A slight but readable historical murder mystery set in fifteenth-century England. Roger the Chapman—a former novice turned travelling peddler—is more perceptive than many people, and uses his observational powers to help figure out who was responsible for multiple deaths in the town of Bristol. Kate Sedley writes briskly and with a good eye for historical detail; the approach to gender here did remind me on more than one occasion that this book was written in the '90s. I wouldn't swear off reading more from this series in the future, but I'm also not going to keep a particular eye out from more installments of it either. ( )

Reciente aún su renuncia a la vida monástica, Roger Chapman todavía no conoce a fondo las asperezas de la venta ambulante. Las inclemencias del invierno inglés no propician las andanzas de pueblo en pueblo, y un día Chapman, víctima de un acceso de fiebre, cae desplomado en una calle de Bristol. Al despertar se halla en compañía de dos hospitalarias mujeres, una viuda y su hija, que lo han acogido bajo su techo.
Sin embargo, un tenebroso misterio envuelve a sus amables cuidadoras, y Chapman de buen grado aplicará al asunto su fino olfato de investigador.