A Corpse at St Andrew's Chapel

The Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon, Book 2

By: Mel Starr

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

A further episode in the Unquiet Bones series, following the life and fortunes of Hugh de Singleton, surgeon in medieval Bampton, Oxfordshire

Alan, the beadle of the manor of Bampton, had gone out at dusk to seek those who might violate curfew. When, the following morning, he had not returned home, his young wife Matilda had sought out Master Hugh de Singleton, surgeon and bailiff of the manor. Two days later Alan’s corpse was discovered in the hedge, at the side of the track to St. Andrew’s Chapel. His throat had been torn out - his head was half severed from his body - and his face, hands, and forearms were lacerated with deep scratches.

Master Hugh, meeting Hubert the coroner at the scene, listened carefully to the coroner’s surmise that a wolf had caused the great wound. And yet, if so, why was there no blood?

©2013 Mel Starr (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Good

Light on plot but the writing is beautiful; and in the softer old language -- not sharp and to the point as modern English has become. It is very interesting historically without being so historically dense it weighs everything down. The telling of the story is gentle, the narrator's voice is deep but gentle even though some harsh things happen. But it isn't just wimpy sweet. When bad things happen there's passion and intensity and warmth in the happy things. The underlying even keel, for me, isn't boring but balanced, showing good and bad are part of life -- the tone is more contemplative, thoughtful, peaceful. The writing and attitude bring so much depth that the slow plot isn't boring -- for me anyway.

Forensics, Surgery, Apothecary and Sleuth

In the second book, Hugh of Singleton is keeping very busy at Bampton Castle and thereabouts, when the beadle of the manor turns up dead. And not JUST dead, but mutilated as if an animal had attacked him. With Lord Gilbert frequently traveling about, much of the manor business is left to Hugh to attend to, including preparing medicines from the local fields and woods, performing surgeries, administering healing potions, as well as forensics, determining how, when and why people died. Which takes us into the sleuthing, which Hugh does so well . . . albeit a bit on the sly, whilst performing his other duties. Hugh has wry wit and is often contemplating why he cannot achieve the one eyebrow lift that Lord Gilbert so easily achieves. His slow and easy thoughtfulness adds much to the story. He's never rushed, and the listener is usually waiting for the "next shoe to drop", as we know that he is surely up to something. He cannot be goaded into a quick or easy solution, and will continue to niggle at a problem until he gets at the root of it. Also always at the back of his mind is that he would be a much more satisfied man were he married. 🙂So he is always on the lookout for just the right woman, not above or below his station, and one that will not try his patience. 😂 I love the atmosphere, the personalities, the steady pace of the story, and as always, the eventual conclusion to the mystery. Excellent series!

Wonderful series

Really wonderful books. No foul language or sex, etc. Historically accurate and interesting. I really like Susanna Gregory’s Bartholomew, but these are better.

Entertaining!

This, as the previous story, is entertaining and enjoyable even if the mysteries seem to be solved by accident/happenstance from something overheard, perfect timing of a new clue, etc.
I’ll certainly keep going in the series because I love the medical aspect intertwined into the mystery, but if a good, solidly built, developed and solved mystery is what you’re interested in, this series may miss the mark for you.

Excellent 14th century mystery/philosophy. AA

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. Very Interesting. Accurate historical English and other fine trivia of (both villein and castle) daily life leaven the tale.
The mystery itself is well-told, but the real attraction for me is getting to know Hugh Singleton, who is both Surgeon and the local lord's bailiff in Bampton.
Told from his point of view, we get to "hear" his thinking, reasoning, logic, and fascinating prayer life & faith. He meets a couple times with his mentor John Wycliffe (yes, that John Wycliffe) at Oxford, and we get to know more of JW's theology, faith and reasoning, as well. Terrific!
I must note for the non-Christian reader that the religious part of the story in tiny, and only relates the true culture and climate of the day--which greatly impacts the daily life of all--and is not prosyletic in any way. But Hugh and Wycliffe's very brief discussions are highly illuminating.

Loved it!!! 💜💜💜

Hughs is such a fun character and the peculiar situations he finds himself in are truly entertaining. It has everything! A bit of comedy, action, suspense, the thrill of a good “whodunnit” and even some romance. I will definitely continue listening to this series... Also, the voice actor captures the main character and social nuances very well! I look forward to the third book! 🤩👌🏻

More story than gory

I rated the first in this series a 5 - the 4 star for me this time is because the main character's search for love became somewhat creepy - there is a young lady named Alice (met in the first book) who reaches the age of 15 who turns the surgeon's head in a 'okay, just stop it' way. I wanted to give this head's up for a possible trigger for other readers.
All in all, I think the reason I am drawn to Starr's style is that (except for the dietary details) we are left to learn about the various positions of the town and daily life on our own - as if we are actually there and should know all this. Often modern writers of stories set in earlier eras try to weave these support details in and it detracts from the actual storyline - almost like reading an essay to prove the amount of study and prep that went behind the story.
Mostly, I like that Starr cuts off the angst that comes from the unknown by giving us an assurance of a problem solved at the very outset. I just started book 3 in which he must look for stolen books - right from the start he says that the whole story is about how he returns them. That was what prompted me to write the review for book 2. Starr implements this comfort perpetually.
As I don't read the last page of books as some of my friends do, I wondered why I like these built-in spoilers: I realized that especially during pandemic times when we have had so much uncertainty, it's a breath of fresh air to know that my nervous system won't be jolted or the 'contract I signed' in choosing this book won't be broken. It truly delivers on its promise of offering more story than gory.
A quick comment on audio: I suggest running this at 1.15 speed to get a normal speaking cadence. Also, the lack of pause between ideas can be super distracting after a time. This is an editing issue. I truly love the narration itself. Crossley is a perfect choice for this series.

