The Mysterium: A Hugh Corbett Medieval Mystery

Set in early 14th-century England, Doherty’s 17th whodunit featuring Hugh Corbett, “the Keeper of the King’s Secret Seal,” maintains the high standard of the previous entry, 2011’s Nightshade. Having just helped to quell a riot involving members of rival gangs, Corbett is plunged into one of the most baffling cases of his career. Walter Evesham, former chief justice in the Court of King’s Bench, has had his throat cut in a locked room. Carved on Evesham’s forehead is an M, the mark of a professional killer known as the Mysterium, who terrorized London two decades earlier. The assassin’s murderous career came to an end when Evesham caught him, but he later escaped custody. Corbett can trust almost no one as he pursues his investigation, not even Edward I, whose motivations are less than pure. The author has few peers at concealing fair clues in a historically accurate background. Agent: David H. Headley, D H H Literary Agency. (May)