HANGMAN BLIND

A medieval nun seeks justice for the poor and noble alike.

As Sister Hildegard strikes out across rain-sodden Yorkshire in November of 1382, she searches for some small abbey where she and a few other women can tend the poor and she may grieve her lost husband. Instead, she finds six dead men in the woods—five hanged outlaws and one wayward youth. Lord Roger de Hutton might have tracked down the killers, but he’s poisoned in his own feasting hall and saved only by Hildegard’s herbs. To flush out the would-be murderer, Hildegard and Roger’s Saxon steward Ulf help the lord play dead while they investigate both the stirrings of rebellion among the villeins and craftsmen and the intrigue among the lord’s possible heirs. They’re accompanied by Burthred, an observant young serf with a way with animals, and aided by the suspiciously charismatic Abbot of Meaux. While a few elements of the mystery are obvious, its complexities will resist most readers until the end.

Deeply embedded in the historical events of the period, this is a rich tapestry; even the small figures are finely detailed and carefully situated in a dazzling array of events. An intriguing and evocative debut.