Ninth in the Owen Archer historical mystery series set in 1300's York, UK. When tensions mount between bargemen and students, accusations begin to fly when a barge man named Drogo is murdered. First the students are blamed, as it was known that Drogo took the scrip of a student, so it's felt they were bent on revenge. Then a priest who runs a grammar school near the Abbey falls under suspicion. Owen is charged by the Archbishop to get to the bottom of the murder, which sends him off to the country in search of clues as winter approaches and his wife Lucie's delivery date draws near. A second murder complicates the plot, but as Owen and his helpers investigate, it's clear that the two are tied together.

I just love this series, although I can't really say it's for the strong plotlines. The mystery was fairly obvious rather early on. I kept waiting for the author to spring a surprise on me, but it didn't happen. The characters, the author's writing style and the immersion into the time period are what keep me coming back to this series and why I order the books from the UK before they are available here...and why they are on my keeper shelf! This one did not disappoint.

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Very Good! With the family growing and changing, its great to be a part of that! Will not disapoint!

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Okay, so all signs point to who the bad dude is. However, the interactions of the many characters is what makes this book enjoyable.

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