Kendrick Wroe is found dead in the frozen Shill Brook.
Most suspect he has been poaching Lord Gilbert's fish, though Sir Hugh finds reason to believe this may not be so . . .Then one of Kendrick's friends is slain; another seems to be in mortal peril, and in an apparent attempt to throw Hugh off the scent, his comely daughter Bessie is abducted.
As the town drops all to find her, the tension steadily increases: a member of a plow team dies in mysterious circumstances, Kendrick's surviving friend is forced to flee for safety in Eynsham Abbey, and as events seemingly spiral out of control, it's all Hugh can do to master his anxiety and uncover the killer...
Mel Starr's latest novel is a thoroughly enjoyable medieval murder mystery. It may be appreciated on its own, or as part of the Hugh de Singleton series.