The Players' Boy Is Dead is the first in the Matthew and Joan Stock historical mystery series by Leonard Tourney. I read a few of these back in DTB days, and enjoyed them. It's a US Kindle Countdown deal at $0.99 for about 6 more days.
link:
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Boy-De.../dp/B01DC7OEQS
Spoiler:
Quote:
'vividly evocative of its era.” - The People
Elizabethan England.
A country that is growing rich and powerful.
But, under the surface, there are matters savage and murderous, as well…
When a small players’ troupe come to perform for a lord and his lady, none of the rag-tag group shine more than the young players’ boy, with his flaxen hair and fine features.
The player boy had won a scullery maid’s heart, and it was she, at cock’s crow, who went searching for him in the stables where he slept.
But upon finding him dead - murdered in a most gruesome way - the maid’s heart is broken.
County Constable Matthew Stock, a humble clothier by trade, and his practical-minded wife Joan set about to get to the bottom of this horrendous crime.
Constable Matthew must search high and low, from a Lord’s castle to a disreputable inn, to find the person who dealt such an ungodly blow …
So impossible is the case that Matthew finds himself resenting the position of Constable, as every lead seems to be a dead end.
Magistrate Sir Henry Saltmarsh and his ominous secretary Varnell take great pleasure in scrutinising the honest Constable.
As their keen interest escalates, Matthew begins to suspect that they are less than honourable.
Between adulterous wives, less than holy priests and a brutally enforced political hierarchy, Constable Matthew has his work cut out for him if he is to keep his job and get justice for the murdered boy...
The Players' Boy Is Dead is a widely acclaimed mystery novel as rich in historical detail as it is in suspense.
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