I do like a mediaeval mystery novel occasionally, and was looking forward to reading this when I discovered it. It wasn’t until I was closing the cover that I realised this was the 17th book in the Hugh Corbett series, making this an ideal novel for those who don’t want to get caught up in yet another long running series.

The characters, both main and minor are written with all the dirt and smell of the middle ages attached to them. So much so, that at times, I almost turned my nose up at some of the imagined odours spilling from the characters in the book. It was almost like ‘scratch and sniff’, the scratch definitely coming from the descriptiveness of the unhygienic place that London was in the 1300’s. As with most historical novels, the dialogue can sometimes become a little bogged down as the Author tries to recreate the speech patterns of the time, and it was no different in this book; it didn’t take anything away from the characters it just had a tendency to slow things down to the point where I felt as if I were trying to walk through one of those filthy streets.

The novel is a classic ‘locked door’ mystery, but with the slow build up and totally unexpected twists and turns in the plot, it didn’t come across as being stale or yet another reworking of a tried and tested plot line. I enjoyed the fact that when I thought I had everything figured out, something would appear that proved me wrong. At times however, I felt that this book was a bit too over descriptive, and this did dilute my enjoyment of it to a certain degree.

Would I read any of the other books in this series? I don’t really know, but I would recommend them to lover of historical mystery novels.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2013/12/24/review-the-mysterium-hugh-corbett-17-paul-...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )

I do like a mediaeval mystery novel occasionally, and was looking forward to reading this when I discovered it. It wasn’t until I was closing the cover that I realised this was the 17th book in the Hugh Corbett series, making this an ideal novel for those who don’t want to get caught up in yet another long running series.

The characters, both main and minor are written with all the dirt and smell of the middle ages attached to them. So much so, that at times, I almost turned my nose up at some of the imagined odours spilling from the characters in the book. It was almost like ‘scratch and sniff’, the scratch definitely coming from the descriptiveness of the unhygienic place that London was in the 1300’s. As with most historical novels, the dialogue can sometimes become a little bogged down as the Author tries to recreate the speech patterns of the time, and it was no different in this book; it didn’t take anything away from the characters it just had a tendency to slow things down to the point where I felt as if I were trying to walk through one of those filthy streets.

The novel is a classic ‘locked door’ mystery, but with the slow build up and totally unexpected twists and turns in the plot, it didn’t come across as being stale or yet another reworking of a tried and tested plot line. I enjoyed the fact that when I thought I had everything figured out, something would appear that proved me wrong. At times however, I felt that this book was a bit too over descriptive, and this did dilute my enjoyment of it to a certain degree.

Would I read any of the other books in this series? I don’t really know, but I would recommend them to lover of historical mystery novels.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2013/12/24/review-the-mysterium-hugh-corbett-17-paul-...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )

I wanted to put this one down but managed to finish it. ( )

I've been following Paul Doherty's medieval mystery series featuring Sir Hugh Corbett for many years now, and his latest novel, The Mysterium is 17th in the series.

Set in London in 1304, Hugh Corbett is engaged by the King to investigate two murders which occur shortly after the fall from power of Walter Evesham, Chief Justice. Evesham himself is soon found slain, and it seems a ghostly assassin is on the hunt with Corbett close behind.

The Mysterium is the name of an assassin who stalked London long ago and many believe he has returned; or is this the work of a new killer?

Doherty is an expert in transporting the reader to medieval London; I was able to experience the smells, sights and sounds as if I was almost there. I definitely felt cold reading this novel too, it seems every character was cold at some point.

This was another great stand alone medieval mystery with Corbett revealing his findings at the end in ordered and thorough detail. Very satisfying for the reader who enjoys finding every loose end tied up. I'd recommend this book to any historical fiction fans, and fans of the crime genre who don't mind going back in time a few hundred years. ( )

Paul Doherty is a writing phenomenon who has been the author of nearly 60 books in 7 series (plus several stand-alones). All this while pursuing a career (or two) as well. It is thus understandable that his work can be somewhat uneven. With 'The Mysterium',a book in the Hugh Corbett series,he seems to be struggling slightly. It is 1304 in the City of London,and a series of killings (what else) take place. They are committed by someone who it appears has died some years ago,but whose trademark,the letter M is cut into the forehead of each victim. Corbett,as Keeper of the King's Secret Seal,investigates.
There is a 'locked room mystery',which is easily explained,and a miraculous escape from an impregnable church,which is again not miraculous at all.
There are a couple of quite exciting set-pieces along the way and overall the story is readable enough with a good ending,but this alone was not enough to save it from being a pot-boiler and therefore easily forgotten. ( )