Roberta Gellis, acclaimed author of The Roselynde Chronicles, brings medieval London to life—and death—with her latest tale of splendor and squalor. Magdalene la Batarde is the madam of the Old Priory Guesthouse in Southwark. She and her women are expected to engage in a number of sinful delights, but bloody murder isn’t one of them—until Baldassare, the messenger, dies. Though Baldassare wasn’t a regular client of the Old Priory Guesthouse, Magdalene and her women refuse to allow his death to go unavenged. Of course, their efforts aren’t completely altruistic. Chances are if they don’t find the killer, they will be assumed guilty because they are whores, and they will be gutted and hanged. Into this sea of intrigue steps the handsome Sir Bellamy of Itchen. The bishop of Winchester, who was served for many years by Baldassare, orders Bellamy, his most trusted knight, to investigate the murder and tells him that Magdalene has been accused of the crime. Bellamy is instantly captivated by his chief suspect but is also convinced that she is hiding something. Sure that she is involved in the messenger’s death right up to her beautiful eyebrows but unable to believe she’s a killer, Bellamy must find out how and why Baldassare died—or watch the mysterious Magdalene meet her fate on the gallows.

When Sabina, the blind mistress of the Old Priory Guesthouse, accepts the offer of Master Mainard to live exclusively with him, everyone expects that Mainard's wife, Bertrild, would be glad to be rid of him since his face is horribly birthmarked. This was far from the truth. Bertrild attacks Sabina and demands that Mainard send her back to the whorehouse. Before Mainard and Sabina can decide what to do, Bertrild is murdered, and Mainard is the chief suspect. Fearful that her lover will be hung for murder, Sabina flees to her old whoremistress, Magdalene la Betarde, for help. Magdalene is no stranger to murder and will use her powerful friends to help the women who work for her, including Sir Bellamy of Itchen, who reunites with Magdalene in unraveling this tangled web of hatred, fear, and blackmail.

Magdalene knew there was trouble brewing in Oxford, with King Stephen bringing together his great council, and her patron, William of Ypres, unexpectedly summoning her. But she never expected to find a murder. Ordinarily nobody would believe that Niall Arvagh of Murcot, one of William's men, would stab a man in the back, even a man as gross as Aimery St. Cyr. But this was a special case. Had Niall killed St. Cyr for claiming to be betrothed to the pretty heiress, Loveday of Otmoor, whom Niall wanted for himself? Or had Niall killed on orders of his master, William of Ypres, for political reasons?

That Nelda Roundheels had been murdered would have been of little interest to anyone - except that her body turned up in the bishop of Winchester's bedchamber with a letter to the bishop, from the king's most important enemy, rolled up in her breastband. The bishop and his knight, Sir Bellamy of Itchen, realize immediately that the purpose of putting the body in Winchester's bedchamber is to embarrass and discredit the bishop. And the reason for this attack on Winchester is his calling of a convocation to chastise the king for acting high-handedly against the bishop of Salisbury. Had the king himself ordered this outrage? Had the king's favorite Waleran de Meulan ordered it? Unfortunately the answer is not so simple to find; there are many other noblemen who want the king's favor and might attack Winchester to get it. To save Winchester's reputation it is urgently necessary to discover who killed the woman and who placed her in Winchester's bedchamber. Bell, to his mingled joy and distress, is ordered to ask Magdalene la Bâtarde, whoremistress of the Old Priory Guesthouse, once his lover but now estranged, to help him solve the mystery.

A Confusion of Sins is the 5th novel in the series of medieval mysteries featuring Sir Bellamy of Itchen and Magdalene la Bâtarde. It is 1139 and England is in turmoil. King Stephen has found an excuse to seize and imprison the elderly and powerful Bishop of Salisbury and his nephews, whom the King suspects of treason. Stephen’s brother, Henry, is the Bishop of Winchester, and despite the love he has for elder brother, he has called an ecclesiastical convocation to consider the actions of the King. In the middle of this political crisis, the body of a monk, brutally murdered, is discovered in a house in London. The monk is Bernard of Rouen, a favorite of the Bishop of Rouen—an ally of the King who will be attending the convocation. Bernard, however, had a taste for gold and had offered to spy on his master for the Bishop of Winchester. Worse, the monk appears to have been murdered shortly after having been with a lover. And it gradually becomes clear that Bernard had other secrets, secrets that might have led someone to kill him. Bell must find out who is responsible for the murder, but must make certain that no one learns of the connection between Bernard and his master Winchester. Meanwhile, the ambitious son and deputy of the Sheriff of London is convinced that the easiest way to bring this matter to a close is to blame Magdalene la Bâtarde. With suspects ranging from prostitutes and merchants with secrets of their own to the great lords of the realm, and with Bell struggling with his feelings for Magdalene, A Confusion of Sins will certainly delight new and old fans of the series.