Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31036 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
At the May Day dancing at Glasgow Cross, Gil Cunningham sees not only the woman who is going to be murdered, but her murderer as well. Gil is a recently qualified lawyer whose family still expect him to enter the priesthood. When he finds the body of a young woman in the new building at Glasgow Cathedral he is asked to investigate, and identifies the corpse as the runaway wife of cruel, unpleasant nobleman John Semphill. With the help of Maistre Pierre, the French master-mason, Gil must ask questions and seek a murderer in the heart of the city.

Customer Reviews

Waste of Money
first of all i only gave this book 1 star as you cant give 0.
i buy & read loads of books from here & dont usually bother to
write reviews as i`m too lazy,but after buying the first 2 novels
on 5 star recommendations i just have to say somthing to stop
other buyers wasting their hard earned money on this rubbish.
i luv Brother Athelstan,Sister Fedelma & Owen Archer etc..etc..
so i thought these books have to be good with 5 stars,
so i got to reading the first one waiting for something to
happen & guess what NOTHING
does happen & the way its written is disjointed,i kept turning back
a page thinking that i`ve missed one but no its just written like
that.

It really is that awful & i would NOT recommend these books to
anyone.

First Book in the Gilbert Cunningham Series
For all those who like a good medieval murder mystery, but have missed out on the books of Pat McIntosh, you are missing a real treat. The books are set in 15th century Glasgow, which is a welcome change in itself and sets the books apart from most if not all of the other medieval mysteries around at the present time. The main character Gilbert Cunningham is a likable young man with a slight air of vulnerability about him that endears him to the reader. He is a recently qualified lawyer but his family all expect him to join the priesthood and if he is to make a living of any kind he feels that is probably what he will end up doing.

When by chance he finds the body of a young woman in a newly built annex to the Cathedral in Glasgow Gilbert is asked to help with the investigation and quickly identifies the corpse as that of the runaway wife of John Semphill a nobleman with a bad reputation. Gilbert seeks the help of the French master mason who has been contracted to work on the new building at Glasgow Cathedral. Together they ask questions and seek the murder weapon . . .

The book has an innovative storyline and it is plain to see that it has been very well researched. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Original and engrossing
The central character of this mystery is a young scottish lawyer, who faces the dilemma of having to join holy orders to make his living, without being convinced that he has the calling to do so. When he finds a murdered woman on a building site near St Mungo's cathedral, he sets out to discover her killer. The characterisations are interesting and the depiction of medieval life feels authentic (although I am no medieval historian). The use of dialect and the difficulties in dealing with what was in effect a multi language society have the ring of realism, without being pedantic. I shall be looking out for more by the same author.