Anticipation

The corpse was on its back, eyes fixed sightlessly on the sky above, arms flung out to the sides and legs dangling in the river. It was a youth with fair curls, a shabby tunic that had once been stylish, and ink on his fingers. It was a wicked shame, thought Matthew Bartholomew, physician and Doctor of Medicine at the College of Michaelhouse, that his life had been cut so brutally short.

'You can see why I called you,' said Richard Tulyet. He was Cambridge's Sheriff, a slightly built man, whose wispy beard and boyish looks led criminals to underestimate him; they never made the same mistake twice. 'His clothes and the stains on his hands ...'

'You think he is a scholar,' surmised Brother Michael. As Senior Proctor, it was his duty to determine whether the dead boy was a member of the University, and if so, to investigate what had happened. 'I do not recognise him.'

'I do,' said Bartholomew. 'His name is Adam, and he scribes for the University stationer.'

Michael shuddered. 'His throat has been cut from ear to ear.'

Tulyet turned away from the corpse. 'He is the third person to have been found with a slashed throat near the river over the last eight weeks or so.'

*

I doubt that anyone is quite as excited as I am about the release of the latest Matthew Bartholomew Chronicle written by Susanna Gregory, Murder by the Book.

Though admittedly after eighteen books a well versed reader can detect patterns and repetitions, I love these books so unreservedly that the repetitions are like old friends. I would feel distraught if the weather was not unseasonable or Brother Michael’s rich baritone was not appreciated in a passing comment.

St Michael's Church in Cambridge a regular setting for the Michaelhouse scholars.

St Mary's Abbey in York where Bartholomew and Michael stayed during Mystery in the Minster.

Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire where Bartholomew admired the architectural feat of the Octagon Tower in A Summer of Discontent.

When I think about the type of book I would wish to write, and the characters whom I would take on impossible journeys, I imagine something a little like these books. But until the time that my abilities match my enthusiasm I will be content with settling down with Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael for another adventure in medieval Cambridge. That is at least as soon as the post arrives.