Monday, February 2, 2015

{Kregel Blog Tour} The Abbot's Agreement (The Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon #7) by Mel Starr

Book Description:  My life would have been more tranquil in the days after Martinmas had I not seen the crows. Whatever it was that the crows had found lay in the dappled shadow of the bare limbs of the oak, so I was nearly upon the thing before I recognized what the crows were feasting upon. The corpse wore black.Master Hugh is making his way towards Oxford when he discovers the young Benedictine - a fresh body, barefoot - not half a mile from the nearby abbey. The abbey's novice master confirms the boy's identity: John, one of three novices. But he had gone missing four days previously, and his corpse is fresh. There has been plague in the area, but this was not the cause of death: the lad has been stabbed in the back. To Hugh's sinking heart, the abbot has a commission for him . . . 

My Thoughts: The Abbot's Agreement is the seventh book in the Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton and I've read them all!  
This is not my normal reading material.  But every once in awhile I like to read "outside my comfort zone."  
I like the way Mel Starr writes....his writings/stories remind of the way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Sherlock Holmes. Interesting and amusing at times.
There is no high drama, no fast action or political intrigue but oddly enough this is quite an interesting story.  The way they lived in the medieval  Benedictine monastery and the ways the Black Death affected the lives of those so long ago. 
Hugh is on his way to Oxford to buy a Bible, quite a luxury in these days, when he stumbles up on the dead monk whose body has been eaten by crows.   
The Abbot commissions Hugh to solve the murder...his payment will be a Bible.  
Hugh begins his search for the murderer and uncovers more than he bargained for...blasphemy in the monastery and it seems the monks have quite a few sins of the flesh.
An interesting murder mystery and a good read.  {not a read all mystery fans would enjoy, though}.

*This book was provided for review by Kregel Publications*

  • Series: Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon (Book 7)
  • Paperback: 252 pages
  • Publisher: Lion Fiction; 1st New edition edition (October 8, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1782641092
  • ISBN-13: 978-1782641094

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