FINISHED READING - A Plague On Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory

Matthew Bartholomew is a doctor in a Cambridge college, Michealhouse. There are, as ever, a lot of tensions and competitiveness between academics, students, colleges, between town and gown. This is the 13th Century, and the growing rivalry  of Cambridge with Oxford is also in the air. There is a rumour going round that infiltrators from Oxford are trying to undermine and bring down their competitors in Cambridge"s burgeoning colleges.

Sir John Beddington, the college principle  is found dead, at first its thought he 's committed suicide, but Matthew realises it was murder. Looking back there have been a series of mysterious deaths. On the surface they look uncontroversial. Closer examination shows something is not quite right about them. Then an elderly monk Augustus, who'd previously warned about something nefarious going on, is found brutally murdered. And then his dead body goes missing. What is going on here?

Set with great detail and realism in the 13th century - A Plague On Both Your Houses, opens in the weeks leading up toThe Great Plague spreading to Cambridge. Gradually as it draws nearer and consumes Matthew's workload, it becomes harder to discern what deaths are due to the disease, and what to homicide.

This is the first of a multi volume series of Medieval detective novels featuring the character Matthew Bartholemew. You can tell Susanne Gregory is still finding her feet here,  her way into the characters, period and style. It's a overwritten in places, one too many sub plots, charaters and red herrings. By its conclusion I was no clearer in my own mind, why the group responsible were doing what they were doing. There are a couple of genuinely surprising plot twists and reveals. A good first novel though, very readable.

CARROT REVIEW - 4/8