Matthew Bartholomew Series

Crime fighters and mystery solvers come in many guises. From the humourless Sherlock Holmes of Victorian Britain and his 'poorer' counterpart Sexton Blake, to the egoistic Hercule Poirot and wry Miss Marple. Who can forget the multitude of sleuths Enid Blyton has given birth to – the Five Find-Outers, the Famous Five and the expanded Secret Seven. The Americans have also sent their representatives to the world of crime fighting – Jupiter Jones and Co., the Hardy siblings and Nancy Drew.

But a scholar and a monk? Hard to imagine, but very real. Enter Brother Michael and the hero of the piece, Matthew Bartholomew. Take your mind back to 15^th century England, the grand walls of Cambridge university, the sludge-strewn roads, the hogs and the peasants. Yep, that's the Matthew Bartholomew chronicles for you. A scholar cum physician cum reluctant sleuth, who meddles into the diabolical masterplans of cunning villains and cold murderers. Of course, Holmes needed Watson, Poirot infuriated Hastings, and Bartholomew is no different. Aided by the far-from-slim Brother Michael, and often by the enigmatic mistress-of-the-night Matilde, this recourceful yet simple healer does his best to ensure that the truth of every murder comes to light.

What grabbed my attention after reading a dozen pages or so of the first book was the detailed description of this famous academic town. Having first hand knowledge of Cambridge has really helped Susanna Gregory in taking the reader (i.e. me) through a time portal, back to an era of hardship, dirt and danger, all endured in the thirst for academic excellence. Or at least that's what most of the scholars in this book want. Other have ulterior motives, a few have no motives and Rob Deynman has no idea what motives are.

The characters are thoroughly memorable, from the bigot Father William right down to the insane Clippesby. From being experts in their respective fields, to being downright ignorant of reality, these characters serve more than just to fill the background. Their personalities are well-documented and very much alive, rather than the common one dimensional periphery characters.

All in all, Susanna Gregory's Cambridge tales make an enjoyable and absorbing read. The books start off slow, but gain steady pace and are nothing short of frantic in the last few chapters. It would be best to start with book 1 and go along the series, as characters are introduced and developed as the novels increase. To date, there are 12 novels in this series, the most recent being The Tarnished Chalice.

For more information, visit www.matthewbartholomew.co.uk