The Assassin's Riddle

The only way to win this murderer’s deadly game… is to play along.

Summer, 1380. Brutal and sudden death is not uncommon in the foul alleys and streets of London. The corpse of a clerk has been pulled from the Thames. They drowned, but not before receiving a vicious blow to the back of the head.

Then Bartholomew Drayton, a usurer and money-lender, is found dead in his strongroom, a crossbow bolt firmly embedded in his chest: a real mystery because the windowless strongroom was locked and barred from the inside. So who killed him? And how? And are the deaths connected?

Sir John Cranston comes to survey the scene. When other clerks are murdered, each with a riddle pinned to his corpse, Cranston enlists the help of Brother Athelstan – and together they must pit their wits against a deadly adversary bent on murder and mayhem.

Another thrilling historical mystery from a true master of the genre, perfect for fans of S. G. MacLean, S. J. Parris and C. J. Sansom.
Paul Doherty worked as senior staff scientist at San Francisco’s famed Exploratorium Museum. He received his PhD in Solid State Physics from MIT in 1974 and was a tenured physics professor at Oakland University from 1974 to 1986. In 1986 he joined the Exploratorium, where he taught high school science teachers how to make science class relevant and interesting. He was the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the Exploratorium and author of over a dozen science books including the Explorabook, which has sold over one million copies. View titles by Paul Doherty

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The only way to win this murderer’s deadly game… is to play along.

Summer, 1380. Brutal and sudden death is not uncommon in the foul alleys and streets of London. The corpse of a clerk has been pulled from the Thames. They drowned, but not before receiving a vicious blow to the back of the head.

Then Bartholomew Drayton, a usurer and money-lender, is found dead in his strongroom, a crossbow bolt firmly embedded in his chest: a real mystery because the windowless strongroom was locked and barred from the inside. So who killed him? And how? And are the deaths connected?

Sir John Cranston comes to survey the scene. When other clerks are murdered, each with a riddle pinned to his corpse, Cranston enlists the help of Brother Athelstan – and together they must pit their wits against a deadly adversary bent on murder and mayhem.

Another thrilling historical mystery from a true master of the genre, perfect for fans of S. G. MacLean, S. J. Parris and C. J. Sansom.

Author

Paul Doherty worked as senior staff scientist at San Francisco’s famed Exploratorium Museum. He received his PhD in Solid State Physics from MIT in 1974 and was a tenured physics professor at Oakland University from 1974 to 1986. In 1986 he joined the Exploratorium, where he taught high school science teachers how to make science class relevant and interesting. He was the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the Exploratorium and author of over a dozen science books including the Explorabook, which has sold over one million copies. View titles by Paul Doherty
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