The Way of the Wicked

The Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon #17

by Melvin R. Starr

Kendrick Wroe is found dead in the frozen Shill Brook.


Most suspect he has been poaching Lord Gilbert's fish, though Sir Hugh finds reason to believe this may not be so . . .Then one of Kendrick's friends is slain; another seems to be in mortal peril, and in an apparent attempt to throw Hugh off the scent, his comely daughter Bessie is abducted.


As the town drops all to find her, the tension steadily a member of a plow team dies in mysterious circumstances, Kendrick's surviving friend is forced to flee for safety in Eynsham Abbey, and as events seemingly spiral out of control, it's all Hugh can do to master his anxiety and uncover the killer...


Mel Starr's latest novel is a thoroughly enjoyable medieval murder mystery. It may be appreciated on its own, or as part of the Hugh de Singleton series.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Medieval, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Historical

1 pages, Audio CD

Published May 13, 2025

About the author

Mel Starr was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating with a MA in history from Western Michigan University in 1970, he taught history in Michigan public schools for thirty-nine years, thirty-five of those in Portage, MI, where he retired in 2003 as chairman of the social studies department of Portage Northern High School. Mel and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and eight grandchildren.

Reviews

[Tracey G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly disappointed as this was the final book in the series, seemed rather anti climactic

[Diane Estrella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually Mel Starr's books are a slam dunk for me. This one had all the earmarking's of another great read, but the very last chapter fell short and left me feeling overall disappointed.

There was a lot of, what I happily embraced as, misdirection but it wasn't. From even the cover of the book, to him not following up on clues, or highly concentrating on things that were not clues, the story kept bumbling along with no clear discovery.

Basically, the last chapter left me with several plot holes that never got addressed, and the murderer was "caught" but not in a fulfilling way either. Three murders later and meh...

I will still buy his next book and look forward to another great adventure with Sir Hugh.

I bought this book for my own enjoyment.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

This episode in the Hugh de Singleton series is not the best, but still fun and (after 16 other books) very familiar. In this book, Sir Hugh takes a bit more time to sort out the case due to multiple murders, odd clues, and attacks on his own family. As always, he gets the job. As with previous entries, it is fun and easy to read about the trials and tribulations in Bampton.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great tale. Mel Starr's writing is simple, yet atmospheric.

[Gary McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it is time to conclude the Hugh De Singleton series. The author doesn’t seem to have the enthusiasm he once had. Perhaps at his age, the energy isn’t there. I’m seven years younger and already feel my endurance waning. There are too many repeated statements in the book: Hugh’s wife’s cooking has made him slow, Purgatory doesn’t exist, the history of the holly man who walks at night, etc. Hugh bumbles his way through his investigation. All he had to do was put several quiet watchers around the town at night, and in a few days, he would have his villain. I also don’t like the introduction of Lord Gilbert’s new wife. It was too abrupt. In the last book, Lord Gilbert seems to be a confirmed bachelor. Now he is established with a new wife at the beginning of the book. As far as the story, while a man might kill to cover poaching and a dalliance, why didn’t the boys realize who was responsible after the first death? The abduction of Hugh’s daughter and the attack on his wife seem bizarre. How exactly did the villain get a poisonous snake into the bed of one of his victims? It seems the author got tired of writing and ended the book in an abrupt and unsatisfying fashion. I’m surprised the reviews and the editor didn’t insist on fleshing out the book to a reasonable length and ending.

I must speak of the cost of this book. The book starts at page 21, and the book ends on page 179, so at 158 pages, this is a novella. The publisher should charge novella rates. Instead, at Amazon, the Kindle price is $13.68, and the paperback is $14.40. A fair price would have been $3.99. For this reason alone, I cannot recommend this book unless you obtain it the way I did, through my local library. Even if the author delivers another in the series, this is where I stop.

[Margaret Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mel Starr never disappoints with his Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton. This is #17, and Starr has once again come up with a tale with all sorts of twists and turns as Sir Hugh tries to figure out who is killing people in the village of Brampton. It helps to read the books in order so that you know who all the various characters are and what has happened to them in previous books. But if you can't read them in order, this one is fairly self-contained. I love the dry wit of Sir Hugh, as well as his careful observations to find clues others have missed.

[Michelle Ule · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine read for the turkey-stuffed day after Thanksgiving. The usual Hugh de Singleton murder mystery in Bampton, though this time Hugh had more on the line: his job, his daughter, and maybe even his wife.

As always, there are interesting details about 14th-century British countryside life, food, the shock of an adder bite, and the kindness of local monks.

If you've loved the previous stories, here's another one. :-)

[Galen Nippert · Rating 3 out of 5]

missing elements of a good book

I usually enjoy Mr. Starr’s books, but this book was missing a plot. It also was missing a logical ending. The author appeared to have just stopped writing and declared the book at an end. I was disappointed with the book.

[Gary W Tash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored!

Would've loved Audible but have listened to all his Audible so many times I could just about hear it as I was reading it. 20 times for every book is no exaggeration . Keep them coming, please

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't one of Mel Starr's best but it was a light and entertaining read, and sometimes that's all you really want. The story was a little melodramatic at times, even a little fanciful(?), but who's to say.

[Zosia Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always look forward to Mel Starr's latest adventures of Hugh de Singleton.
This one did not disappoint. I enjoyed it. Until the next book hopefully next year.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mystery.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always fun Hugh de Singleton book. This one was a little slow and maybe slightly muddled, but it's still a good romp.

[Wendy Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've loved all the books so far. But this one felt very rushed in the last chapter.too abrupt ending. Up till then it had been the usual excellent writing, with characters well known by now.

[Iris Pusemuckel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh? I wonder if Mel Starr wrote the last two books. I am speachless about the quality of this work.