The summer of 1273 is peaceful for most of England—except in the village of Tyndal where Martin the cooper has been poisoned at the local inn.
Could the murderer be his usual whore who is about to be tossed aside for another woman? Or the innkeeper’s niece with secret reasons for fearing him? Perhaps the blacksmith did it, a man whose temper might have exploded when he was mocked once too often. Martin had enough enemies. The killer could be anyone.
This crime has naught to do with the priory, but Prioress Eleanor grieves for her friend—the newly bereaved Crowner Ralf—and offers what help she and former apothecary Sister Anne can.
When her own problems multiply, Eleanor has good reason to regret her kindness. Her new anchoress terrifies her servants and welcomes visitors to her window at night. One of those visitors has been Brother Thomas, a man the prioress secretly loves and whose loyalty to her as head of Tyndal Priory is now suspect.
Bodies multiply. Suspects disappear. No one likes the direction the evidence points, but God’s justice must be rendered—even for the forsaken soul. Forsaken Soul is the fifth novel in the Medieval Mystery series.