Mel Starr

Mel Starr is an American author of medieval mystery fiction whose Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon series has grown to seventeen novels. Born Melvin R. Starr, he was raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, earned his MA in History from Western Michigan University, and taught history in Michigan schools for thirty-nine years, eventually becoming chairman of the social studies department at Portage Northern High School. Starr's deep knowledge of both medieval medicine and medieval English life informs his fiction, which follows Hugh de Singleton, a surgeon and bailiff in fourteenth-century Oxfordshire who solves murders using a combination of medical knowledge and practical intelligence. The Abbot's Agreement is the seventh book in the series, in which Hugh investigates the murder of a young novice at a neighbouring abbey. The series is published by Lion Fiction and has built a loyal following among fans of medieval mystery. His academic background gives his fiction an authenticity of detail that transports readers to a convincingly rendered medieval England. His audiobooks and books offer listeners and readers gentle, carefully researched historical mysteries that combine satisfying detective plots with fascinating insights into daily life in the Middle Ages.