Murder Wears a Cowl

by Paul Doherty Book 6 in the Hugh Corbett Mysteries series.

First published 1992

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4.4(2,954)

London, 1302. A killer is murdering prostitutes by cutting their throats, and the same method is used against Lady Somerville of the Sisters of St Martha. When Father Benedict then dies in suspicious circumstances, the crown sends Hugh Corbett to determine whether the deaths are connected and why the murderer appears able to move through the city without being identified.

Corbett is assisted by Ranulf and Maltote as the investigation moves between crowded streets, religious houses and the people who knew the victims. A beggar named Ragwort may be the only witness to have seen the killer clearly, while Lady Somerville leaves behind the cryptic warning "the cowl does not make the monk." Corbett must decide whether the clue points toward disguise, corruption or a danger hidden inside the Church itself.