Falconer's Judgement

In the second mystery in the series featuring the Inspector Morse of thirteenth-century Oxford, Regent Master William Falconer - daringly progressive teacher, Aristotelian philosopher, and amateur sleuth - it is 1264 and Pope Alexander lies dying. As the cardinals scheme in Rome, a murderer in England plots a dark and deadly plan.
In Oxford, political intrigue abounds. The rich and powerful flock to Papal Legate Cardinal Otho, who hopes to become the Vicar of Christ, while the king promotes the candidacy of his brother, Richard of Cornwall. Meanwhile, Regent Master William Falconer races to decode papers sent to him by his mentor, Friar Roger Bacon, who has been exiled to Paris. The power struggle within the church hierarchy turns lethal, however, when Cardinal Otho's brother is killed by an assassin's arrow and blame falls upon a rioting student. Soon several other students are wrongly accused of a string of bizarre murders, and Falconer, professor and philosopher extraordinaire, must find the murderer in order to save their lives.