A Deadly Brew (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles)

A DEADLY BREW (Hist. Mys-Matthew Bartholomew-England-1353) - VG Gregory, Susanna - 4th in series Little, Brown and Company, UK Hardcover, 1998 - ISBN: 0316640573 First Sentence: The afternoon had been growing gradually darker as storm clouds massed overhead. It's the winter of 1353, the plague is recently past but a worry and with the formal rains physician Matthew Barthomew is concerned about the spread of fever. That fear is over shadowed by the sudden and violent deaths by poisoning of three people. He traces the poison to wine and smuggling operations that must be stopped before more people die, including Matthew. Matthew Bartholomew has become one of my favorite characters. Trained by Arabs, his methods may raise eyebrows but they are effective. The dialogue, particularly between Matthew and his friend Michael, is sharp and has an element to wry humor. Michael is a little darker in this fourth book. He is still Mathew's friend, but he has his own agenda as well. Gregory creates such a strong sense of time and place. You can feel the cold, wet, mud outside and mustiness inside and contrasts that with the warmth and comfort of the convent at Denny. You also see the contrasts and conflicts between the religion and science, the University and the town, the wealthy and the poor. The mystery is more involved than you first think with many layers, twists and some very good suspense. I am anxious to read more of 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. A new, and very well endowed college has opened and Matthew Bartholomew is caught in the middle of some petty squabbling among the academics as they all vie for position as the new appointments are made. The town of Cambridge and its residents have still not recovered from the havoc wreaked by the plague and the winter and spring have not helped, being extremely wet. There is a fever outbreak amongst the poorer people of the town and the fact that the Cambridge colleges are gaining a reputation for their wealth is making the tension between the townsfolk and the students even more precarious. On top of all this there is a death, a student, killed it is reported by poisoned wine. Then there is a second victim, Dittone, the deputy master of the new college. But the puzzling thing is that there seems to be little or no connection between the master and the student. Bartholomew must try to solve the mystery before the town and the universities are at one another's throat. This is the fourth book in the series and Matthew Bartholomew now seems like an old friend to the reader. It was also inspirationally by the author to place the books in mediaeval Cambridge. It just seems to add some extra atmosphere to the books.