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Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite
It is the autumn of 1367 and Hugh de Singleton, surgeon and baliff to Lord Gilbert of Bampton Castle, returns in "The Tainted Coin", the fifth book featuring Hugh. Hugh is enjoying his marriage to his love, Kate Caxton, and is delighting in their nearly one year old daughter Bessie. But then the body of a nearly dead man is found under the porch of Bampton's St. Andrew's Chapel. When the man, John Thrale, dies, Hugh finds a coin that falls from his mouth and discovers that the man's last words were "They didn't get me coin." Hugh gets Lord Gilbert to let him have the help of Arthur, a groom. And off Hugh and Arthur go to investigate why a man like John Thrale, a chapman or traveling salesman, would have been murdered.
"The Tainted Coin" by author Mel Starr is a delightful look into medieval times as the author has studied both the medicine and history of those long ago times. Main character Hugh de Singleton is highly knowledgeable in the use of hemp and lettuce seeds to dull pain and how to repair a large fistula on a religious brother's face. Medieval dialogue is well-presented and readers will feel as though they are standing alongside the story's characters. The characters represent the era well and are believable. "The Tainted Coin" is not to be missed. Mel Starr has created a series that stands out for its historic accuracy as his absorbing tales of long ago England are told.
