Apothecary Melchior and the Ghost of Rataskaevu Street

Starred review from November 7, 2016
Hargla combines an evocative portrayal of life in 15th-century Livonia with an eerie fair-play mystery in his superlative second whodunit featuring apothecary and sleuth Melchior Wakenestede (after Apothecary Melchior and the Mystery of St. Olaf’s Church). Melchior is accused of seeing “murderers everywhere” after he voices suspicion about the demise of elderly Laurentz Bruys, one of the richest and most generous men in the town of Tallinn. Bruys appears to have died from old age, but the apothecary is troubled that Bruys died around the same time as Tobias Grote, the master of the Quad Dack Tower. Grote reported having seen the legendary ghost of Rataskaevu Street the night before he fell to his death, and his corpse was found with a look of horror on its face. The apparition was also spotted by a prostitute who worked for Bruys; just after seeing it, she drowned. Fans of quality medieval mysteries will be more than satisfied.