Ashes to Ashes by Mel Starr

August 13, 2021

Ashes to Ashes by Mel Starr

Master Hugh de Singleton, surgeon and bailiff of Bampton Castle and the surrounding countryside, attends the annual Midsummer Eve bonfire with his wife Kate and their children. Early the next morning, Hugh is awakened by the tolling of the church bell, followed by pounding on his front door. He is summoned to the site of the bonfire, where workers have discovered bones in the ashes. Checking Bampton and the nearby villages, he learns that a number of men have gone missing recently. But after thorough investigation, all except one are accounted for (either living or dead). The one exception is the bailiff of a nearby manor who is still missing, and the charred bones are determined to be him. The killer put the body into the bonfire to destroy any evidence.

Bailiffs are generally not popular with the local people. They are responsible for collecting taxes and rents, ensuring that the villagers perform their assigned work duties for the lord of the castle, investigate crime, and do other unpleasant tasks for the lord. Hugh must investigate and find out who killed the bailiff and why.

This is the eighth book in the Hugh de Singleton series. Like the previous books, it is well-researched and provides a wealth of details about daily life in the 14th century, which are some of the best parts of the book. One of the interesting tidbits about Bampton (which is a real village in the Cotswolds) is that it was used as the village setting in the PBS TV series Downton Abbey.

A street in Bampton 

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys well-written historical fiction.