In 1360 Southwark, the great treasure of the Lombards was stolen and the knights guarding it, along with the boatmen transporting it, vanish without trace. And Guinevere the Golden, a courtesan, meets a grisly end in St Erconwald’s cemetery.

Hang on, this sounds a bit familiar… Never mind, it’ll come to me.

Twenty years later, and an assemblage of knights, the Golden Falcon, have gathered at a tavern for their annual meeting. But this time, things will not go as smoothly as usual. Two courtesans, the twin daughters of Guinevere, are killed in the stables. A fatal game of cat and mouse is being played between a thief and a thief-hunter. And one of the knights is poisoned in his bath… and he’s not the first of them to die…

Oh, I know why this is familiar. I’ve reviewed it before. Twice. Oops.

I thought I’d kick off my month of historical reviews with the next of my Brother Athelstan re-reads, not realising that I’d used it once before to tackle a dry spell in my reading.

Here are my thoughts from the first time that I read it – and here are my thoughts on the re-read.

My thoughts on the third time are just as strong – there’s a certain inevitability to the solution, but that doesn’t stop it from packing a real punch.

But let’s take a look at the history side of it – that’s the focus for the month – and there is a real sense of period here. You can feel the dirt of fourteenth century London beneath your feet and the characters behave like characters from another time. There’s no modern morality on display here – note how Athelstan, despite being an understanding priest, still accepts things like the death penalty (and the way it is carried out) – and Doherty does a wonderful job of using medieval words and phrases without having to resort to a glossary. The meanings are clear, even if the word is unfamiliar – it adds an extra level for me.

So, third time in a row, and still a great read (with a nice new cover). Be back in another five years for review number four…