The Cup of Ghosts is the first Paul Doherty novel I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed this first story of Mathilde of Westminster and how she comes to be part of the household of Princess Isabella in 1322. I love reading well-written, historically-accurate murder mysteries set in medieval England. I'm a big fan of Ellis Peters and the Brother Cadfael series.
This story starts out in Paris and ends in London when Princess Isabella marries King Edward II of England. The characters were well drawn, although the problem with historically-accurate stories about political intrigue is there tend to be a lot of them to keep straight. The story revolves around the devious princess and the development of her friendship with Mathilde and how they come to rely on each other to survive. They show that men may rule the world, but women can and have influenced the men who rule the world. There are hints of a future romance or at least deep love between the passionate Mathilde and the unattainable Templar Knight, Demontaigu. I was kept guessing till the very end when Mathilde finally revealed the assassin's identity and brought him to justice.
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