THE HOUR OF THE FOX

The evil machinations in 1399 England are worthy of a particularly harrowing Game of Thrones episode.

Taking advantage of the absence of his cousin King Richard, who’s off in Ireland, Henry of Bolingbroke returns with his allies from exile in France in an attempt to seize the crown for himself. Brother Rodric Chandler, known to look out for Bolingbroke’s interests, is often called upon to question people being tortured in the Tower of London; he's ambivalent about his role and cynical about his lack of faith. One line of questioning leads to French wine importer Sire de Chienne, who flees the country with his family with the help of their neighbor Master Chaucer and their servant girl, Mattie, who fears Chandler yet is fascinated by him and is eventually drawn into his circle. Meanwhile, Sir Arnold Archer, Chandler’s friend and city coroner, asks his help with the murder of a novice from the house at All Hollows whose nude body has been found with its throat slit, floating in the river. The nuns who claim she was running off with a lover are obviously hiding something. Chandler reluctantly continues his chores for Bolingbroke’s faction as the house of Lancaster uses both force of arms and vicious trickery to win the throne back from the house of York. Although his search for the killer leads him into danger, Chandler’s conscience will not let him ignore it.

The mystery is a slender thread woven through rich historical detail in this intriguing introduction to a conflicted hero.