An Unholy Alliance (Matthew Bartholomew Mysteries) (ISBN 0312966318)

Witches brew:
This is the second in the Matthew Bartholomew series, set in 14th century England, in the university city of Cambridge. Matthew would much rather be working at his profession of teaching medicine to his students but, once again, he is called upon by the heads of college to assist them in solving a spate of murders, which have occurred in the recent weeks. Three of the town's prostitutes have been found with their throats slashed, which doesn't seem to overly worry the Sheriff, but when the body of a friar is found, poisoned and stuffed into a chest in the belfry of a church, and again the Sherriff does nothing, The Master of the university asks the help of Matthew and his friend, Brother Michael in investigating further. The plot does tend to get a bit muddled as they uncover evidence of satanic covens and unholy practices, terrified locals and fanatical monks crying "heresy" at every turn when Matthew teaches the art of surgical operations, but it's an interesting read with interesting examples of the horrors of 14th century life with its lack of hygiene and stinking streets and rivers. Perhaps it was a case of the survival of the fittest of the species after the plague which decimated half of Europe!

Second Book in the Series:
Susanna Gregory is the pseudonym of a Cambridge academic who was previously a coroner's officer. Her series of mediaeval mysteries have gained a formidable following. This book is the second in the series and introduces the physician Matthew Bartholomew to the reader. There are now a number of books in the series and they are always eagerly awaited by the author's fans. Besides practising medicine Matthew is also a teacher at a Cambridge University and his sometimes unorthodox treatment of his patients draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional, but less skilled colleagues. The year is 1350 and we have moved on two years (A Plague on Both Your Houses). The people of Cambridge are struggling to overcome the effect of the Black Death. The countryside is overrun with bands of outlaws and the high death rate of the plague has taken many of the priests and monks and left their parishioners vulnerable to the many cults that are circulating in the wake of the plague. At Michaelhouse Matthew Bartholomew has got the urgent job of training new physicians to replace those lost to the Black Death, but when the body of a friar is found in massive chest that houses the university's store of precious documents Matthew is called away from his teaching duties to investigate the strange death . . .

Ms Gregory' books are great even for the second and third readings!:
I have read all eleven of Ms Gregory's Matthew Bartholomew books and am pre-ordering numbers twelve and thirteen. Her discriptions of life and environment of fourteenth century Cambridge is incredible; she puts you right there in its rutted, muddy, smelly streets. Matthew is the most lovable character you would ever want to meet. All he wants to do is care for his patients and teach his students at Michaelhouse, a fourteenth century college at Cambridge, but Brother Michael is continually getting him involved in one murder mystery after another. He's such an innocent when it comes to the ways of the world, and for a guy who doesn't want to get involved, he winds up in some dangerous and sometimes funny predicaments. The plots are complicated; Ms Gregory has many threads going at one time. It's fun to try to pick your way through the red herrings to see if you can find the soultion, or solutions, before Matt and Brother Michael. I bet you can't, but the books are so great you'll love trying.

Good, readable period mystery:
This was my second Matthew Bartholomew mystery. I found it rather formulaic to the first... the details coming at you with nothing going anywhere until they all physically spy on a meeting in a church. There is very little interesting in his teaching, the details of his profession are quite interesting to read about. But overall the plot was a little shallow to me personally in depth and character development. And where was his betrothed? The main protagonist doesn't have much feeling IMHO.

Another enjoyable book from Ms. Gregory:
Ms. Gregory's has created an interesting 14th Century physician protagonist would rather be teaching and attending to his patients rather than conducting investigations. With strong supporting characters and rich historical detail, this is another very good book in a well done series. The stories are just a bit overlong and the plot overcomplicated, but it all works together well. I recommend reading the series in order, and I do recommend reading the series.