The invention of fire

I enjoyed the historical setting of this book, the picture of life and society in England during the reign of Richard II. The lesser known poet John Gower (a friend of Geoffrey Chaucer) is also a blackmailer and a fixer, so he comes to hear about some unaccounted for corpses that appear in a ditch below a public privy. So the story begins, and it involves sheriffs, mayors, lords, a smith, a poacher, an abused wife, and a nation expecting a war with France.

John Gower as a character leaves me cold, but I like his setting, so I keep reading these books.