Bloodstone: Being the Eleventh of the Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan

Set in 1380, Doherty’s solid 11th mystery featuring Brother Athelstan (after 2003’s The House of Shadows) opens with the poisoning death of Sir Robert Kilverby, a retired merchant, who’s found in a locked room of his London mansion with no obvious way for the fatal substance to have been administered. Kilverby is but the first victim of a vicious killer, who appears to be targeting members of the Wyvern Company, a group of master bowmen who stole “a precious bloodstone,” the Passio Christi, believed to have been formed from drops of Christ’s blood. The case is a natural for Athelstan, who’s been distracted from spiritual pursuits in the past by his fascination with nabbing murderers, and may have political implications for England and its boy king ruler. This is a better-than-average whodunit, even if it’s not up to the standard of Doherty’s best work. (Apr.)