The Dragon of Handale

Clark's outstanding fifth mystery set in 14th-century England (after 2012's A Parliament of Spies) finds series heroine Hildegard in transition. Having returned from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the former abbess is considering rejoining her religious order after a year. Her prioress suggests that Hildegard instead spend time at Handale Priory, "somewhere near Northumberland's territory," to help her "achieve clarity." Hildegard suspects that the prioress is concerned with more than just her spiritual well-being. On arrival at Handale, a place of penitence "where those nuns who have broken their vows are sent," she discovers the sisters living in terror and bearing the marks of sadistic punishments. In the priory's morgue is the mutilated body of a laborer reputed to be the victim of a legendary fire-breathing monster. Clark pulls everything together neatly in a moody, atmospheric whodunit while sustaining a high level of tension throughout. Agent: Patricia Moosbrugger, Patricia Moosbrugger Literary Agency. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.