Murder in the Cloisters

The year is 1894. Yorbridge Cathedral is an unhappy place. Jack Sturmey,lay clerk, is hated by everyone, for one reason and one alone: he has a littleblack book with entries on all of them, man and boy, ordained and lay. They call him Squirmey ; everyone squirms at the very sight of him. One day,Squirmey s lifeless body is found in the cloisters, by the entrance to the Cave , wherethe choir practices. Who killed him? Verney Barker, gruff Master of the Choristers;Bacchus Dyson, College Principal; Sims Kilbey, Dean; Roberts Goulburn, Precentor;Prince Charles Victor, royal student; perhaps even the brilliant but wayward HeadChorister, Ivor Handl? Or someone else who had reason to fear Squirmey and hisledger? The case is assigned to Detective Inspector John Lomas, a supernumerarysinger at Yorbridge. Lomas and Detective Sargeant Harry Makepeace, temporarilytransferred from Hartleydale CID to assist. They uncover a web of lies, fraud,sexual intrigue and much more before they find the murderer, while preventinga shocking scandal from becoming public. The Cloister Killings is a follow-up toDavid Baker s The Organ Loft Murders.