Review – A Very Private Grave

One afternoon at the College of the Transfiguration in Yorkshire, Felicity Howard receives a package from her beloved Fr. Dominic. That evening, she finds him bludgeoned to death with a colleague, Fr. Antony, standing over him. The subsequent police presence continues to disturb the college’s tranquil atmosphere and, in the confusion, Felicity and Fr. Antony are told they are wanted for the murder. They flee, but proving their innocence requires interpreting Fr. Dominic’s cryptic notes in the package he gave Felicity and exploring his mysterious relationship to a hero of the medieval English church, St. Cuthbert (A.D. 636-87), as well as his relationship to the saint’s reputed, but never-discovered, treasure. Their quest leads the ill-matched pair across northern England and Scotland to the sites of St. Cuthbert’s historical actions, while unseen enemies (presumably the murderers) make repeated attempts on their lives. Unexpectedly, the quest also becomes a spiritual journey for both.

Fr. Antony’s expertise in church history provides details of St. Cuthbert’s life and the actions of his followers. Thus the novel develops parallel narratives of the contemporary characters’ flight from danger and the saint’s followers’ attempts to protect the saint’s body and treasure from falling into the hands of invading Danes.

The result is a novel that delivers much more than the promised suspense. In passage after passage, it is enriched by the author’s detailed knowledge of medieval church history and her intimate knowledge of the English and Scottish countryside, a knowledge that extends to specifics of tiny islands and tides. And it is a pleasure to read an author who not only knows about the Synod of Whitby (A.D. 664), but understands its significance. The reader of this thriller will emerge pleasantly educated as well as entertained.