“Terror grips a remote North Sea priory in Royal’s superior medieval thriller, her third to feature Eleanor, prioress of Tyndal. In 1271, tough-minded Ralf the Crowner, who’s trying to bring a brutal serial killer to justice, prevails upon Eleanor to allow the mangled corpse of a lowly foot soldier to be laid in the chapel during his investigation…Eleanor resists the demands of rival monks who complicate Ralf’s work with their own competing agendas…Suspense builds amid a vivid backdrop of lepers wearing ‘clappers,’ a madman who chatters warnings, venal relic sellers, and the shadowy ‘man from Acre’ haunted by guilt for his wife’s death at the hands of a sadistic crusader. Eleanor’s steadfast faith in a merciful God must contend with the vicious nature of man in a compelling resolution.”

“Royal continues her excellent medieval mystery series with another haunting whodunit set in the Tyndale Priory situated on the windswept East Anglican coast…A knight is slain and a young nun brutally attacked…As Ralf and Eleanor work tirelessly to expose the murderer, the priory and its adjacent infirmary are beset by a series of internal squabbles and political power struggles. Tautly woven, this introspective period piece oozes with suspense and intrigue.”

“The well-developed plot…keeps the reader guessing.”