Murders Snare is book 23 of the Brother Athelstan Mysteries. Set in London in 1382, Doherty has created yet another cracking medieval murder mystery.

Whilst part of a series, there's no requirement to have read the other books, though the characters are recurring. There's a lovely familiarity that you develop not just with the protagonists - Athelstan and the Coroner Cranston - but the side characters, mainly Athelstan's parishioners. Something happens and you think, ooo it's just like x to be involved in that! Like a tv series I guess.

I digress. It's astounding how Doherty comes up with these complex mysteries that have you guessing at every turn; even if you think you've correctly figured something out there'll be a twist down the way. The plot, the characters, the feel and atmosphere of the book - are fantastic. Whilst fiction, these are set in London with the very real John of Gaunt in the background and the research for the period is obvious.

I'd highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction/ murder mysteries.

Murder's Snare by Paul Doherty is a clever and atmospheric historical mystery that keeps readers guessing until the very end. Doherty's meticulous attention to historical detail immerses you in the time period, while the intricate plot is full of twists and turns. The protagonist is sharp and compelling, adding depth to the unfolding investigation. While the pacing occasionally slows due to the rich descriptions, the payoff is worth it. A highly engaging read for fans of historical mysteries with complex puzzles and vivid settings.

This is a very enjoyable series, set in medieval England with Cranston, the characterful coroner and his faithful aide, Athelstan the friar, along with his motley crew of parishioners. This story revolves around some dreadful events that happened years ago during the wars with France, with the perpetrators being suddenly brought to justice in a very gruesome manner.

Athelstan is determined to work out who is responsible for the murders and why they are happening at this point. The result is an interesting and detailed plot with great historical accuracy and some lovely characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder and justice!

Brother Athelstan and Sir John Cranston, Lord High Coroner of London have a truly horrific problem to solve. In 1358 Free Companies were formed by English lords who ravaged their way across Normandy unchecked, pillaging, robbing and killing all before them, including women and children. Now some thirty years later those same lords are being dealt with, in appalling and horrific circumstances.
The French government has sent a diplomatic party to claim justice against one company, the Via Crucis, but someone is beating them to it.
It’s the Feast of the Epiphany and masques are to be held at Athelstan’s parish of St Erconwald’s in Southwark. Later King Richard is viewing a masque performed by the men and women who’d been children taken from Normandy to England at those times of the Free Companies rampage.
Brother Athelstan has his hands full governing his unruly flock. He’s frequently attending to them at what he calls his second parish church, The Piebald Tavern.
The horrendous deaths of so many lords is puzzling and frightening. The little friar and Sir John are looking for murderers and traitors at every turn.
Another fascinating, yet awful look at the times. Athelstan’s prodigious ability to discern the truth just may save the day. Mind you he’s at risk as death stalks him just as vigorously as it does the Via Crucis.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

1382 The killings have started and all seem to be connected to Via Crucis, 'The Way of the Cross', the free company that ravaged through France in 1358. But why now and there seems to be more than one mystery to solve. Brother Athelstan and Lord High Coroner of London Sir John Cranston investigate.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent read. It read like the events happened yesterday not centuries ago. I was transported to the time and place,the sights,the smells,the blood,the taste of fear,I was totally immersed in the story. Like a silent watcher I was there as the proceedings unfolded,so vividly descriptive with a nail biting finish. I cannot praise it enough, loved it!

The Murder’s Snare by Paul Doherty, the 23rd novel in The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan series, which takes you to London in 1382, during Richard II’s turbulent reign. Brother Athelstan is summoned to unravel a series of brutal killings marked with the message “Justitia Fiat – let there be justice.” With the victims—all former members of Via Crucis—Athelstan and Coroner Sir John Cranston face a dark puzzle that could shape the fate of the entire nation.

Doherty meticulously recreates medieval London, vividly capturing its gritty realism and gruesome details. Brother Athelstan, a compassionate and thoughtful friar, and the boisterous Sir John Cranston form a compelling partnership, balancing empathy and tenacity to solve these murders that delve into faith, justice, and resilience. The immersive atmosphere and locked-room intrigue make this story hard to put down—a brilliant addition to an exceptional mystery series.

My thanks to both NetGalley and Severn House for a free eBook and an honest opinion.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Paul Doherty for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder's Snare coming out December 3, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I didn’t realize there were so many books in the series. I definitely would like to go back and read the others. I really love this time period and setting. I found the book well researched. I love the details to historical facts. I think there were several mysteries involved. I would definitely check out more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries!

I thank NetGalley and Severn House for an advance reader copy of “Murder’s Snare.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Someone is killing the men who committed terrible crimes as they pillaged across France during the Hundred Years’ War. “Let justice be done,” says the note attached to their severed heads. Well, Sir John Cranston, Coroner and Brother Athelstan, his wily secretarius, obviously need to find the culprits, and a long and (rather) convoluted case it is, in “Murder’s Snare,” the twentieth in the series devoted to the two compatriots who uncover crimes in the environs in and around Cheapside, a bustling market center of London.

Are the French involved? It’s possible. The war isn’t quite over, and they are seeking reparations, including human ones. And is there more than just revenge for war crimes involved? It’s all told in Paul Doherty’s inimitable style, with plenty of suspects, and background, and setting -- including the sound and fury of sinister London. And as a bonus readers learn more about the background of the Fisher of Men.

