventure, "The Demon Archer", he gets to cross swords again with his french counterpart and arch enemy, Amaury Craon, as he delves into which one of the many people that hated Lord Henry Fitzalan killed him.

Lord Henry is a man much hated and feared. He is hard and unscrupulous, a lecher, and it is firmly believed that he practises the black arts. His younger brother chafes at having to be at Lord Henry's beck and call; his half sister, the Lady Madeline, who is the prioress of St. Hawisia, considers him to be a thorn at her side, and his chief verderer, Robert Verlain, resents Lord Henry's relentless pursuit of Verlain's daughter. Lord Henry also seems to be the target of a mysterious outlaw's spleen: the Owlman has been sending Lord Henry several threatening and cryptic messages.

The novel opens with the Owlman happily contemplating all the mischief and embarrassment he is about to cause Lord Henry by disrupting the hunting party Lord Henry is hosting. But as he makes his way through Ashdown Forest, the Owlman stumbles across the partially buried and already decomposing body of a young woman who had been killed by an arrow to the neck. The Owlman decides to retrieve the body and deposit it at the gates of the St. Hawisia's. In the meantime the hunting party has assembled at the forest. The party consists mainly of Sir William Fitzalan, Lord Henry's angry and resentful younger brother, and members of the French delegation that have assembled in England in order to negotiate a marriage settlement between Prince Edward of England and Princess Isabella of France. Amaury Craon just happens to be a member of said delegation, and it soon becomes obvious that Lord Henry has some kind of hold over Craon. Ashdown Forest seems to be full of people that hate Lord Henry, and it isn't too long before he is shot dead by an arrow to the chest.

The king send Corbett to investigate Lord Henry's murder. Edward 1 couldn't really care less who killed Lord Henry but he is anxious to know why the French specifically requested that Lord Henry be part of the marriage negotiations. Could Lord Henry be in France's pocket? And could the French have killed him because he was a liability? If Corbett can find proof of France's guilt, then the marriage treaty and the uneasy peace between France and England will be rescinded, and Edward 1 really and truly wants for the marriage treaty to come to nothing!

Which one of the many people that hated Lord Henry killed him? Who is the mysterious Owlman and why does he hate Lord Henry? Is the murder of the young woman that the Owlman found somehow tied to that of Lord Henry's, and if so how? And where and how does Craon figure into everything? Corbett has much to delve into, as he tries to unravel the many skeins that tie this mystery together. This is a well written and tautly crafted mystery novel, full of twist and turns and red herrings that is sure to keep the avid mystery reader totally engrossed. And Paul Doherty has also filled the novel with enough historical deatail to give the reader a glimpse of life in 14th century England, and another perspective of the political goings on of the time. The Hugh Corbett medieval mystery novels by Paul Doherty is one of the better historical mystery series around, and this latest installment in the series, "The Demon Archer" lives up to the expecations raised in the previous novels. A thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing book.