In “By Murder's Bright Light,” Paul Harding (a nom de plume of Paul Doherty) presents
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us with his fifth installment of the Brother Athelstan series. In this episode, we find a
seemingly unsolvable murder aboard one of his majesty's ships, "God's Bright Light." The
captain has been poisoned and three crew members have disappeared, believed to have
been murdered. As it turns out, the captain is part of a conspiracy to steal a large shipment
of silver that belongs to the king and the intrigue includes the involvement of spies,
members of the "underworld," the ship's crew, and the captain's widow. All combine to
give this erstwhile Dominican friar an intellectual puzzle, fit for a king. When the King's
Coroner Sir John Cranston comes to Athelstan for help, he cannot resist. This is a puzzle
he can't refuse. Harding involves the whole St. Erconwald parish, and readers will once
again welcome their involvement (they are like “family”!).
The review of this Book prepared by Bill Hobbs