MURDER IN THE CLOISTER

A nun with a secret is murdered, lethal intrigues blossom at court, and dangerous sorcerers lurk around every corner.

Paris, 1399. Ailing King Charles VI sends court author Christine de Pizan, his childhood friend, to the priory at Poissy to copy a manuscript. The visit provides an opportunity for Christine to visit her daughter Marie, a nun there. Accompanying her are her son Thomas, on the verge of manhood; Brother Michel of the Abbey of Saint-Denis; and Henri Le Picart, a court favorite Christine has never trusted. In crisp, formal prose, Bayard presents a huge cast with divergent agendas. On the road to Poissy and in the woods surrounding the priory, there’s talk of dangerous sorcerers hanging around the palace hoping to minister to the king. The party arrives safely, but Christine’s perplexed when the manuscripts turn out to be music, not her forte. She’s reunited with Marie and meets several nuns who become suspects when one of them, Sister Thérèse, dies mysteriously. The news that Thérèse harbored an important secret and the rumor that Henri has an illegitimate daughter at the priory encourage Christine to investigate. She accepts restless Sister Juliana, who wants to leave the priory, as an assistant. Back at court, suspicion grows that the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy are a threat to the king, and lady-in-waiting Symonne du Mesnil flees. The prostitute Marion, an old friend of Christine's, heads for Poissy to find Symonne and help Christine, adding yet more characters and threads to the author’s already overstuffed canvas.

The complexity of Bayard’s fourth historical mystery is both tantalizing and frustrating.