St. Oswald's Niche

sp ok Jennet Walker is an aspiring academic in medieval studies when she is offered a chance to work with eminent medievalist p. 7 Dr. Edwin Durrell on an archeological dig in York, England. Soon a priceless silver chest and four chalices, recently unearthed, are stolen. Jennet, who has already been accused of petty thievery by some members of the dig, p. 58 is suspected. But, supported by other fellow academics, she works to clear her name by discovering the real thief; along the way she falls in love and gets conked on the head by the crozier of a ghostly bishop. Unfortunately, portions of this thinly plotted first novel read as turgidly as an academic monograph on medieval ecclesiastic history, with four-page diversions into the conflict between the Cistercian monks and various popes and kings. Further, the beauteous and brilliant Jennet is just too perfect to be believable; virtually every eligible male is panting for her within days of her arrival in York, and she also wins her first academic argument with world-class scholars. (Jan.)