The Stallions of Woodstock (Domesday Books (St. Martins)) Book

Edward Marston's Domesday books continue to attract readers with their rich period detail and tightly plotted, suspenseful mysteries. Now once again, with The Stallions of Woodstock, he vividly re-creates the years immediately following the Norman conquest of England. Just outside of Oxford, three powerful Norman lords and a downtrodden Saxon watch as their most valued horses race near the forest of Woodstock. A great deal of money and even more pride are at stake, and the owners will do almost anything to ensure a win. But the race takes a deadly turn when one of the riders is stabbed and thrown from his mount before he can cross the finish line. On the same day, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, Domesday commissioners on behalf of the King, travel to Oxford where they've been asked to settle a land dispute. When news of the race reaches them, however, the rider's murder eclipses their original assignment. Several people stand to gain from the death, and Ralph and Gervase must find the truth in a town determined to hide its secrets. The Stallions of Woodstock is an engrossing, finely crafted historical mystery, evoking the cruelty and the beauty of the eleventh-century Domesday age.Read More