Devil's Wolf by Paul Doherty is the 19th book in the medieval mystery series featuring Sir Hugh Corbett, The Keeper of the Secret Seal. It's September 1311 and as the personal envoy of King Edward II of England, Corbett has been sent north to investigate the veracity of an anonymous letter received by the King promising information that could allow England to exit from the war with the Scots.
Finding himself caught up in the events of the north, Corbett - along with his loyal servants Ranulf-atte-Newgate, Senior Clerk in the Chancery of the Green Wax and Chanson, Clerk of the Stables - must get to the bottom of a series of murders in order to find out what's really happening.
Following the same formula as the 18 books which have preceded Devil's Wolf, Corbett interviews informants, allies and foes; gathers clues; organises his observations; eliminates suspects and contemplates all of the information without sharing with anybody before making his big reveal at the end. Naturally his life is threatened a number of times as the villain/s attempt to disrupt his investigation and evade the King's justice.
Despite being extremely well researched, I have started to question my commitment to this series and was curious to know whether I was reading from a place of obligation or pleasure. I decided to go back and look at the star ratings I've given to each of the 20 books I've read by Paul Doherty; noting the first one I read of his was The Cup of Ghosts from the Mathilde of Westminster series. I was actually quite shocked to find that overall, the average rating for the books I've read by this author between 2006-2026 was 3.27 stars.
Given these stats and the fact that my copy of Devil's Wolf has been on my shelf since 2018, I've decided to stop reading any more of his books. Doherty is a prolific author and there are still 6 more books in the Hugh Corbett series - Death's Dark Valley (Book 20), Hymn to Murder (Book 21), Mother Midnight (Book 22), Realm of Darkness (Book 23), Banners of Hell (Book 24) and Immortal Murder (Book 25) published in 2025 - but I think I'm going to leave it there.
There's also the small matter of how much space these books take up on my bookshelf as I've kept them all. Usually when a book is a 3 star read for me I move it on unless it's signed or has some particular sentimental value. If I can, I might try and sell these online as nobody in Australia is offering them as a set like this. At the very least, I'll enjoy freeing up some additional space on my bookshelf.
This is the longest series I've ever read from the beginning and I didn't get to the 'end' which is disappointing, but there are just too many good prospects waiting on my TBR pile to be held captive to a series for nostalgic reasons. Are you continuing to read a series out of a sense of obligation or completionism?
Now that I've made my decision it feels quite freeing, so as I bid farewell to Sir Hugh Corbett, here are the books in order complete with links to my reviews:
(Book 1) Satan in St Mary's
(Book 2) Crown in Darkness
(Book 3) Spy in Chancery
(Book 4) The Angel of Death
(Book 5) The Prince of Darkness
(Book 6) Murder Wears a Cowl
(Book 7) The Assassin in the Greenwood
(Book 8) The Song of a Dark Angel
(Book 9) Satan's Fire
(Book 10) The Devil's Hunt
(Book 11) The Demon Archer
(Book 12) The Treason of the Ghosts
(Book 13) Corpse Candle
(Book 14) The Magician's Death
(Book 15) The Waxman Murders
(Book 16) Nightshade
(Book 17) The Mysterium
(Book 18) Dark Serpent
(Book 19) Devil's Wolf
Carpe Librum!
This year I’ve considered giving up The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I’ve read 23 books in the series and there are three more books published, the last being released in 2025. The books are easy reads but I just don’t know what else Alexander McCall Smith can do with them. I do feel a bit of an obligation, especially as they were some of my late mum’s favourite books. I’d like to see a bit more character progression e.g ageing so I am a little curious. I think the author will pass away before his characters.
ReplyDelete