This book has it all and in spades. As is usual for Matthew Barholomew books, there is a lot of death and the corpses keep piling up while Brogher Michael and Matt try to unravel the whole list of bad things that are going on in Cambridge. The setting is fall 1357 and it all begins when a set of cherished chalices are stolen from Michaelhouse. The College is going through a very bad patch because of lack of money, and when Matt and Michael try to find out what is happening, the corpses start coming. The deaths seem to be unrelated at first, but then as the threads come together, Matt and Michael decide they need to go to Sussex to find out what is happening. Everything appears to be linked to Sussex and to the strange people that they meet there. Matt and Michael find there lives are in danger numerous times, and they begin to feel that there is no one that they can trust. I have been reading and loving Susanna Gregory's Matthew Bartholomew series since her first book came out. This is 15 book in this much beloved series. If you are a fan of medeival who-dun-its, then I highly recommend this series. The characters are believable and likeable, the plots are exciting and it's all based on true historical happenings and actual historical people. What more could you ask for? ( )