The Book of Shadows

by Paul Doherty Book 4 in the Kathryn Swinbrooke Mysteries series.

First published 1996

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Canterbury, 1471. Edward IV has regained the English throne, and the instability of the Wars of the Roses has created fertile ground for blackmail. Among the most feared practitioners is Tenebrae, a self-styled magus who possesses the Book of Shadows, a collection of secrets and occult lore that gives him power over people who cannot afford to have their pasts exposed.

When Tenebrae is murdered, physician Kathryn Swinbrooke is ordered to investigate. His last visitors included a group of nervous London goldsmiths, but the secrets surrounding the book reach towards the royal court and threaten Kathryn’s relationship with Colum Murtagh. As additional deaths follow, she must separate superstition from motive and discover who is killing to possess—or suppress—the information Tenebrae collected.