A Vein of Deceit cover art

A Vein of Deceit

The Fifteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew

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A Vein of Deceit

By: Susanna Gregory
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

There is something very amiss in the finances of Michaelhouse. Despite a new influx of well-heeled students, there is an acute lack of funds for the upkeep of the buildings, even for decent provisions. It is only when the brother in charge of the account books dies unexpectedly that some sort of explanation is revealed: he has been paying large amounts of money for goods the college itself has never received.

Although shocked by this evidence of fraud, Matthew is more concerned with the disappearance from his herbarium of a quantity of pennyroyal, a preparation known to cause a woman to miscarry, and a pregnant visitor to his sister's household has died from an overdose of pennyroyal. Had she meant to abort her child, or had someone else wanted to ensure she was unable to provide an heir to her husband's wealthy estates?

When Matthew learns that it was her husband who had received Michaelhouse's money for undelivered goods, he begins to search for other connections and exposes a very treacherous vein of deceit.

©2010 Susanna Gregory (P)2017 Little Brown Book Group Historical Mystery Fiction Marriage Money

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Too many murders! Was murder so prolific in those days? Also, Matthew is unusually lucky in evading injury or death!

The history and atmosphere of medieval Cambridge and Suffolk.

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Unlike most stories this did involve the death of a pregnant women and her unborn baby. Was the cause poison or suicide?
Also a lot more evil doings taking place, with a large number of suspects
I very much enjoyed this book.

Very Enjoyable tale.

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i love all of the characters.. the intrigues and the plots. so happy that there are more to read.

another excellent plot

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A very complicated mystery but also very enjoyable. I love the characters in these novels but apart from the main protagonists they don’t seem to last longer than a few books so don’t get used to them!

What??

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This is my fifteenth Matthew Bartholomew listen/read. In these I like the steady progression and enjoy the wait for the complicated knot of goings-on that test the listener/reader in unravelling who really did what. The narrator/performer is crystal clear in diction though I do find his characterisations outside of main repeating characters can sound in the family of these. It is not an issue limited to this performer, and Susanna Gregory does provide so many new characters to include, so perhaps it is hardly surprising. Speaking of which there were several surprises, the biggest surprise in this chronicle was really so and then left slipping off the end of a cliff at the chronicles conclusion. (Do not cheat!) I have steeled myself not to rush into the next next chronicle to see if I learn more, and I really want to. Listeners to the series are often wedded to them from start to finish, There is much that is rewarding, though you have to accept that daily medieval existence was austere.

The Journey is the Enjoyment

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I always enjoy a brother Michael and matthew plot but I have to say I got a little lost on the number of murderers. Prefer fewer baddies and a less intricate plot.
Don’t listen to this unless you have read or listened to some of the earlier books.

Enjoyable plot but too many murderers !

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Perhaps not my favourite story inbthe series, and left with an odd ending. vut I guess thats what keeps me comung back for more to see what happens next.

Another medieval murder trail

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Another complex adventure for Brother Michael and doctor Matthew. Truly enjoyed listening to this book.

good listen

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This is the fifteenth Matthew Bartholomew book so most people listening to this book will know exactly what to expect - a decent and enjoyable historical murder mystery but not 'great literature'.

I thought the story drifted around a bit in this book and isn't as strong as some of the others. The whole thing seemed a bit too far-fetched and contrived. Plenty of foundation laying for future books.

More of the same

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