In 1303, the Lacrima Christi was stolen from Westminster Abbey and disappeared, despite a number of the perpetrators being quickly caught. It reappeared in the possession of the Pope, embedded in his crown, but disappears from the headpiece immediately prior to his coronation. And then in 1312, Simon Malmaison, a former colleague of Sir Hugh Corbett, receives a communique offering the location of the priceless jewel. Investigators are sent to Malmaison Manor in Devon to gauge the veracity of the message – only for Lord Simon and one of the investigators to be murdered, shot by close-range crossbow bolts, locked inside Lord Simon’s chamber.

When Sir Hugh Corbett arrives, he finds the manor and the nearby town of Felstead riddled with plots and, well, murder. The Sagittarius leads his band of Scarecrows across the moors, a local monastery houses monks who were involved in the 1303 theft, local ships are being wrecked on the coast and a local group of merchants has disappeared without trace. Oh, and there are a couple of leopards on the loose too… As the death count rises, both inside Malmaison Manor and without, Sir Hugh finds himself up against a ruthless enemy. But Sir Hugh has secrets of his own…

Now that’s more like it. After a disappointing “classic” novel, it’s good to read something modern that takes the best aspects of the Golden Age of detection and presents them in their own way to give a truly satisfying read. This will come as no surprise to fans of Paul Doherty, of course, but once again, I appeal to those of you who don’t look at historical fiction to give Paul’s work a try.

For those who would like to know, there are three locked rooms here – all three shot by crossbow bolts inside rooms sealed from the outside – with the first being particularly simple and clever. It’s an idea that people may have seen before, but I’ll be honest, I missed it.

It’s an engrossing book, as Paul uses the isolation of Dartmoor to its full extent, with at least one criminal gang roaming unchallenged, looting and pillaging at will, and everyone concealing at least one dark secret. There is a quite stunning body-count in this tale, and there are times that the reader of little faith would be asking if there was any way that Paul could really tie everything up together neatly. Obviously, he does, and while I think the identity of the murderer won’t come as a massive surprise, especially given how few people are still standing by the end of the story, the simple complexity (it’s complex but easy to follow) of the tale makes the overall who-did-what-to-whom very satisfying. And Hugh Corbett’s final solution to the devastated region is both shocking and also appropriate for the time…

And before the extremely picky point it out, yes, this is the third Sagittarius that Sir Hugh has dealt with, after Satan’s Fire and Nightshade, but it’s an obvious name for an archer, a fact that is commented on by Sir Hugh himself…

Hymn To Murder is the twenty-first Hugh Corbett mystery and is another strong entry into a strong series. As you know, Paul was my first obsession on the blog, and he is still an essential read for me – as he should be for every fan of mysteries.