The devil's domain : the sorrowful mysteries of Brother Athelstan. bk. 8

In the summer of 1380 a French captain is murdered in Hawkmere Manor - a lonely, gloomy dwelling place, otherwise known as the 'Devil's Domain', which is used by Regent John of Gaunt to house French prisoners captured during the bloody battles waged between the French and the English on the Narrow Seas. Sir John Cranston and Brother Athelstan are summoned to investigate the mysterious death but their path is riddled with obstacles. How could the murderer have entered the Frenchman's chamber when the room was locked from within? Their aide, Sir Maurice Maltravers, is more of a hindrance than a help, as he faces the misery of heartbreak. Lady Angelica, the woman he intended to marry, has been whisked away to a convent by her tyrannical and disapproving father. It soon becomes apparent that only when the lovers are reunited will any progress be made in the murder investigation... Matthias Fitzosbert, illegitimate son of a parish priest, has a unique relationship with Rosifer, the fallen angelthe spirit he loves yet hates, strives to placate yet ultimately must flee. The story of Matthias is played out against the vivid panorama of the Middle Agesthe fall of Constantinople; the last throes of the Wars of the Roses; the terror of witchcraft; the loneliness of the Scottish marches; the battlefields of Spain; and finally, the lush jungles of the Caribbean, where the Rose Demon and Matthias meet for a final deadly confrontation. In the summer of 1380 at Hawkmere Manor, also known as the "Devil's Domain", a Frenchman lies dying - poisoned. He is one of five prisoners held by the Regent John of Gaunt. Sir John Cranston and Brother Athelstan are summoned to investigate the death in the hope of averting French retaliation. As King Edward I arrives in York for a secret meeting with the leaders of the military Order of the Temple, an attempt is made on his life. The would-be assassin is later found dead, engulfed by a mysterious fire and wearing the Templar Order livery. Hugh Corbett is called on to investigate. Kriminalroman. Broder Athelstan tilkaldes for at undersøge et mord på Hawkmore Manor, djævelens hjemsted, sommeren 1380 In the ninth Hugh Corbett mystery, strange fires and gruesome murders test his investigative ingenuity to the full The eighth gripping book in Paul Doherty's superb Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan series An epic, spine-chilling story of terror, mystery and black magic set in the Middle Ages