Strong as Death by Sharan Newman

Catharine and Edgar have undertaken a pilgrimage to Compostela to pray for a child. Catharine lost one child at birth and has miscarried several times. Edgar fears that she is in danger of lapsing into a religious mania of the sort that has her mother locked up in a convent. Apparently convents were the 12th century equivalent of mental institutions for the wealthier end of the economic spectrum. Poor people just got to go crazy where they stood.

Of course, the murders occur on the road among their group of pilgrims. That is quite logical, what is somewhat less logical is that every important cast member finds reason to come along - Catharine's father, his brother Eliazar, and their nephew Solomon. And in the course of the action, all of them get accused of murder.

The murders themselves are gruesome and creative and the murderer remains hidden until the last chapters, but that is part of Newman's trademark. More of Hubert's family turns up - in quite an unexpected manner. And everyone in their group on the pilgrimage has something to hide.

This book sees the death of Peter Abelard, who had been a mentor to both Catharine and Edgar. They did go visit him shortly before they left, in fact, he is the one that recommended the pilgrimage by interpreting a dream of Catharine's.