Alan Brookes

The Crucified Abbott: Where forbidden desires return to haunt you Alan Brookes

Behind the ruins of the old priory at the summit of Brereton Hill, close by the village of Upper Slaughter and enclosed by two oak plantations grows the Abbot Ibáñez yew tree. This living relic is not so much a landmark, but it is more than well known by all who live nearby, as a spooky feature embedded in the Triassic Sandstone of Cannock Chase. Here turtle doves nest on the primaeval branches looking down at the myriads of foxgloves and the vivid yellow kingcups. The tree indeed holds some gruesome features, like the iron nails that crucified the Abbot. Still, few villagers will search for them in the shadows beneath those dark thickets where the sun seldom peeps through the trees. On their honeymoon, Detective Sergeant Donald Lawrence and his wife, Janet, from Scotland Yard in London, stay at The Crucified Abbot and become involved in pagan rituals that are still performed around the old yew tree. They witness a murder and are compelled to investigate. Their private and professional lives are compromised and become entangled with local villagers and the murderer. Whether the detectives live or die will depend upon them overcoming the evil that surrounds the ancient hotel.