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Love is the root of many murders.
The Virgin Provoked is a medieval mystery set in Carcassonne (now France) that follows Bertwoin, a plowman, who must come to grips with his family's struggle for honor and power - a struggle that is hostile to his love for the alchemist's virgin.
Tensions rise when the alchemist summons Bertwoin to help investigate the savage murder of Ermessen, a farmer's wife with no enemies. Ermessen's daughter, Armendis, is found lying befuddled near a dung heap, clutching a bloody dagger. Though all evidence points to her guilt, the alchemist believes she may not have killed her mother.
To prevent Armendis from being arrested by the bayle and to give the alchemist time to prove Armendis' innocence, Bertwoin and his aunt hide her. Then Bertwoin and Flowia, the alchemist's virgin. go searching for clues. While interviewing a priest, Bertwoin learns that his father plans to settle a boundary dispute by marrying him to a neighbor's daughter instead of Flowia.
Then Armendis disappears. Bertwoin finds and helps rescue her, but the bayle intercepts Armendis and arrests her.
The alchemist uses a piglet to learn the true identity of the murderer. However, when he presents his evidence in the Great Hall before the visconte and the seneschal, they refuse to accept it. Armendis will be made to confess to the murder of her mother.
To save Armendis, Bertwoin must do the unthinkable and take the risk of being hanged himself.
The Virgin Provoked is a complex tale of smoldering emotions and cold-hearted murder. The novel explores the themes of family loyalty, gender roles, and the corrupting influence of power and jealousy in a patriarchal medieval society.
