Review: The Chapel of Bones

Exeter, 1323: The death of a mason at the Cathedral seems nothing more than a tragic accident. Saul was in the wrong place when the wedge slipped and the huge block of stone plunged down the scaffolding. But Thomas, the mason holding the rope, blames himself. If he hadn’t seen a ghost from his past, he would have paid closer attention to the stone.

The ghost from his past is Friar Nicholas, a man who was badly wounded in defence of Chaunter Walter de Lecchelade 40 years earlier. Thomas had been in the party that murdered de Lecchelade in the Cathedral Close, along with 3 other men: Henry the saddler, Joel the joiner, and William the soldier. All have their secrets: secrets they dare not let out.

But Henry knows his time grows short. He wants to die with a clean soul. So he goes to the Cathedral, intending to confess his sins. He’s found dead in the Charnel Chapel that night.

Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King’s Peace, is called in by Dean Alfred to investigate this terrible crime on holy soil. Accompanied by his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, Sir Baldwin begins picking away at the scars of 40 years, opening old wounds. Soon there’s another murder, and Sir Baldwin is up to his neck in suspects.

The Chapel of Bones is a highly complex drama, so complex that Jecks provides the reader with a cast of characters at the beginning of the book. Believe me, it comes in handy when you’re first sorting out who did what to whom and when. There are 2 sets of mysteries here: those surrounding the murder of Walter de Lecchelade in 1283 and those that spring up in 1323 following the death of Saul the mason. How Jecks managed to write such a complicated work without losing a single strand of the manifold plot, I cannot fathom, but I’m exceedingly glad he did. His characters are as complex as his plot.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM

Book Review: The Chapel of Bones