Three Kings of Cologne

There are truly very few mystery series where the author is able to delver a solid, well crafted, and absorbing read with every single installment; Kate Sedley is one of those authors. Whenever I settle down with the latest Roger the Chapman installment, I know that I'm about to enjoy a compelling and riveting read, and this was definitely true of "The Three Kings of Cologne." Alderman John Foster (soon to be Mayor of Bristol) has purchased a piece of land from the Magdalen Nunnery with plans to build a new almshouse and chapel dedicated to the Three Kings of Cologne. However the alderman's charitable plans take a setback when a body is unearthed on that very piece of land. It turns out that the remains are those of Isabella Linkinhorne, a beautiful if somewhat wild young lady who mysteriously disappeared about 20 years ago. At the time of her disappearance, everyone, her parents included, believed that Isabella had runaway with one of her suitors. But now it is beginning to look as if she may have been murdered by one of her suitors. Determined that his gift not be tarnished, the alderman hires Roger the Chapman (who is well known for his abilities to solve mysteries and ferret out the truth), to discover who murdered Isabella and to bring the murderer to justice. Always willing to embark on an investigation, Roger takes to his latest task with alacrity. But will he be able to solve a murder so old? All Roger has to go on are rumours and the faded memories of those who knew Isabella. But Roger is determined to do his utmost to solve the murder nevertheless... "The Three Kings of Cologne" was a well crafted and engagingly written mystery novel that was intelligent and full of wonderful period colour and details. On top of it all, "The Three Kings of Cologne" was a real puzzler as well -- the suspense and the mystery were so capably layered on that I had to stay up till the early morning hours in order to finish the book. It was that riveting. Suspenseful and full of intriguing plot twists and turns, "The Three Kings of Cologne" is one mystery novel that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looming for a good, absorbing read. Definitely a 5 star book.

Kate Sedley's books about Roger Chapman, the pedlar come murder mystery sleuth are becoming more and more popular and rightly so. They are good entertaining reading with plots and backgrounds that have been well thought out and well researched. They are what I would call light reading (very much like the writing style of Paul Doherty or Bernard Knight, two other well known authors of medieval mysteries). A wealthy Alderman John Foster wishes to give a gift to his home city of Bristol. Little does he know that his kind thought is going to stir up a hornets nest of murder and intrigue. Foster wants to give a gift of almshouses to the City, together with a chapel dedicated to The Three Kings of Cologne and to this end he purchases some land from the Magdalen Nunnery and that is when the trouble starts. When the land is cleared and digging begins the body of a murdered young woman is unearthed. This is later identified as the remains of Isabella Linkinhorne, who disappeared over twenty years ago. John Foster employs Roger the Chapman, a man who is well known in Bristol for the mysteries he has solved, but this murder happened so long ago, is it possible that anyone can be brought to justice for the young woman's death. It is known that at the time of her death Isabella had three secret lovers, but maybe they have left the area or possibly they also are dead. Roger the Chapman has certainly got his work cut out solving this mystery . . .