Gentle medieval mystery

This is another installment in a contemplative, peaceful mystery series. There are some slightly gruesome moments but the central figure is kind and self-searching and the narration is great. I found this a wonderful listen as I was winding down in the evening.

Fantastic listen!

This is the second book in the Hugh de Singleton series and I just downloaded the third. I read and listen to many historical dramas and mysteries and am sometimes disappointed but I have thoroughly enjoyed this one! From an historical perspective it is very accurate and is very well written. The plot and characters are well developed and there are a great number of carefully described details that bring it all to life. I have really enjoyed the narrator, whose deep and resonate voice is just what this story needs. So glad I discovered this series!

Narrator for this series is excellent!

Love this series so far and the narrator is perfect for this book, he makes the story easy to follow!

Unchallenging but entertaining

This is the second in this series. So far they’re fairly straightforward fun and that’s what I want from a book.
This one is based on murder, poaching and the rather hapless main character falling in love for the 20th time in 2 books.

The author doth protest too much.

There were hints of it in the first book in this series, but the pomposity in this book is overwhelming.
The surgeon-cum-bailiffe Hugh de Singleton morphs his narrative of what otherwise might be a jolly enough crime story into a prating, hypcritical treatise on the Protestant movement.
Yeah, yeah, we get it: the Catholic Church in Britain (and elsewhere) was currupt and self-serving. Yes, it was in need of reform, but if you wish to enlighten your reader about a particular historical period, why couch theories on it using 'unempeachable' language? Starr presents Thomas Wycliffe's theological position (a precursor to Luther) through Hugh's voice, and Hugh presents them in an, 'any right minded person couldn't possibly think other wise' kind of voice - you can virtually hear his jowls wobbling as he says these things. It is because of this that the novel's bias is obvious and unpalatable.
What makes it worse is that while criticising the injustices of the established church, Hugh has no problem in enforcing the same inequalities when they are present in the fuedal system. In fact, as the Bailiff he enforces them - with absolutely no irony. Hugh goes into great descriptions about the different removes of food that he enjoys at his Lord's table while making strong moral judgements about the common people who poach venison! He acknowledges the common folk are lucky to see meat once a week so thinks it’s fair to lay the blame on the church's greed - this at the same time as tucking into his fish, capons and tarts.
Starr may think that criticising a religious institution’s selfishness whilst upholding the state's hierarchal position is acceptable but he should not expect his readers to be naive enough to overlook the contradiction.

NIce book but ...

I enjoyed the first book in the series, primarily because if you managed to forget the time shift and bearing in mind it's read by Steven Crossley, one can easily forget it's not a story about Matthew Shardlake. What's not to like?

This second book, although lovely to listen to and thoroughly enjoyable, is not exactly overflowing with a complex mystery. It left me wondering if I will buy the next in the series.

For such a great stylistic writer why on Earth such a poor plot? Such a shame.

Just noticed his books seem to get shorter after this. I think not - time to move on.

A Corpse at St Andrews’s

I loved listening to this medieval murder/mystery. It was interesting learning some new medieval words: leirwite - a fine for adultery, cresset - a metal holder for a fire torch, and mounted on a pole, containing oil, grease, wood or coal. Pannaging pigs. You can guess that one. But if not it is the practice of releasing pigs in a forest so that they can feed on fallen acorns, beechmast, chestnuts or other nuts.

Good performance

Story was needlessly long and the details offered did not enhance and only served to distract from the whodunit

Catchy and intriguing

reminds me a little of shardlake and Bruno. cant wait for book three. here goes

A surgeon with purpose

I really enjoy this series, I love historical fiction and although a different period the books have excellent pacing and lots of interesting characters. looking forward to listening to the next.

Good story in parts

I do like Stephen Crossley’s voice and he does a variety of accents very well, however he is too old in his voice for the young Hugh.
This isn’t as good as the first novel but I will persevere because I’m enjoying the historical references and the clear descriptions of time and seasons.
There is a lot of repetition at times and the use of ‘aye’ gets to be somewhat irritating!
It’s not CJ Sansom but worth a listen.

A good story but inconsistent reading makes it a less than perfect experience

The narrator puts emphasis on the wrong parts of the story, which detracts from a fuller enjoyment. I much prefer an English narrator and the diction on this performance is clear and distinct which is really good. It’s a shame that the emphasis is not up to the standard of the speech.

The story is good and it is clear that much historical research has been done to give a contextual symmetry adding to an atmospheric content that is consistent with the believability of the tale.

Such a great story

This narrator is simply enchanting me, bringing to life Mel Starr's story. The next adventures of Hugh de Singleton were fascinating - loved how he was thinking and trying new methods to make people reveal what they wanted badly to hide. The ending was very unexpected, usually I can guess the conclusion of a murder mystery, but Mel Starr is one crafty and creative writer