To Kill or Cure: The Thirteenth Chronicle Of Matthew Bartholomew (The Chronicles of Matthew Bartholomew)

in 1356, On A Bitter Winter Evening, Matthew Bartholomew And Brother Michael Arrive In Lincoln—michael To Accept An Honor From The Cathedral, And Bartholomew To Look For The Woman He Wants To Wed. It Is Not Long Before They Learn That The Friary In Which They Are Staying Is Not The Safe Haven They Imagine—one Guest Has Already Been Murdered. It Emerges That The Dead Man Was Holding The Hugh Chalice, A Lincoln Relic With A Curiously Bloody History. Bartholomew And Michael Are Soon Drawn Into A Web Of Murder, Lies, And Intrigue In A City Where Neither Knows Who Can Be Trusted. kirkus Reviews gregory's 12th Reveals Skullduggery In Lincoln, A Once-powerful City In Crisis In 1356. Physician Matthew Bartholomew, Accompanied By His Book-bearer Cynric, Is In Search Of His Lost Love Matilde. His Friend Brother Michael Is To Be Installed As A Cathedral Canon. On Arriving, They Discover Two Factions Viciously Battling For Power As A String Of Unexplained Deaths Grows Longer By The Day. Michael's Reputation As A Detective (the Mark Of A Murderer, 2005, Etc.) Has Preceded Him, And The Bishop Asks Him To Investigate. Twenty Years Ago, The Hugh Chalice, A Holy Relic, Was Stolen. Now It Has Reappeared. One Of The Warring Factions Is A Group Of Villains Involved In The Original Theft But Cleared By A Bribed Cambridge Jury. The Clergy Of Lincoln Are A Licentious Group, And Even Michael Seems To Succumb To The Wiles Of The Beautiful Widow Christiana, Who Assists The Revered Dame Eleanor While Waiting To See If The King Finds Her A Husband To Her Liking. Matthew Has No Luck Learning The Whereabouts Of Matilde From The Wealthy Merchant Who Had Once Asked For Her Hand, But Each Day The Cambridge Group Becomes More Mired In Local Hostilities, And They Barely Escape Several Attacks On Their Lives. The Crimes Of The Past Help To Reveal The Truth In A Bloody Ending. Beneath The Verbiage Lurks A Rather Mundane Mystery. For Dedicated Medievalists Only.

The grim days of Cromwell are past. Freed from the structures of the Protectorate, London seethes with new energy, but many of its citizens have lost their livelihoods. One is Thomas Chaloner, a reluctant spy for the feared Secretary of State, John Thurloe. His erstwhile employer recommends Thomas to Lord Clarendon, but in return demands that Thomas keep him informed of any plot against him. But what Thomas discovers is that Thurloe had sent another ex-employee to White Hall—and he is dead, purportedly murdered by footpads near the Thames. Thomas volunteers to investigate his killing, but instead he is dispatched to the Tower to unearth the gold buried by the last Governor. There, he discovers not treasure, but evidence that, whomever is in power, greed and self-interest are uppermost in men's minds. And that his own life has no value to either side.

Publishers Weekly

At the start of this rapidly paced if sometimes confusing first in a new historical series from Gregory (A Deadly Brew), ex-government spy Thomas Chaloner returns from a mission in Holland after Charles II takes the throne in 1660. When spymaster John Thurloe's post-boy, Charles Stewart, is abruptly slain, Chaloner, hoping to impress his former boss, chases the lad's killers through London's raunchiest slums, eventually landing in White Hall, where the king is holding his annual "Touching Ceremony" to heal the sick. Amid England's worsening relations with Holland, Chaloner's Dutch girlfriend, Metje, incriminates him, and he finds himself at an "important crossroads," with options of spying for the king, hunting rumored treasure buried in the Tower or returning home to Buckinghamshire to live quietly. Some obvious clues and implausible coincidences make the resolution of his many challenges less than satisfying in this overly complicated mix of history, suspense and romance. (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

For the twentieth anniversary of the start of the Matthew Bartholomew series, Sphere is delighted to reissue all of the medieval monk's cases with beautiful new series-style covers. ------------------------------------ The winter of 1353 has been appallingly wet, there is a fever outbreak amongst the poorer townspeople and the country is not yet fully recovered from the aftermath of the plague. The increasing reputation and wealth of the Cambridge colleges are causing dangerous tensions between the town, Church and University. Matthew Bartholomew is called to look into the deaths of three members of the University of who died from drinking poisoned wine, and soon he stumbles upon criminal activities that implicate his relatives, friends and colleagues - so he must solve the case before matters in the town get out of hand... In the year 1357, Cambridge University is in dire financial straits: the town's landlords are demanding an extortionate rent rise for the students' hostels and the plague years have left the colleges with scant resources. Tension between town and gown is at boiling point and soon explodes into violence and death. Into this maelstrom comes a charismatic physician whose healing methods owe more to magic than medicine - but his success threatens Matthew Bartholomew's professional reputation, and his life ... The dour days of Cromwell are over. Charles II is well established at White Hall Palace, his mistress at hand in rooms over the Holbein bridge, the heads of some of the regicides on public display. London seethes with new energy, freed from the strictures of the Protectorate, but many of its inhabitants have lost their livelihoods. One is Thomas Chaloner, a reluctant spy for the feared Secretary of State, John Thurloe, and now returned from Holland in desperate need of employment. His erstwhile boss, knowing he has many enemies at court, recommends Thomas to Lord Clarendon, but in return demands that Thomas keep him informed of any plot against him. But what Thomas discovers is that Thurloe had sent another ex-employee to White Hall and he is dead, supposedly murdered by footpads near the Thames. Chaloner volunteers to investigate his killing: instead he is despatched to the Tower to unearth the gold buried by the last Governor. He discovers not treasure, but evidence that greed and self-interest are uppermost in men's minds whoever is in power, and that his life has no value to either side. The year is 1662 and London is in the middle of the Restoration. Thomas Chaloner, a British citizen, has been a spy for the government for the past ten years, living abroad. He has returned home and hopes to continue to work for the crown. However, things have changed in his absence and many mysteries and dangers await him Matthew Bartholomew and his book bearer, Cynric, accompany Brother Michael to the cathedral city of Lincoln for Michael's installment as canon. Matthew hopes to locate Matilde, the woman he desperately wants to marry, but instead they are drawn into a murder investigation involving a religious relic