I try to start mystery series with the first book, but 20-odd years ago, I started the Matthew Bartholomew series with the third chronicle, A Bone of Contention. Looking at my reviews of the re-reads of the first two books, I'm glad I did. By the third book, Susanna Gregory had a better feel for Matt's character and his relationships with his colleagues, particularly Brother Michael. She'd also started to introduce the humor that has kept my interest through the occasional sub-par mysteries.
The mystery in A Bone of Contention is well constructed. Someone is exacerbating the ongoing town/gown disputes of 1352 Cambridge into outright riots, and it somehow ties to both the death of a local man-turned-crusader-turned-villain who's legend has become that of a hero/saint and the family problems of the head of one of the colleges. Interspersed with comic scenes of Matt unconsciously attracting the attention of a pair of competitive sisters and the debauchery of a Michaelhouse feast, the book stands up after 20 years. Gregory's books are hard to find in the US, which is a shame. Local readers are definitely missing out.
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