“When I was a boy, we used to light fires, a circle of bonfires around the village, to ward off the ghosts. Well, the ghosts have come back to Melford to haunt, to seek justice, perhaps even revenge. We not only deal with treasons of the living, Ranulf, but the treason of the ghosts.”
—Sir Hugh Corbett, The Treason of the Ghosts
I have shamefully neglected Paul Doherty’s tales starring Sir Hugh Corbett, but recent reviews by The Puzzle Doctor at In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel convinced me to give the stories a shot as soon as I could. But I decided to be a rebel and start with a title that sounded great instead of reading in strict chronological order. The result? I ended up picking up a copy of The Treason of the Ghosts.
It’s a really good title, isn’t it? And it’s adequately explained by Doherty in the quote I chose to open the review with. And the story itself is just as atmospheric as the title. The village of Melford is our backdrop. Five years ago, Sir Roger Chapeley was hung for a series of brutal rapes and murders. Now, however, the killings have started again, and the dead man’s son, Maurice, insists on an investigation. This brings Sir Hugh Corbett down to the village, and like a bloodhound, he begins to sniff around, catching the killer’s scent and relentlessly pursuing it.
