A Vein of Deceit [Hardcover]

This book has it all and in spades. As is usual for Matthew Barholomew books, there is a lot of death and the corpses keep piling up while Brogher Michael and Matt try to unravel the whole list of bad things that are going on in Cambridge. The setting is fall 1357 and it all begins when a set of cherished chalices are stolen from Michaelhouse. The College is going through a very bad patch because of lack of money, and when Matt and Michael try to find out what is happening, the corpses start coming. The deaths seem to be unrelated at first, but then as the threads come together, Matt and Michael decide they need to go to Sussex to find out what is happening. Everything appears to be linked to Sussex and to the strange people that they meet there. Matt and Michael find there lives are in danger numerous times, and they begin to feel that there is no one that they can trust. I have been reading and loving Susanna Gregory's Matthew Bartholomew series since her first book came out. This is 15 book in this much beloved series. If you are a fan of medeival who-dun-its, then I highly recommend this series. The characters are believable and likeable, the plots are exciting and it's all based on true historical happenings and actual historical people. What more could you ask for?

Gregory's latest 14th century mystery has us leaving the comfort of Michaelhouse and Cambridge to head into murky Suffolk and to a pair of feuding villages to uncover the twisted economic plotting that surround the mysterious death of Wynewyk. A classic Bartholomew case where three seemingly unlinked deaths (Carbo, Joan and Wynewyk) gradually coalesce around the pursuit of coal, pigs and wood. Throw in a couple of unsavoury characters, Goss and his seemingly inhuman sister Odoma, with a healthy mix of three grumbling new students for Bartholomew - Risleye, Valence and Tesdale - and you get another cracking mystery. King's College apparent guilt in the entire matter (Paxtone leading the way this time) adds extra spice.
The author's decision to take us out of Cambridge for a while is as much a breath of fresh air as when we traipsed up to Ely in "A Summer of Discontent". It gives us a greater chance to observe the perfect matching of the big-boned senior proctor and his Corpse Examiner as we realise in this outing Matthew is quite capable of serious character misjudgement. Facts he is good at, understanding people he is not. A fact driven home by the reappearance of his beloved Mathilde and his obstinate clinging to notion that everyone is incapable of immoral judgement - an odd trait for a sleuth.
The list of deaths take us to confront Wynewk's shady business partners who are all embroiled with Kings College over the inheritance of a manor and its land. All three own up to their economic mis-dealings pretty swiftly after Michael and Matthew are forced to take undignified cover in a ditch whilst being shot at with arrows. Still, the threads eventually come, Matthew is reluctantly forced to accept what is glaringly obvious as more of the village-folk start moving to meet their Maker and - in what is becoming fairly consistent as the denouement for Gregory - we end up with the traditional fights as the cornered murderers try to bring their nefarious plotting to a spectacular end. I admit I do like the character of Isnard. The rough, overly superstitious bargeman who cheerfully spouts utter nonsense to Matthew's eternal dismay is highly amusing. With Cynric's watchful, yet equally superstitious bumbling, the pair make a fine sideshow. I also liked that Gregory has Wynewyk dying for his own personal 30 marks of silver. Oblique but erudite and encapsulates the depths of skills the author possesses.
Gregory (or Cruwys as the author is really known) is one of the finest medieval murder mystery authors writing today. Erudite, with an eye for detail, a marvellous sense of creeping problem solving, empathetic characterisation and labyrinthine plots, my eyes always light up when the next Bartholomew or Chaloner hits the shelves. A must read to any fan of the genre to be frank. I hope the series continues a good long while even if to see Matthew and Mathilde united at last!

The mystery keeps the reader reading into the midnight hours (at least it kept this reader up til then). This series has been consistently good. This book is Gregory at her top form.

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