History Corner- Book Review and Giveaway: The Tainted Coin by Mel Starr

Welcome to our stop on The Tained Coin book blog tour!

This is the third book in the series, that we have reviewed, and the fifth in the series itself!

Synopsis: It is the autumn of 1367. Master Hugh is enjoying the peaceful life of Bampton when a badly beaten man is found under the porch of St. Andrew's Chapel. The dying man is a chapman--a traveling merchant. Before he is buried in the chapel grounds, an ancient, corroded coin is found in the man's mouth.

Master Hugh's quest for the chapman's assailants, and his search for the origin of the coin, begins to make progress--but there are men of wealth and power in league with his old nemesis, Sir Simon Trillowe, who wish to end his search . . . permanently.

But Master Hugh, and his assistant, the groom Arthur, are determined to uncover the thieves and murderers, and the source of the chapman's coin. They do, but not before they become involved with a kidnapped maiden, a tyrannical abbot, and a suffering monk--who needs Master Hugh's surgical skills and in return provides clues that assist Hugh in solving the mystery of the tainted coin.

Excerpt from Chapter One.

“Quickly, Master Hugh,” the skeletal priest urged, and set off down Church View Street at a trot, his bare, 

boney feet raising puffs of dust from the dry dirt of the street. I flung my sack over a shoulder and followed. I 

had questions about this abrupt summons, but Kellet was already too far ahead to allow conversation. I loped after the priest, the sack bouncing against my back.

Kellet led me to the High Street, thence up Bushey Row to the path to St. Andrew’s Chapel. The parish Church of St. Beornwald is a grand structure, but the chapel is old and small. ’Tis little more than a quarter of a mile from Bampton to the chapel, and soon the ancient building appeared in the fog. Kellet plunged through the decrepit lychgate and led me to the porch. There, upon the flags, I saw a man. The priest had placed the fellow upon a pallet so he did not rest upon the hard stones. I bent over the silent form and thought Kellet’s trouble unnecessary, for the man before me seemed insensible, if not already dead.

“Found ’im here at dawn, when I rose to ring the Angelus Bell. I heard a moan, so opened the door an’ found the fellow under the porch roof, just where he now lies. Put a pallet ’neath ’im an’ sought you. I could see ’e was bad off, even in so little light as in the porch.”

The curate lived in the chapel tower, in a bare room but four paces on a side. He need not go far from his bed to ring the bell of St. Andrew’s Chapel, for the bell-rope fell through a hole in the center of his chamber to the base of the tower at ground level.

The porch lay in shadow, so the nature of the man’s wounds was obscure. I asked Kellet to take one end of the pallet, and I grasped the other. Together we lifted the unconscious stranger to the churchyard where the rising sun was visible through the thinning fog and his wounds and injuries became apparent. The man had been beaten senseless. His nose was broken and askew, his scalp lacerated just above an ear where a blow had found his skull, his lips were purple and swollen, and it seemed sure his jaw was broken and teeth were knocked loose.


“You heard him moan when you rose to ring the Angelus Bell?”

“Aye,” Kellet replied.

“Did he say anything when you found him?”

“Nay. He was as you see ’im now.”

Whoever this man was, he had used the last of his strength to reach sanctuary, as I think he assumed the ancient chapel to be. I looked closely at the face, but could not recognize him as any man I knew. I asked the priest if he knew the fellow.

“Nay. ’Course, he’s so abused, he might be someone I know. In his state his own mother’d not know ’im, I think.”

I silently agreed with the priest, then bent to examine the man’s injuries more closely to learn was there anything I  might do to save his life and speed healing of his wounds.

I am Hugh de Singleton, surgeon, trained at the University of Paris, and also bailiff to Lord Gilbert Talbot  at his lands in Bampton. Many would find the work I must do as surgeon disagreeable, repairing men’s bodies when they have done themselves harm, but I find my duties as bailiff, collecting fines and dealing with obstreperous tenants, more irksome.

Review: Mel does it again with another wonderful Master Hugh historical mystery! This book went very very quickly and I almost felt like it wasn't as involved as the previous books, however it was still off good little mystery. There were a few surprises here and there to keep the reader very happy! As always Mel's wonderful historical nuances and vocabulary, provide a wonderful context for the story. and a dictionary is provided, in case you do not know the words. Having done a lot of Renaissance era reading, I was perfectly okay and did not need to go back and forth, but it's great it is provided in case you do need it. And this is what makes the book series truly unique and different. If you like a historical books and mysteries, then this series is definitely a one that you will like, and this latest entry will be a delight!

About the author: 

Mel Starr was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating with an MA in history from Western Michigan University in 1970, he taught history in Michigan public schools for thirty-nine years, thirty-five of those in Portage, MI, where he retired in 2003 as chairman of the social studies department of Portage Northern High School. Mel and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and seven grandchildren. 

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Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Kregel book tour, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.