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Paul DOHERTY
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The Stone of Destiny (A Brother Athelstan Mystery, 20) Paperback – September 28, 2021

by Paul Doherty (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 981 ratings
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A series of grisly deaths are linked to the sacred Stone of Scone in this compelling medieval mystery featuring friar-sleuth Brother Athelstan. "This abbey is a strange place, Brother Athelstan. A hall of ghosts, a place of flitting shadows. The dead throng here. I can hear them whispering as they ride the air." During the harsh winter of 1381 murder stalks the streets of London in all its grisly forms. The city's prostitutes are falling prey to a silent, deadly assassin known as The Flayer who carefully peels his victims' skins for his collection. At the same time, Westminster Abbey, which houses the sacred Stone of Scone, is plagued by a series of hideous poisonings. Could there be a connection between these brutally violent deaths and the stone, which the English crown cherishes as a symbol of its rule over Scotland? Then there are the two former Upright Men, leaders of the Great Revolt, who are found mysteriously hanged in the Piebald Tavern, close to Brother Athelstan's parish church of St Erconwald - and Athelstan is faced with his most baffling investigation to date. Can he navigate this deadly maze of murder and intrigue and pull the various threads together?
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Previous page
  1. Book 20 of 22
    The Brother Athelstan Mysteries
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Severn House
  5. Publication date
    September 28, 2021
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1780297505
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1780297507
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Doherty displays exceptional narrative flair as he brings the often-squalid sights, sounds and smells of medieval London to life in another artfully crafted and plotted historical mystery ― Booklist on The Godless

Conjuring up medieval London in all its grime and glory, Doherty keeps readers guessing and the pages turning with another intricately plotted whodunit steeped in history ― Booklist on The Mansions of Murder

“A tortuous, fascinating historical mystery whose finally honed descriptions are not for the faint of heart” – Kirkus Reviews

Outstanding ... Doherty keeps the action brisk, the crimes baffling and the deductions and solution fair ― Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Godless

A clever mystery neatly woven into a historically accurate rendering of life in a truly hellish London ― Kirkus Reviews on The Mansions of Murder

From the Back Cover

PAUL DOHERTY THE STONE OF DESTINY "This abbey is a strange place, Brother Athelstan. A hall of ghosts, a place of flitting shadows. The dead throng here. I can hear them whispering as they ride the air." During the harsh winter of 1381 murder stalks the streets of London in all its grisly forms. The city's prostitutes are falling prey to a silent, deadly assassin known as The Flayer who carefully peels his victims' skins for his collection. At the same time, Westminster Abbey, which houses the sacred Stone of Scone, is plagued by a series of hideous poisonings. Could there be a connection between these brutally violent deaths and the Stone, which the English crown cherishes as a symbol of its rule over Scotland? Then there are the two former Upright Men, leaders of the Great Revolt, who are found mysteriously hanged in the Piebald Tavern, close to Brother Athelstan's parish church of St Erconwald - and Athelstan is faced with his most baffling investigation to date. Can he navigate this deadly maze of murder and pull the various threads together?

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Severn House (September 28, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1780297505
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1780297507
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 981 ratings

About the author

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Paul DOHERTY

Paul DOHERTY

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Dr. Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-East England) in 1946. After A-levels, he went to Ushaw College in Durham for three years to study for the Catholic priesthood. In 1967, he was admitted to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford. While there he met his wife Carla Lynn Corbitt. He continued his studies but decided that the academic world was not for him and became a secondary school teacher.

Paul worked in Ascot, Newark and Crawley, before being appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green, Essex, in September 1981. Trinity is a large comprehensive (1700 on roll) which teaches the full ability range, ages 11-18. The school has been described as one of the leading comprehensives in the U.K. and has been awarded “Outstanding” in four consecutive OFSTED inspections. All seven of Paul and Carla’s children have been educated at Trinity.

Paul’s other incarnation is as a novelist. He finished his doctorate on the reign of Edward II of England and decided to start writing about the “undergrowth of history”, beginning with THE DEATH OF A KING, published in 1985. Since then, Paul has written over 100 books and has published a series of outstanding historical mysteries set in the Middle Ages, Classical Greece, Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages and are available in several formats, including large print, audio books, and more recently e-books.

