The Stallions of Woodstock: Volume VI of the Domesday Books

Marston's Domesday books are set in England during the time of William I. I love the historical information that comes out with each book, but I also love the mysteries. These are complex and not easy to figure out. This book is set in and around the community of Woodstock. Gervaise and Ralph are sent to settle land disputes and find themselves in the middle of murder and mayhem. The book includes horse races, choirs and marital infidelity. It makes for an action-packed story, that kept me turning pages. This is a wonderful series for historical mystery buffs.

Edward Marston is the pseudonym of Keith Miles, a fairly prolific and extremely good writer of mainly Elizabethan and medieval mysteries. He has also written mysteries under his own name with both sporting and golf backgrounds. However it is primarily the books that take place earlier in history that I am interested in. He read modern history at Oxford and has had many jobs, including university lecturer, but fortunately for all his readers, he turned to the writing profession. After reading the first book in the series, I avidly sought out all the other books by Edward Marston and not a single one has ever disappointed me. They are about a period of history that I love. His Elizabethan theatre series of books were wonderful and he has continued them through from 1988 to 2006. The Domesday series is also a great series and this is the second book in the series. The Domesday series is about a period in England's history shortly after the Norman conquest , during the reign of William the Conqueror. It was King William himself who called for an `inventory' to assess taxes and survey landholdings. This inventory was called the Domesday book and was a tremendous undertaking, but one that brought stability to England. Edward Marston's Domesday novels are based upon actual entries in the Domesday Book.

Another superb medieval whodunnit from the master of the genre. The plot has the five central characters, Ralph, Gervase, Golde, Hubert and Simon involved in another investigation of land disputes in the doomsday book. In this case one of the claimants is murdered during a horse race. As usual the plot has many twists but it is the rapier witt diologue between the characters that makes this an immensely enjoyable read.