Those Who Go by Night

Set in England in 1324, Gaddes’s excellent debut focuses on a turf war between rival church factions, each with a stake in solving the murder of a beggar found draped across a church altar as if he were a pagan sacrifice in the village of Bottesford. At the insistence of the worldly Bishop of Lincoln, Thomas Lester, the talented son of a disgraced Templar knight, travels to Bottesford to investigate. Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a stalwart supporter of the pope, dispatches Father Justus, a Dominican friar, to conduct a separate inquiry. Thomas clashes with Justus, who’s keen to uncover heretics in the village, and other cunning, often depraved opponents. Fortunately, Thomas discovers an ally in Alice Kyteler, a real-life “witch” of the period, who’s not afraid to challenge church orthodoxy. The tension builds steadily, with plot twists coming thick and fast toward the end. Despite some graphic violence and the occasional jarring use of a modern word like uptight, fans of historical mysteries will find this a highly satisfying page-turner. Agent: Mitchell Waters, Curtis Brown. (Nov.)