Covenant with Hell

Covenant with Hell

A Medieval Mystery

Priscilla Royal

Poisoned Pen Press

Scottsdale, AZ

ISBN: 9781464201950

Trade Paperback

$ 14.95

December 2013

250 pages

Sometimes everyone just needs to get away. That is exactly what Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas from Tyndal were thinking when they decided to pursue a pilgrimage to a nearby priory to worship at their holy relics. Looking for peace and personal repentance the two were not planning on a death immediately after their arrival. Also, they discovered that they were not really welcomed here and this particular priory was not friendly or charitable.

A young nun died from her fall from a bell tower Was she pushed or did she jump? Rumors in the town are speaking about a possible affair, a lover who was meeting with her in the tower. Unfortunately, this particular priory tends to believe the worse with this dead nun. Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas do not accept this conclusion with no evidence and begin to question those closest to the priory. The poor are discarded and have few rights in this community and the two do whatever they can to help others.

Rumors of King Edward visiting this town while having troops invading nearby Wales are running through the town as well as rumors of him possibly being assassinated.  Since Prioress Eleanor's brother is a close friend of the king, she questions if she should remain in this town in case he would visit.

The township has many secrets they wish to keep hidden.  Are all these somehow related?

Covenant with Hell is a well-written and well-organized mystery.  The story is gripping as more than the actual mystery causes problems for the main characters making the story believable.   Even though this is part of a series, this book is not dependent on the readers having knowledge of the previous series.  This book does work as a stand alone novel. 

Priscilla Royal currently resides in California.  Even though she grew up in British Columbia, her home was in the state of Washington while she earned her Bachelor of Arts in World Literature from San Francisco State University.

Covenant of Hell is a wonderful novel intermixing a mystery into the time of Edward and Eleanor in England.