1. A Plague on Both Your Houses
Cambridge, 1348. Matthew Bartholomew, physician and teacher at Michaelhouse, hears that a devastating pestilence is moving towards England. Before the disease reaches the university, the Master of his college dies suddenly, and Bartholomew becomes convinced that the accepted explanation conceals murder. His questions expose rivalries within…
2. An Unholy Alliance
In 1350, Cambridge is struggling to rebuild after the Black Death. Matthew Bartholomew is training new physicians to replace those who died when a friar's body is discovered inside the chest used to protect the university's most valuable documents. The investigation leads Bartholomew and Brother Michael…
3. A Bone of Contention
Cambridge in 1352 is divided by violent hostility between the university and the town. When a student is murdered during the unrest, Matthew Bartholomew tries to prevent the killing from becoming the excuse for a wider riot. At the same time, newly discovered bones are proclaimed…
4. A Deadly Brew
During the wet winter of 1353, fever is spreading among Cambridge's poor and tensions between the town, Church and university are becoming increasingly dangerous. Three university men die after drinking poisoned wine, bringing Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael into a case that appears to cross college…
5. A Wicked Deed
Matthew Bartholomew accompanies a Michaelhouse party to rural Suffolk, where the scholar Unwin is to become priest of a parish newly granted to the college. The visitors arrive amid bitter disputes over land, boundaries and the abandoned remains of a village destroyed by plague. When Unwin…
6. A Masterly Murder
Michaelhouse is thrown into disorder when its ageing Master retires and the ambitious Runham secures the succession. Runham rapidly dismisses long-serving staff, antagonises the Fellows and begins an expensive programme of building work that threatens the college's finances. When the new Master is found murdered beside…
7. An Order for Death
A fierce theological dispute between Cambridge's Carmelites and Dominicans has moved beyond academic argument. A Carmelite friar is stabbed, a Junior Proctor is found hanging from the Dominican friary, and each side is ready to blame the other. Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael follow connections involving…
8. A Summer of Discontent
In August 1354, Matthew Bartholomew travels with Brother Michael to Ely, expecting access to the Benedictine priory's library. Instead, they learn that Michael's bishop has been accused of murdering the steward of his powerful rival, Blanche de Wake. Their investigation unfolds amid opposition to church tithes,…
9. A Killer in Winter
As Christmas 1354 approaches, severe blizzards isolate Cambridge and leave its poorest inhabitants in desperate need of medical help. Among the travellers trapped in the town are Matthew Bartholomew's former fiancée Philippa and her wealthy husband, Walter. A corpse found in a church is identified as…
10. The Hand of Justice
In February 1355, two well-born killers return to Cambridge after receiving a royal pardon. Their lack of remorse enrages the town, especially those who helped secure their conviction, and their threats revive fears that wealth and influence can place criminals beyond justice. When bodies are discovered…
11. The Mark of a Murderer
The St Scholastica's Day riot drives terrified Oxford scholars to seek refuge in Cambridge. Their arrival threatens an already fragile academic peace, and within hours two of the displaced men are dead. Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael find evidence that the Oxford violence may have been…
12. The Tarnished Chalice
In the winter of 1356, Matthew Bartholomew, Brother Michael and Cynric travel to Lincoln, where Michael is to receive an honour and Bartholomew hopes to find the woman he intends to marry. Their lodgings in a friary prove unsafe when they discover that one of its…
13. To Kill or Cure
In 1357, Cambridge's landlords impose steep rent increases on student hostels while the university is still financially weakened by the plague years. Town-and-gown hostility rises towards open violence, leaving Brother Michael struggling to preserve order. A charismatic healer also arrives, winning patients with remedies that appear…
14. The Devil’s Disciples
Ten years after the Black Death, rumours of renewed pestilence revive Cambridge's deepest fears. Disillusioned with clergy and conventional medicine, townspeople turn to charms, pagan rites and the promises of a hidden figure known as the Sorcerer. Murder, desecrated graves and staged signs of supernatural power…
15. A Vein of Deceit
Michaelhouse is inexplicably short of money despite enrolling prosperous students. After the officer responsible for its accounts dies, evidence emerges that the college has paid heavily for goods it never received, raising the possibility of sustained fraud within its own administration. Matthew Bartholomew is also alarmed…
16. The Killer of Pilgrims
A wealthy benefactor dies inside Michaelhouse, placing the college under immediate suspicion. Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael must establish who killed him before rivals use the death to threaten the institution's standing and finances. Elsewhere in Cambridge, a thief is attacking affluent pilgrims and university pranksters…
17. Mystery in the Minster
In 1358, Michaelhouse sends a delegation to York to claim a parish left to the college by the late archbishop. The legacy promises badly needed income, but rival claimants dispute the grant and the crucial codicil cannot be found. Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael arrive in…
18. Murder by the Book
A benefactor's gift of a house for Cambridge's first common library divides the university. Some scholars welcome the collection, while others fear that accepting the donation will change the balance of authority and obligation between colleges and patrons. An attack at a planning meeting is followed…
19. The Lost Abbot
In the summer of 1358, Matthew Bartholomew joins commissioners sent to Peterborough after its unpopular abbot disappears. Behind the monastery's imposing façade, competing factions are already manoeuvring for control and several people have reason to prevent the abbot's return. The town is equally divided, especially over…
20. Death of a Scholar
Matthew Bartholomew returns to Cambridge to find his sister Edith mourning her husband and struggling to control the cloth business he left behind. At the same time, burglaries threaten Michaelhouse, and the rapid construction of the wealthy new Winwick Hall is provoking resentment among older colleges.…
21. A Poisonous Plot
A succession of unexplained illnesses ends in death across Cambridge and the surrounding countryside. Matthew Bartholomew must decide whether the town faces a new contagion or whether someone is deliberately administering poison. His work is obstructed by an arrogant physician attached to the wealthy Zachary Hostel,…
22. A Grave Concern
Brother Michael is preparing to leave his university office for a bishopric when Chancellor Tynkell is murdered. Suspects include a privileged criminal protected by royal connections, a corrupt mason and enemies within Cambridge's competing institutions. Matthew Bartholomew is already troubled by the sudden decline of several…
23. The Habit of Murder
A Michaelhouse delegation travels to Clare in Suffolk, where the renovation of the parish church has divided the community. Arguments over money, workmanship and religious priorities have hardened into a feud among local families and patrons. A series of murders suggests that someone is using the…
24. The Sanctuary Murders
Several people are killed at a hospital on Trumpington Road while university scholars are being murdered elsewhere in Cambridge. Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael investigate whether the two groups of deaths share a cause or merely reflect a city crowded with separate dangers. Their suspects include…
25. The Chancellor’s Secret
Matthew Bartholomew is completing his final term at Michaelhouse before marriage and retirement, but the disappearance of two scholars and a succession of murders prevent a quiet departure. The evidence increasingly points towards members of the university itself. The case becomes personal when Bartholomew begins to…