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It's 1350 and Cambridge is suffering in the aftermath of the Black Death which killed vast numbers. It isn't only the citizens of the town who have died - there's now a desperate shortage of physicians and Matthew Bartholomew is working hard to train men to take their place. His work is important to him and he's reluctant to become involved when the body of an unknown friar is found in the University chest but has no choice in the matter. The friar is not the only unexplained death in Cambridge, but the local sheriff seems unwilling to investigate the deaths of local prostitutes. Bartholomew is convinced that witchcraft lies behind the murders.

It's not a bad book and I don't regret the time spent reading it, but it's not in the first ranks of either historical or detective fiction. It's not Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose", which is set in a similar period. Bookbag doesn't recommend that you buy the book, but if you lack a better choice at the library and you have an interest in the Middle Ages then the book might be worth taking home with you.

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