St. Oswald's Niche, a detective novel, is Laura Frankos' first full-length novel, published by Ballantine in 1991. It is currently out of print.
Jennet Walker, an American graduate student in medieval history, travels to York, England to attend a scholars' conference. Meeting the legendary scholar Edwin Durrell, Jennet is drawn into the world of archaeology, which is not her forte. Despite being somewhat out of her league, Jennet settles in comfortably with the team excavating the hidden niches of the Abbey of St. Oswald. Then, distressing news arrives that a recently discovered chalice has been stolen from the site.
