jacey | Booklog 25/26: Sarah Hawkswood: Ordeal by Fire – Bradecote and Catchpoll #2

Audiobook narrated by Matt Addis.

September 1143. Bradecote is the recently appointed under sheriff and Catchpoll is the wily and experienced serjeant-thieftaker. A series of deliberately-set fires in the city of Worcester stirs the population. Bradecote and Catchpoll must find the culprit before the whole city burns, but that means finding the link between the victims. At first that seems impossible. What connects Simeon the Jew with a silversmith, and an old healing woman? For a while all they can do is set a firewatch, at first believing that the property owner is burning out his tenants so he can redevelop the area. Gradually they piece threads together, discovering the motive delves back into the past. Matt Addis reads well and differentiates the voices beautifully. Bradecote speaks English (unlike most of the nobility of the day who still speak Norman French) and the local characters all have Worcestershire accents, which seem perfectly natural for story purposes. Catchpoll, in particular, sounds beautifully grizzled.