The Cloister Map leads to a priceless treasure and it was in the hands of Adam Blackstock, a privateer who was terrorising the south east coast of England. A sudden betrayal, and Blackstock’s ship, The Waxman, is seized. There is, however, no trace of the map.

Three years hence, in 1303, and Wilhelm Von Paulents, a representative of the Hanseatic League arrives in Canterbury claiming to have possession of the map. Before Sir Hugh Corbett, the emissary of Edward I, can arrive, Van Paulents and his entire family are found hanged in their lodgings, despite no trace of a struggle. Has Adam Blackstock’s mysterious brother, Hubert Fitzurse, resurfaced looking for revenge? If he has, that is something of a problem as nobody knows what he looks like…

Re-read time. I’ve started maybe three books in a row that never caught my attention, so it was time to do my usual trick and grab an old favourite off the shelf for a re-read. This one is the fifteenth Hugh Corbett book, and one that I couldn’t remember much about.

I’ve not a massive amount to say on this that I didn’t say in my initial review – so why not go and read that one? – but I would say that this does go against the typical Doherty mystery mold. There are apparently two different cases, but it quickly becomes apparent that they are inextricably linked, so we have one big, complex case. The victims are all distinct characters, unlike a number of his books where the victims are a linked group who are being picked off one by one.

You could make a case that it’s not desperately clued, apart from a really big one that is sitting in plain sight and that you might completely miss. But it’s an entertaining read and exactly what I needed.