He has been published under several pseudonyms: C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, Michael Clynes, Ann Dukthas and Anna Apostolou, but now writes only under his own name. Paul has also written a number of non-fiction titles, among them: ISABELLA AND THE STRANGE DEATH OF EDWARD II, a scholarly study of The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303, THE SECRET LIFE OF ELIZABETH I, and a study of the mystery surrounding the death of Alexander the Great.

Paul lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries, many of which later feature in his writings. A born speaker and trained lecturer Paul loves to tell stories and “bring history to life.”

Dr Paul Doherty receiving his OBE

Paul’s Publishers

Headline Publishing Group

338 Euston Road

London

NW1 3BH

Telephone: +44 (0) 207 873 6000

Email: enquiries@headline.co.uk

Severn House Publishers Ltd

9-15 High Street

Sutton, Surrey

SM1 1DF

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8770 3930

Email: sales@severnhouse.com

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
981 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Scarlet Chaps
5.0 out of 5 stars A Darn Good Series The Monk Mysteries
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2022
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Mr. Doherty must have been Brother Athelstan, his tales woven truly transported me into the time of John Cranston and Brother Athelstan. Mr. Doherty researches and touches on true historical times when he tells these tales. I tucked away all 20 books in 2021, almost half of my pleasure reading, 43 books for this past year.
I am a fan of Ellis Peters and Paul Doherty can and has weaved some of the finest stories told. He rivals Ellis Peters.

I am on to the Hugh Corbett mysteries now, whoopie! There is nothing like a great tale told by a pretty darn near excellent author!

Thank you Paul Doherty, may you never run out of tales to tell. I will read your books before any others suggested to me. Your books are superior to some others I have read. Read a good book, get comfortable and let a good author take you places, make Paul Doherty an author to follow.

Again thank you, your books are excellently wonderful reads.
3 people found this helpful
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HelenH
4.0 out of 5 stars Brother Athelstan and Sir John, Back Again, They Are
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2021
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Severn House for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “The Stone of Destiny.” All opinions are my own.

A murderess is found out and condemned as “The Stone of Destiny” begins, the 20th in the Brother Athelstan series. The “boy” that betrayed the serial killer is left behind to remember what he’s done. No doubt we’ll see him again.

Flash forward a few years to 1381, and dead men in Westminster Abbey (locked rooms, naturally – Doherty’s specialty) will bring our hard-working, mystery-solving medieval priest and the larger-than-life Lord High Coroner Sir John Cranston together again in the long-running series by Paul Doherty. The dead are men who are “Guardians of the Stone” – the Stone of Scone – the Stone of Destiny, a sacred symbol of royal Scotland which just happens to be sitting in Westminster Cathedral.

Besides this little problem, there’s a new murderer in town – The Flayer, who’s doing ghastly things to his victims, unwary prostitutes that he’s tracking down and killing. Wonder where he got that idea?

We have a visitor from Scotland to get in the way, who’s busy recording information about The Great Revolt. He wants to interview Brother Athelstan’s parishioners. There’s more to this of course, which becomes very clear as the book progresses. Doherty is a master at weaving plotlines together. And what part does the Scottish royal regalia play in it all? A note at the end of the book will (probably) explain it. Note: it will.

Athelstan and Cranston figure everything out, of course. A vast conspiracy – what else is new? And now they must tread oh so carefully, for they have put themselves in harm’s way.

