Tom Musgrave, sword master and master of logic, is called away from the Eliz­a­bethan court to the Scottish borders, where his brother has been found dead­—ap­par­ent­ly frozen in terror by the sight of a hellhound. Musgrave uncovers a nest of intrigue and murder when he returns home to in­ves­ti­gate.

Tonkin has written a good historical mystery, though I found the pro­ta­gan­ist’s ra­ti­o­ci­na­tive powers improbable.