⇒ [PDF] By Murder Bright Light Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan Paul Doherty Paul Harding 9780747244615 Books

By Murder Bright Light Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan Paul Doherty Paul Harding 9780747244615 Books

Download As PDF : By Murder Bright Light Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan Paul Doherty Paul Harding 9780747244615 Books

By Murder Bright Light Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan Paul Doherty Paul Harding 9780747244615 Books

I really enjoy Paul Doherty or P.C. Doherty's medieval mysteries. He manages to capture the time as it mostly likely was and uses the same main characters so that you learn more and more of them and their times with each book in the series. I get lost in his world and that to me is the mark of a great book and writer.


Tags : By Murder's Bright Light (Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan) [Paul Doherty, Paul Harding] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div><P style= MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt >It is the winter of 1379 and a sea of trouble is besetting England as French privateers continue to attack the southern coast on a path to threaten London itself. In response an English flotilla of warships,Paul Doherty, Paul Harding,By Murder's Bright Light (Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan),Headline Book Publishing,0747244618,Mystery & Detective - Historical,Crime & mystery,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Fiction Mystery & Detective Historical,Historical fiction,MysterySuspense

By Murder Bright Light Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan Paul Doherty Paul Harding 9780747244615 Books Reviews

It's no riddle as to whether the seventh--and possibly final--episode of Paul Harding's "The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan" is an exciting read or not. It is!

In "The Assassin's Riddle," Harding continues the escapades, adventures, and good deeds of Brother Athelstan, the Dominican friar of St. Erconwald's parish in Southwark in fourteenth century London. Harding forwards his usual cast of characters in this medieval mystery and, once again, we find them abroil in yet another set of mysteries.

Someone is killing off the clerks at the Chancery of the Green Wax; someone has stolen a fortune in silver from the Crown, committing murder at the same time; there has appeared a holy mystery at the church a crucifix that bleeds; and the Bishop is thinking of transferring Athelstan to Oxford. And who is better suited to solve these mysteries than Brother Athelstan, parish priest and secretarius to Sir John Cranston, the King's Coroner for the City of London! Naturally, pressure is applied from the Crown, in the form of the Regent, John of Gaunt, to have the killings stopped and (most important to John) to get the silver back.

These murders are always accompanied by a riddle, the solution of which, as the good friar knows, will reveal the murderer.... The relationship between Athelstan, who loves riddles and other cerebral conundrums, is the alter ego of Sir John, whom Harding describes as a man who loves "his wife, his twin sons, his dogs, and especially this gentle friar with the sharp brain and dry sense of humor." As Cranston tells his wife, "I can number my friends on one hand and still have enough fingers left to make a rude gesture at the Regent. Athelstan's my friend." And it is this relationship that is one of the major attributes of Harding's series.

As in the previous two books, there is a question as to whether Athelstan will stay at St. Erconwald's (for one, he is immensely popular with his parishioners, and both the Bishop and the Regent fear this popularity; for another, the Bishop feels his brilliance would be better served lecturing to the students at Oxford). Another strong point of Harding's writing is the authentic description of the times, from the grime and refuse of the city's streets to its inhuman treatment of its poor and criminals to addressing health problems of the time, particularly the plague. He also scores points with his sensitivity of character construction Benedicta the widow, Ursula the pig woman and her pet sow, the Fisher of Men, and Athelstan's devoted horse Philomel and cat Bonaventure. The author does not hesitate to put forth the goodness in Athelstan, who has the ability to see goodness in others, often in the least expected places.

"The Assassin's Riddle" may well be the last of this series (one hopes not), but it is not a puzzle that goes unsolved. It's a quick read--as is the entire series-- but it is not a puzzle that goes unsolved. It's well worth the little effort it takes to read it.
I am glad I ordered it! Good background for me.
love the series and author
enjoy series
While written under the name of Paul T. Harding, actual Author is the Great Historic Mystery Author Paul Doherty. All of his written work are worth both your time and $$$.
Brother Athelstan-what more can be said? Great
Another enjoyable mystery set in medieval England. What happened to the three men set to watch the warship in the Thames? Who will play God in mystery play at Brother Athelstan's church - a clever solution is proposed.
I really enjoy Paul Doherty or P.C. Doherty's medieval mysteries. He manages to capture the time as it mostly likely was and uses the same main characters so that you learn more and more of them and their times with each book in the series. I get lost in his world and that to me is the mark of a great book and writer.