A series of grisly deaths are linked to the sacred Stone of Scone in this compelling medieval mystery featuring friar-sleuth Brother Athelstan.

'This abbey is a strange place, Brother Athelstan. A hall of ghosts, a place of flitting shadows. The dead throng here. I can hear them whispering as they ride the air.'

During the harsh winter of 1381, murder stalks the streets of London in all its grisly forms:

Streetwalkers are falling prey to a horrific serial killer known as The Flayer, who keeps his victims' skins for his collection.

A series of poisonings plagues Westminster Abbey, where the Stone of Scone – the symbol of the English crown's brutal rule of over Scotland – is housed.

Two former Upright Men – leaders of the Great Revolt – are found hanged near Brother Athelstan's parish church of St Erconwald.

Can Athelstan navigate this deadly maze of murder and intrigue and pull the threads of these crimes together?

Fans of Susanna Gregory, C. J. Sansom and S. J. Parris won't want to miss this intriguing and atmospheric historical mystery.

Praise for Paul Doherty

"The best of it's kind since Ellis Peters" Time Out
"Supremely evocative" Publishers Weekly
"Deliciously suspenseful" Historical Novels Review

|During the harsh winter of 1381 murder stalks the streets of London in all its grisly forms. Westminster Abbey, which houses the sacred Stone of Scone, is plagued by a series of hideous poisonings. Could there be a connection between these violent deaths and the stone, which the English crown cherishes as a symbol of its rule over Scotland?