Review of A COVENANT WITH HELL by Priscilla Royal
(Medieval Mystery #10)

A well-crafted and quite engrossing medieval mystery-thriller, A COVENANT WITH HELL is the tenth in an intriguing series featuring as its twin protagonists the Prioress of a convent on the North Sea Coast of England, and the monk who is her assistant. Prioress Eleanor is the daughter of a Baron, and the younger sister of one of the trusted companions of King Edward. Her monk, Brother Thomas, has a distinctly checkered background (much of it beyond his control) and has served as a Church investigator. Together, they are reputed to be a pair always eager to enquire into various mysteries and suspicious circumstances, and of course they are.

On a quiet pilgrimage to the shrines at Walsingham in advance of the Easter pilgrims, Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas are shocked and dismayed at the sudden unexplained death of one of the nuns at Ryehill Priory, who had been the Prioresses' attendant. Brother Thomas is furious when the Priory's priest, Father Vincent, rails against a young street child and refuses her alms. Then the suspicion becomes clear that the impending potential visit of the King to the Holy Places at Walsingham, as he is preparing to campaign against the Welsh, may place the anointed King in the path of an assassin.

Even for readers whose usual forte is not the Middle Ages, or history, the protagonists will reach out to you and pique your interest. The exquisite characterizations and the developing suspenseful plots (which are multiple) are bound to keep mystery readers enthralled.