The Falconer's Knot

Set in Umbria in 1316, this story describes a series of baffling murders in and around Italian monastic life. With the main plot developing at a leisurely pace, and each chapter bearing its own mini-title (‘Red-handed’, ‘Poison in the air’) there is a distinct 19th-century air to this story, almost as if the ghost of Wilkie Collins had decided to join in as well. Young and handsome heroes are pleasantly balanced by beautiful heroines of the same age, with everyone involved ending up with their chosen partners. Plenty of interesting as well as educational detail is also thrown in, mostly to do with describing the manufacture of pigments for some of the great artists of the time. All this could sound somewhat cosy, but the spate of murders keep readers constantly on their toes as well as posing an intriguing mystery only solved in the concluding pages.