Customer Reviews

The Nightingale Gallery: Being the First of the Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan

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This is the first book in the Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan series. This novel combined with the early books in the Hugh Corbett series is one of Paul Doherty's earlier offerings and he has since written many more books and is now an established author of medieval novels and has also added a number of novels on Egypt to his ever growing list of titles. Having said that it is one of his earlier offerings does not mean that it is inferior to his current books, quite the opposite. The Hugh Corbett mysteries were and are extremely popular and Paul Doherty has found another winner with the Brother Athelstan series.

This book brings together an unlikely pair of medieval detectives in Brother Athelstan, a friar at one of the many impoverished churches in London and coroner Sir John Cranston. They are called upon to inquire into the death of a powerful London merchant. The man has been poisoned and their inquires bring the pair into contact not only with secretive nobles crafty priests and the assorted dregs of London's gutters.

The book is set in 1376, at a time when the English crown is in the hands of a young boy, the future Richard II.

Very well written and enjoyable to read. It contained a lot of actual history and a lot of humor. Right up there with Brother Cadfel.