Cast the First Stone: A Mediaeval Mystery (Book 6)

By C.B. Hanley

The sixth book in a thrilling series of mediaeval mysteries by C.B. Hanley. November 1217: Edwin Weaver is back in his home village of Conisbrough. But if he thinks life is going to be peaceful, he's wrong: the new bailiff is unpopular and cruel, and soon his murdered corpse is discovered. Everything points to the culprit being a foreigner, and the villagers are happy to have an outsider take the blame; Edwin isn't so sure and is determined to investigate. However, his former friends, all with something to hide, are increasingly hostile to him and resent his interference. The more he discovers, the more he is convinced that the stranger is innocent, but this comes with dangers of its own. With the sheriff due to arrive any day expecting to supervise a swift execution, Edwin and his wife Alys must join forces to solve the mystery before it is too late.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Mystery Press
• Release date: Jun 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780750995351

C.B. Hanley

C.B. HANLEY holds a PhD in Medieval Studies specialising in warfare in the 12th and 13th centuries and its portrayal in contemporary vernacular literature. She has published an academic book and a number of scholarly articles on the period, and continues to write non-fiction history as well as novels. Between her first degree and PhD she spent some time working as a historical interpreter, which gave her a practical grounding in medieval life to add to her theoretical studies, which is very useful in adding background colour to her novels. She is also a freelance copy editor and proof-reader.

Reviews for Cast the First Stone

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the sixth book in the author's series of historical mysteries set in the early 13th century. Our hero Edwin Weaver, scribe to Earl Warenne of Surrey, is back in his home town of Conisbrough in South Yorkshire after his traumatic experiences at the naval battle of Sandwich in the previous book. When the unpopular local bailiff Ivo is murdered, many of Edwin's fellow townspeople blame one of the French masons who had been working on the bailiff's house. Edwin's investigations are frustrated by the local desire to pin blame on the foreigners in their midst, whatever the evidence, a sad trait in some communities even today. But things turn nastier for Edwin when his belief that the mason Denis is innocent causes some of the local community, even people Edwin has known for years, to turn on him and he is himself convicted by a local jury of complicity in the murder. Then there is a further killing of a member of Edwin's family and he must race against time to find the real culprit before the sheriff of Yorkshire arrives to confirm the local verdict. Needless to say, he succeeds but only very narrowly. I like Edwin and his wife Alys and the local villagers are well described and quite interesting characters - this is a series I have enjoyed over the past five years. What slightly brought this down for me was that the original murder victim Ivo the bailiff was deeply unpopular and many people had cause to resent him, so would his death really be greeted by the near unanimous foreigner-baiting depicted here? In reality, it seems to me many would have privately welcomed his demise, and not been so keen to find pin the murder on the wrong culprit.