The Stallions of Woodstock, by Edward Marston

This is in the Domesday Book series, in which the commissioners travel to Oxford from Winchester to oversee counter claims on property, as is their job. This time, Canon Hubert and Brother Simon have been sricken ill and are replaced by another commissioner and scribe. The new scribe is a friendly sort, not particularly solemn and quiet different in every way from Simon; the new commissioner is also quite different from the man he replaces. For one thing he is much more prone to a military view of the world. This would seem to put him and Relph Delchard on similar footing, but somehow he seems much less likable.

When they arrive in Oxford, it is to find the castle in a small uproar: a knight has been killed, and a suspect has been brought to for questioning. He is summarily thrown into the dungeon: guilty as charged before a trial has taken place.

Quite soon the commissioners are presented with a case they cannot resolve amicably. Maurice Pagnal insists on resolving against the church claimant, while the other two are less easily persuaded. Finally, the monk representing the church rises to charge Pagnal with taking a bribe. In private, he confesses to Ralph and Gervase that the monk isn't wrong; they forcefully tell him to leave Oxford immediately, and then they send for Canon Hubert. In the meantime, all commission activities cease.

There follows a horse-theft, a suicide (a young garrison chorister, the former star of the chapel choir, who was forced to quit by her brother and who, despairing, took rat poison--she was pregnant), the beating of the owner of the stallion by a jealous husband, the release of the murder suspect, and the attempted rape of another choir soloist.

This is a complicated book, with lots of red herrings and a much more complex plot than the norm. While it's clear fairly early on who killed the knight, it's not clear why, nor is it clear why this individual would do several of the things we know he's doing. The choir/suicide/rape subplot is also quite clear; it's just a matter of proving it, as this individual is a note-perfect actor in his role of peacemaker and Christian charity.

Probably the best of the series so far.