The Hanging Tree
by Paul Doherty

Brother Athelstan must solve a theft from the royal treasure chamber and the murders of six executioners in this gripping medieval mystery.

London. January, 1382. The Crown’s treasury has been robbed. Tens of thousands of silver and gold coins mysteriously lifted from the most secure chamber in the kingdom; the five Clerks of the Dark who guarded the king’s treasure brutally garrotted. Sir John Cranston and Brother Athelstan are appointed to investigate – but Athelstan has problems of his own. Clement the Key Master, who helped fashion the complex locks to the royal treasure chamber, has been found strangled in the nave of Athelstan’s parish church, St Erconwald’s.

At the same time, six of the city’s hangmen have been savagely murdered, their bodies stripped. Pinned to each corpse is a scrawled note: “Vengeance! The Upright Men never forget!” The Guild of Hangmen who frequent the majestic tavern, The Hanging Tree, on the River Thames, have petitioned for Sir John and Brother Athelstan to find the culprit. But have the sleuthing pair taken on more than they can handle . . . and could the two investigations be connected?

Reviews

“Hair-raising descriptions of life in the Middle Ages enhance a challenging puzzle”

Kirkus Reviews

“As always, Doherty makes a past century come alive in the service of a carefully crafted plot. Impossible crime fans will be pleased”

Publishers Weekly

“With consummate skill and pacing, Doherty answers the plot's mysteries in a series of startling revelations, and the atmosphere of a London driven by ambition and greed is palpable. The prolific Doherty shows no signs of losing steam”

Publishers Weekly on The Stone of Destiny

“A tortuous, fascinating historical mystery whose finely honed descriptions are not for the faint of heart”

Kirkus Reviews on The Stone of Destiny

“Outstanding . . . Doherty keeps the action brisk, the crimes baffling and the deductions and solution fair”

Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Godless

“Doherty displays exceptional narrative flair as he brings the often-squalid sights, sounds and smells of medieval London to life in another artfully crafted and plotted historical mystery”

Booklist on The Godless

Paul Doherty

Paul Doherty has written over 100 books and was awarded the Herodotus Award, for lifelong achievement for excellence in the writing of historical mysteries by the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages and include the historical mysteries of Brother Athelstan and Hugh Corbett.

View author page

Editions

The Hanging Tree by Paul Doherty is available in the following formats

Hardback97817802913907th June 2022220 X 150mm224$28.99
Hardback978178029139031st March 2022220 X 150mm224£20.99
Ebook97814483089651st May 2022N/A224$14.99
Ebook97814483089651st May 2022N/A224£7.99
Paperback978144830895824th November 2022138 X 216mm224£13.99
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