A Head for Poisoning

Sir Geoffrey Mappestone #2

by Simon Beaufort

On the way home to his castle in Wales, one of Geoffrey de Mappestone's knights is killed during an ambush. The knight had claimed to be carrying an important message for the King, but when Geoffrey tries to deliver it, he is faced with the King's orders to spy on his own family to ferret out a traitor.Meanwhile, the future of the family estate is already in jeopardy, and Geoffrey's father is found murdered with his own knife during the night. As Geoffrey investigates, he finds the danger reaches from his family all the way to the King.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Medieval, Historical Mystery, Fiction, British Literature

378 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

AKA Susanna Gregory with Beau Riffenburgh (her husband).
Simon Beaufort is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a Cambridge academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She writes detective fiction.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot isn't bad but the writing is sloppy, i.e. wrong names, typos, etc. There is very little character development. The family arguments are repetitive and get old very quickly. I like the main character and it's a short series so I will stay with it a bit longer and see if the writing improves.

[Scott Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m hooked on this series.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Beaufort/Gregory’s writing. However this isn’t the best of her stories: the family is annoying and toxic, the plot meanders. But I’ll keep reading.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A HEAD FOR POISONING (Hist. Mys-Sir Geoffrey Mappestone-England-1101) - VG
Beaufort, Simon (aka Susanna Gregory) – 2nd in series
St. Martin’s Press, 1999, US Hardcover – ISBN: 031220549X

First Sentence: The early morning mist lay thick and white across the river, and there was a chill in the air.

Upon hearing that his father is dying, Sir Gregory Mappestone heads back to his family’s home, Goodrich Castle. But rather than a warm family reception, he finds a feud between his family and their Welch neighbors of Llan Martin which results in the death of a knight carrying a message to King Henry I. Henry asks Gregory to spy on his family in order to identify a traitor. His youngest sister, Enid, is dead, his father claims he is being poisoned and his other siblings are continually bickering among themselves and accusing him of only coming home in an effort to take over the Castle.

Any book by Beaufort/Gregory is one I know will be well researched and very well written. This was certainly no exception.

Even with the setting in the 1100s, the characters come alive. The scenes of the family arguments reminded me of the scene from “The Lion in Winter” when they are all in the dungeon. Geoffrey is an unusual knight. He is a hardened warrior, more interested in education than looting, and with his own personal phobia. He is in a situation where no one is what they seem but he must uncover the truth before he can leave and return to France.

What made it fun was that, as a reader, I was being continually surprised by the characters who are enabled by a deceptively twisted story. I’ve become a real junkie for mysteries in historical periods/setting but they must be done well. Beaufort does it very well.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems to me that Geoffrey Mappestone is one of the densest "sleuths" I have ever read. He gets pretty confused from all the different people's statements, lies and suppositions. Not one of my favorites. In this book, he returns home from the Crusades to see his dying father who is a tyrant and in the process runs into a hornet's nest of brothers, sisters, and sister-in-laws as well as bringing home some of his comapnions from the Crusades--not all of whom are honest or loyal.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Geoffrey Mappestone returns home after an absence of twenty years to find his father slowly dying of poison, convinced one of his offspring is responsible. The castle and village are in disarray, the siblings are fighting over the inheritance and there is the usual uncertainty of life in the 1100s.

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a toxic bunch of relatives Geoffrey has. No wonder he stayed away 20 years. The group became annoying to read about after a while. Started cheering for the alpha villian in hopes he would dispatch them all in one fell swoop.

[David]

2nd I have read in this series. Kept me entertained

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written book.

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but not as much as the first one in this series.

[Mary G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. What a wonderful crazy family.