The Alehouse Murders

July 23, 2007
Fans of quality historical mysteries will be delighted with this debut from Ash, the first in what will hopefully be a long-running series of Templar Knights whodunits. Bascot de Marins has returned to England from the Crusades wounded in body and spirit, but he finds a new mission when he takes leave from the order of Templar Knights to serve the Lady Nicolaa de la Haye, de facto ruler of the town of Lincoln. When four corpses are found in a local alehouse on the eve of a great festival, de Marins turns sleuth to identify the killer. One of the victims is believed to be the illegitimate son of a local nobleman, suggesting that the murderer’s motive may be connected to a large inheritance, which ropes in a number of likely suspects and sets off an absorbing investigation. Though a clichéd denouement is something of a letdown, Ash’s period detail and plotting are first-rate, superior to many other representatives of the rarified subgenre.