A mystery involving a medieval relic? Count me in! I enjoyed this story and was kept guessing until the end. The characters were well drawn and believable, except, to me, for the detective. Jurnet was rather a boring figure who could have been replaced just as well with anyone else. Still, I would recommend this to anyone who likes English mysteries. ( )

The first of the series featuring DI Benjamin Jurnet. In this series opener, the village of Mauthen Barbary is in the midst of a pilgrimage. It seems that one of the local squires had earlier dug up a valuable wooden statue known as Our Lady of Promise; to this statue women would come and pray for a child. This had been going on for centuries; one of its most famous petitioners was none other than Henry VIII and his then wife, Jane Seymour. So now, there are about 4000 people who've come to make the pilgrimage to visit this statue. But after the procession is over, and the statue is taken back to its shrine, the doors are opened and inside is found the body of a young woman, one of the 12 virgins who was supposed to have been walking with the procession. Except this virgin is pregnant and very dead, and clutching an odd golden cross. Inspector Jurnet, who just happened to be traveling through the area on his way home, is on the scene at once. He is convinced this is a local crime, and it turns out that his intuition is correct when there is a second murder....

For a first in a series, this one was really quite well done. The mystery was plotted well, there were a lot of suspects, many possible motives, and I could't figure it out. But at the very end, after the crime is solved, I didn't like the speculation on the girl's pregnancy by her relatives. I thought this most unnecessary. Otherwise, good enough for me to continue the series! ( )