The Wolves of Savernake by Edward Marston

Description:

The murder of a wealthy miller beckons two of King William the Conqueror's cleverest men to the town of Bedwyn to uncover dark secrets and find a two-legged killer more savage than any beast.

### From Publishers Weekly

Marston, whose previous mystery series features an Elizabethan theatrical troop, launches a medieval series with a servicably plotted tale set in 11th-century England after the Norman Conquest. Two of William the Conquerer's officials ride through Savernake Forest near Stonehenge with the aim of assessing the charter and holdings of Bedwyn Abbey for taxation. Tough Norman horseman Ralph Delchard, who fought at Hastings, is accompanied by young Chancery clerk Gervase Bret. In the woods, they find the corpse of the disliked miller Alric, his throat apparently torn out by a wolf. While four-footed predators are hunted in vain, a frenzied posse threatens to hack down an aged healer, Emma, the Witch of Crofton, and her dog. After a second identical murder, the sleuths are aided by the miller's widow and a beautiful young townswoman in whom Gervase takes an interest, spurred on by Ralph's seduction of a burger's wife. The wily monks of Bedwyn hamper an inquiry that might link the grisly deaths to their suspect charter. Period details and colorful venues, e.g., a subterranean mint run by a dwarf, help to make up for Marton's stodgy characterization.

### From Booklist

The author of a series of bawdy theatrical whodunits set in the Elizabethan era now turns both his attention and his pen to a previous period. Marston revisits the England of William the Conqueror, forging a splendid historical mystery populated with plenty of self-righteous Normans and a host of resentful Saxons. When William authorizes a nationwide reassessment in 1086, Ralph Delchard, a lecherous Norman lord, and Gervase Bret, an intelligent and youthful Chancery clerk of Saxon origins, journey to the picturesque village of Bedwyn in order to settle a disquieting property dispute. After a successful merchant apparently falls prey to a vicious attack by a wolf, Ralph and Gervase uncover an all-too-human motive for murder. During the course of their investigation, the two friends and trusted colleagues unravel a cunning forgery and counterfeiting scheme that leads them indirectly to the local abbey. An artful and evocative adventure steeped in the local humor, lore, and legend of eleventh-century England. *Margaret Flanagan*

Category:Traditional Detective Mysteries, Historical Mysteries, Murder

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