5* Absolutely brilliant, as always.5* So well written, so entertaining and amusing.5* A great read from start to finishThere is no murder here.And even if there was, under no circumstances is Brother Hermitage, King William's investigator, to be allowed anywhere near it.This is a very sensitive matter for the Duke of Normandy, now King of England, and he wants it dealt with properly. He doesn't want a band of Saxon idiots trampling all over the place, offending everyone.But, in a far-off outpost of the duchy, an ancient ritual has been enacted, which immediately went horribly wrong. Someone must be sent to find out what happened and who is behind it.Negotiating the way through scheming and feuding locals will demand sensitivity.Untangling superstition from fact will require careful analysis.Appreciating custom and practice will need a sympathetic ear.And you'll need to speak the right language,...

Humour ahead: The works of Howard of Warwick are hilarious and very silly. If you value your historical proprieties look away now.After 1066 not all the Normans were in England. Those left in Normandy were up to no good and the ghastly Le Pedvin, wants one of them dealt with.Brother Hermitage, the most medieval of detectives, and his companion Wat, weaver of tapestry you wouldn't want your children to see, are dispatched to the Norman home-land to bring a killer to justice. How they do it is up to them and why they're doing it is none of their business; they have their orders and the consequences of disobedience will be death – as usual.It's not clear what Le Pedvin is up to.It's not clear that anyone is actually dead.Not much is clear about Norman villagers at all.It's definitely not clear how Hermitage and Wat are going to get out of this alive.But it will be....

It's new, it's medieval and it's all very silly....A hidden monastery in the depths of England's depths?A secret that could rock the church to its core?A trail of clues that can only be interpreted by an expert?This all sounds rather familiar....Except the expert is Brother Hermitage, so I wouldn't get your hopes up.Called once more by King William - who doesn't even know what he's calling for - Hermitage, Cwen and Wat the weaver set off to deal with the greatest mystery of all. A mystery that has been protected and guarded for years by a secret brotherhood sworn by awful oaths.A mystery only known to a priest who now happens to be dead.A mystery hidden in a monastery that isn't even supposed to exist.A mystery of such value that the unscrupulous and greedy are also after it, and these particular unscrupulous and greedy know Brother Hermitage very well indeed.Will all be revealed in a satisfactory manner?Will the convoluted trail lead to a revelation of staggering...

From the monk who ruined the medieval crime genre comes a set of short tales; vignettes that only go to show that you never can tell. 60,000 have fallen for the truly medieval detective, Brother Hermitage, and found him hilraious, laugh out loud funny and brilliant - as well as stupid and clearly not for me!. These short tales are better than all the main novels - they're free!

From the world's best-selling author of comedy historical mysteries comes another largely pointless excursion.Medieval Shrewsbury is surely no place for murder. Not in this charming town would investigative monks wander around bothering people over every little incident.When Brother Hermitage arrives at Shrewsbury in the summer of 1068 something is up. Or rather down. Gilder, the great merchant is dead and Hermitage's urge to investigate is overwhelming.His companions, Cwen and Wat, weaver of pornographic tapestry think this is a very bad idea.So does the whole town Moot. And the sheriff and the rest of the population.And then there are the nuns. Hermitage has never been strong in the face of adversity and an adverse nun is more than he can cope with. A whole order of them is something to be strenuously avoided.But there is always his duty. It's got him into trouble so many times; why should Shrewsbury be any different?"Like Cadfael meets Clousseau.""Terry Pratchett does...