Some stories will fit in any setting and this is one. Let the world hear about a possible buried treasure and large numbers will set out to find and claim it, even allowing for the crown's claim on treasure trove. In fact, the crown itself in the person of John of Gaunt, the Lord Protector, might very well get in on this act. Things are complicated by the murderous death of a royal messenger. If the murderer isn't found then the parish in which the death occurred is fined and the people of Brother Athelstan's parish are to poor to sustain such a fine so it is up to the good brother to assist Sir John Cranston to find the guilty party. People's motives don't change much from age to age so there was very little the author had to do to make the reasoning clear. This is the 9th in the series and the characters have tics and stock phrases that could turn them into caricatures, like Sir John with his appetite for ale and habit of crashing into rooms and the bailiff and his dog, always wanting to be with Sir John. It was a good story, well told.
