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Knights Templar #4
The Winter Knight
A murder in a far off castle. A deadly struggle to survive… An intense and gripping Medieval thriller.
In the depths of winter at an ancient German castle, high up in the mountains, a noble is found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Back at Rourell, Arnau is taking on the responsibilities of a full Templar Knight. But when he is tasked with returning Brother Lütolf’s papers to settle a legal dispute between his family and the Order, Arnau is unexpectedly drawn into the killing at the castle. Here he enters a dark game of knives and double-crosses.
Trapped in the ice-bound fortress, mastery of the sword is no longer enough. This is a different kind of war: one of shadows and whispered threats. Arnau must use all the guile he possesses, or risk succumbing to an icy tomb.
The latest instalment of S.J.A. Turney’s unputdownable and bestselling Knights Templar series, The Winter Knight is perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane and Christian Cameron.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2019
171 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
S.J.A. Turney
93 books497 followersSimon lives with his wife and children and a menagerie of animals in rural North Yorkshire, where he sits in an office, wired on coffee and digestive biscuits, and attempts to spin engrossing tales out of strands of imagination while his children drive toys across his desk and two dogs howl as they try to share a brain cell.
A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling around ancient sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.
Following an arcane and eclectic career path that wound through everything from sheep to Microsoft networks and from paint to car sales, Simon wrote Marius’ Mules and, with help and support, made a success of it. Now, with in excess of 20 novels under his belt, Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.
Simon writes Roman military novels in the form of the bestselling Marius’ Mules series based on Julius Caesar’s campaigns, Roman thrillers in the Praetorian series, set during the troubled reign of Commodus, medieval adventures in the Ottoman Cycle, following a young Greek thief around the 15th century world, and a series of Historical Fantasy novels with a Roman flavour, called the Tales of the Empire.
Simon can be found on Twitter as @SJATurney and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SJATurney/ as well as on his website http://www.sjaturney.co.uk
A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling around ancient sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.
Following an arcane and eclectic career path that wound through everything from sheep to Microsoft networks and from paint to car sales, Simon wrote Marius’ Mules and, with help and support, made a success of it. Now, with in excess of 20 novels under his belt, Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.
Simon writes Roman military novels in the form of the bestselling Marius’ Mules series based on Julius Caesar’s campaigns, Roman thrillers in the Praetorian series, set during the troubled reign of Commodus, medieval adventures in the Ottoman Cycle, following a young Greek thief around the 15th century world, and a series of Historical Fantasy novels with a Roman flavour, called the Tales of the Empire.
Simon can be found on Twitter as @SJATurney and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SJATurney/ as well as on his website http://www.sjaturney.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 15, 2020
Different flavor in this edition
Arnau is maturing and more reasoned in this fourth instalment as Turney allows him to grow which is gratifying. I enjoy the author's research into the period and regions of the setting. Was not expecting a murder mystery which is most different than the first three, but it was an enjoyable ride.
Arnau is maturing and more reasoned in this fourth instalment as Turney allows him to grow which is gratifying. I enjoy the author's research into the period and regions of the setting. Was not expecting a murder mystery which is most different than the first three, but it was an enjoyable ride.
April 23, 2020
BLURB
A murder in a far off castle. A deadly struggle to survive… An intense and gripping Medieval thriller.
In the depths of winter at an ancient German castle, high up in the mountains, a noble is found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Back at Rourell, