The Nightingale Gallery, by Paul Harding
Unremarkable, if somewhat appealing, 1300's murder mystery
(Review posted 20 Aug 2004 17:53:50)

A relatively straightforward murder mystery, set in the late 1300's, solved by a drunken King's Coroner and his clerk, a young Dominican monk with a Past. The Coroner himself also has a Past that helps explain his drinking. This is the first of a series of mysteries with these characters, and had I but world enough and time I might enjoy reading more of them and becoming fond of the characters. But you know how it is.

The medieval London setting seemed realistic: the comparative smallness of the city, the routine squalor, the lack of technology. But I wasn't entirely sure how much was deeply researched and how much was just the author having fun and/or constructing plot devices.

Is it really likely, for instance, that the Coroner and his assistant could get an audience with various nobles, including the King and the Regent, on a couple of hours' notice, even if they were reporting their investigation of the somewhat mysterious death of a noble? Maybe they could, maybe it's neat and interesting how much less bureaucracy and formality there was back then. Or maybe it was just the quickest way to get to the rather formulaic "gather all the suspects together and dramatically identify the murderer" scene. I dunno.

The writing is mostly fine. While primarily in a third-person limited sort of style centered on Brother Athelstan, it did veer disconcertingly now and then into the inner thoughts of one or the other of the main characters, only to pop back out just as suddenly in the next paragraph, for no obvious reason. But we all have our quirks. (Oh, and the "Nightingale Gallery" of the title had only a very minor role in the story, which is always kink of annoying.)

I got this from the Book Exchange rack at work, and I'll be returning it there shortly. But in another life I can imagine "The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan" being a fond, if not a profound, part of my reading life.

("Paul Harding" is a pseudonym of one P. C. Doherty, who has written at least three other sets of genre books in medieval settings. Just in case you like the idea...)