Hopefully readers won’t be starting with this book. It will help to already know the parishioners of St. Erconwald and their interesting lives; Sir John and his family, John of Gaunt, that menacing figure, the bailiffs, the poor and the proprietors of the ale houses, all the people that populate these books. Doherty will set out their stories a bit, but since this series has been going on for a while, he can’t explain everything. I do hope you have already been on Brother Athelstan’s journey – you will have enjoyed every step along the way.
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D. D. McGuire
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the series best
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2021
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The 20th adventure of Brother Athlestan and Coroner Jack Cranston is the one of their best! The ragtag group of St. Erconwald parishioners are front and center this time and their antics add much to the story. Docherty has started eliminating some characters that we have become attached over the course of the series and readers should be prepared for more untimely exits this time around. Beside three intriguing mysteries the story has the excitement of a naval battleand political intrigue. Readers who prefer their mysteries without gore should skim the first chapter about Adele's predilictions and one of the ending chapters that details an execution quite graphically. As a special bonus, for once the author has restrained his urge to meander through London's streets and endlessly describe all that is bizarre, noisome, and cruel without furthering the plot. (Readers who have read any of Dougherty's many other books and keep count will note he is still reusing the term "needle thin alleys." )
3 people found this helpful
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Hector E.
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2023
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I have read all the previous books in these series and, this one is got to be, I think, the best. Full of twist and turns with a surprising ending. A bit gory but, a great read..
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Kward
5.0 out of 5 stars Oh! Stone of Destiny! Stone of Kings!
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2021
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Clever, clever, clever! As usual more seemingly unrelated murders and the fallout of the Great Rebellion continues to plague Brother Athelstan and Sir John. Could John of Gault have used these events to further his ambitions? And when does a rock become the real Stone of Destiny? Paul Doherty is a master of deceit, mayhem, and human nature.
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DragonflyDebbi
4.0 out of 5 stars Not the typical Doherty, but still a good read
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2021
Strange things are happening in London, and bodies are piling up in Westminster Abbey in this new book by Paul Doherty. Tales of treasure buried in a graveyard, and the disappearance of Scotland's Stone of Scone and other regalia rounds out the fast paced tale of murder and mayhem. Can Brother Athelstan figure out what's going on and bring justice to the perpetrators?

Prostitutes are disappearing, and their skinless bodies are showing up in dark and dismal places. Nicknamed "The Flayer" for his/her habit in skinning the bodies and (sometimes) leaving the skin in strange places, Brother Athelstan and the Coroner are tasked with finding the murderer. At the same time, someone is poisoning monks in Westminster Abbey (and the occasional non-monk as well) but who and how is unknown. Is it just a coincidence that the dead monks have a connection to Scotland?

At first a rather disconcerting jumble of characters with strange names, the book smooths out into a compelling who dunnit as Athelstan seeks to find who is behind these gruesome murders. At the same time he is searching for the missing Stone of Destiny and royal regalia that was stolen from Scotland and brought to England in years past. The blend of fiction and historical questions makes The Stone of Destiny an interesting and entertaining read (even if the amount of real history is minimal, that's why they call it historical fiction!). Definitely worth reading!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Phillip Cattroll
5.0 out of 5 stars Intrigue right up to the end.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2024
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Wonderful reading. You are transported to the time of the intrigue. The powerful lust for power. Right up to the last word on the last page, awaiting what can come next.
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Silvio Zeibig
5.0 out of 5 stars Erneut spannendes Abenteuer von Athelstan
Reviewed in Germany on August 28, 2023
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Das Buch ist sehr spannend geschrieben, es hat mir Spaß bereitet es zu übersetzen.
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Dr. Rainer Zoch
5.0 out of 5 stars Exzellente Einbindung einer Kriminalgeschichte im historisch präzisen Rahmen.
Reviewed in Germany on June 18, 2021
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Alles hat gefallen, Farbvielfalt der Charaktere, geschichtlich durchleuchtet großer Rahmen mit Spannung und nicht vorhersehbaren Ausgang.
Lesevergnügen in englischer Sprache.
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Longsuffering
5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good really.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2021
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Interesting idea, very obvious plot, good fun though. Paul has seen fit to introduce some pseudo factoids here and there to pad the book out, for instance the thieves cant thing, well there’s always been one so why not mention it (or not !). There is mention here that there are no secret entrances to St Erconwalds church, well I vaguely remember mention of a tunnel used by the previous rather naughty priest ?
Not the best, but ok.
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K.R.
4.0 out of 5 stars catching and historically interesting
Reviewed in Germany on March 8, 2022
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I just love the very vivid descriptions of life in the 14th century. It is very authentic and lively. I like the characters as well as the stories around Athelstan and Cranston very much. However, I would appreciate a little more diversity as far as the plot is concerned. People tend to be hanged, stabbed or burned in locked rooms and the story then takes up a lot of time and space to find out how the culprit got into and out of the room the murder was committed in. If you’ve read all the stories from book 1 to 20, you tend to get a little bit bored since „of course“ the victim was slain or hanged in a locked room“ again… so the solutions are limited and you wish there‘d be a murderer who would think of something else for a change…
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