For the most part, Joliffe does not find his tasks entirely unpleasant as he has food, access to clean water and a bed in which to sleep, though he is suffering from some nightmares, a result of his recent time in Normandy. One exception to Joliffe’s settling in to his new situation is the aptly named Mistress Cisily Thorncoffyn. Mistress Thorncoffyn is a patron of the hospital who often takes up residence in the hospital as everyone attends to her exaggerated ailments.

When a hospital patient dies, not an eyebrow is raised, but when a second death occurs shortly after, suspicious are raised, especially when Mistress Thorncoffyn insists she was the intended target, an understandable assumption in Joliffe’s mind. Joliffe sets about finding whether a murderer is afoot and whether Mistress Thorncoffyn is indeed the intended target or if this is just another bout of her hysteria.

It is good to see Joliffe back among his friends and though he did well serving the Bishop in Normandy, he too seems glad to be back with the troupe. He and Rose (who is working in the kitchen) fit easily in with the Sisters who run the hospital; Rose, perhaps a bit too easily in Joliffe’s mind. Joliffe is easygoing and has a wickedly wry sense of humor, though is able to hold his tongue when need be to avoid trouble.

Margaret Frazer depicts the Middle Ages with such ease; there is nothing awkward about the setting or speech of the characters, giving an overall familiar feel and a strong sense of place. The Sisters and lay people who care for the hospital and its patients are kind and generous of spirit, dispelling any notions that might exist of unsanitary and substandard conditions.

Even in a Middle Age charity hospital there are secrets and complicated relationships, making conditions ripe for murder. Joliffe’s position at the hospital is such that it allows him to be privy to many conversations that allow him to put the pieces together, using the skills he learned as a spy, to easily catch a murderer. After a brief working respite, Basset is healed and the troupe is ready to travel on and see where the road leads them to next.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry