Hill of Bones
Medieval Murderers Mystery Series – Book VII
Medieval Murderers

Simon and Schuster
31 August 2011 / 9780857204264
Historical Mystery / Various periods / Somerset and Wiltshire, England
Amazon US || UK

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

The Medieval Murderers are back with a new series of interlinked stories, this time centered on a mysterious hill near Bath called Solsbury Hill. Thought to be the site of the Battle of Badon where King Arthur allegedly slew nine hundred men, and also possibly cursed, the hill is the center of much murder, mystery and mayhem…

This book ties in nicely with the previous title King Arthur’s Bones (also reviewed on this site). Some of the characters involved in solving these cases are the same as in the earlier title too, which is another good touch.

Susanna Gregory writes about the rather modern-seeming husband and wife team of Sir Symon Cole and Gwenllian, while Ian Morson tells another tale of the crafty duo of Joe Malinferno and Doll Pocket. Reading these I thought that these characters would be ideal for some full-length novels so if the intention is the whet the readers’ appetites for more, then count mine whetted.

Bernard Knight writes about different characters in his usual time period, while Philip Gooden spins a tale about Nick Revill and his band of players. Comparative newcomer to the genre Karen Maitland describes the outcome of a shipwreck. Trying to choose between them for a favorite is impossible. They all have something to recommend them including a readable, storyteller style that, despite the varied authorship seems remarkably seamless. May this series run and run.

Reviews of other titles in this series

King Arthur’s Bones [review]
Sword of Shame [review]
The Tainted Relic [review]
The Sacred Stone [review]