And of course, there’s always a story (or two) about the parishioners of St. Erconwald’s. Can’t have a book without finding out what those upstanding -- or not -- citizens are doing.

Brother Athelstan realizes that revenge takes many forms, and Sir John has need of the miraculous wineskin as horrible deeds of the past inspire retribution in some -- and for another, an age-old motive for murder proves expedient, and almost fatal for one of our most precious participants. For all, justice is swift, and irreversible.

And as “Murder’s Snare” finishes, Cranston and Athelstan have some unguarded conversation that may rebound on them. Readers will just have to wait and see in the next installment. Highly recommended, and anticipated.

The Brother Athelstan series is the polar opposite of cozy mysteries, but I’ve devoured every single book in it (some even more than once—history major here!). Gruesome and graphic, yet meticulously researched and brimming with fully developed characters, this series immerses you in the gritty world of late 14th-century England.

In Murder’s Snare, the story traces back to the early battles of the 100 Years’ War with France, where a company of soldiers committed what we’d now call war crimes—and returned to England as rich men. But someone is making them pay, one horrific death at a time. It’s up to Brother Athelstan and London Coroner Sir John Cranston to unravel the mystery.

As always, though, the real star is the atmospheric world Paul Doherty creates. The mystery is almost secondary to the vivid, visceral journey into medieval England.

An intriguing, gruesome tale based on greed and revenge. Full of suspense, with a well
crafted, original plot, this book is a real page turner. I can still smell the Thames.

Murder's Snare is one of those mysteries that's actually multiple mysteries so, which solutions keep appearing at points in the book, *the* solution doesn't arrive until the end. Sometimes this frustrates, but in the case of Murder's Snare, I found it deeply enjoyable. Hovering on that knowing.not knowing brink can be an entertaining place for a reader to spend some time.

Let me backtrack for a moment to say a bit about the Brother Athelstan mysteries. Brother Athelstan is the long-suffering, mostly good-natured priest for St. Erconwald's, a church is one of the less salubrious neighborhoods of 14th Century London. Much of his parish live "mostly legal" lives, while moving into the occasional illegal activity when risk seems low and reward likely. Athelstan serves as secretarius to coroner Sir John Cranston, so he often finds himself helping in criminal investigations, which sometimes involve members of Athelstan's parish.

The first victim in Murder's Snare is a tax collector (and that's never been a popular sort) who is stabbed and left dead inside a locked room in an Inn close by St. Erconwald's. The issue isn't who might want to kill him, but how to narrow down the generous list of suspects. And, of course, how did the victim wind up alone in that locked room?

That murder is followed by the killing of a former member of the Via Crucis—an English "free company" that made its members wealthy by running riot during the 100 years' war, murdering, torturing, and assaulting at will, seizing and riches they came across. The members of Via Crucis are now living in England, enjoying the wealth they brutally gathered.

This first killing of a Via Crucis member is essentially an execution. The victim's household is gathered to see him quickly beheaded by a group of unidentified attackers who first announce the crimes he committed in France. There's another similar killing. But then, other members of the Via Crucis are being killed in much more unusual and vicious ways.

Is the same group behind all the killings or are two different groups/assailants involved? Are the killings connected to the members of the "Society of Babylon," French children who were orphaned during the war, then taken to England and raised there?

Murder's Snare is one of my favorite recent Brother Athelstan volumes. The multiple intersecting plot lines provide alternating moments of reward and frustration, the cast of characters is broad, and, as always, St. Erconwald's parishioners seem to be involved, but to what extent.

This is a series that is probably best read in order, but if you're good at picking up contextual information, you can begin with whichever volume you want. You'll be in for an engaging time with a wide cast of characters.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

The twenty-third Brother Athelstan mystery. When I did a post about my favourite sleuths, Athelstan was an easy pick as I love the complexity of the character. A man of religion but also a man of his time and place. Far from a certain herb-picking monk, this friar navigates the paths of fourteenth century London with all of its darkness, a time when many crimes were punished with death. It would be so easy for a writer of such a character to impose twenty-first century views onto the character but while Athelstan still comes across as a sympathetic character and, most importantly, a real one.
And that’s a feeling that pervades the very best historical mysteries. The feeling that this is all playing out like it would in the time it is set. The best writers do it so well – Michael Jecks, L C Tyler, Douglas Skelton, to name but three – but the benchmark that everyone needs to be compared to is Paul Doherty. This is fabulous escapism, even if you’re escaping to a place that you wouldn’t want to actually go to.
There is so much going on this book and yet it never seems confusing. The murder of the tax collector is, I should say, while a minor aspect of the story, it’s also one of the best locked rooms that I’ve seen for a good while, with a lovely solution. The murders of the Via Crucis do have a couple of locked-ish rooms as well, but they are a lot more straightforward and not really relevant to the plot. Or plots. Yes, plots is the right word.
Oh, and there’s a cracking sting in the tale that looks like it might be leading to something important. It’s been hinted at before, but it’s starting to look like Richard II might have had a point when he… well, that’s probably a little spoilery. I do wonder if a certain person is going to show his face at some point though, although we’re a few years from when that kicks off.
All in all, one of the best entries in one of my favourite series. Just what I needed.

I’ve never read any of Paul Doherty’s previous novels. I found this a little slow and difficult to get into.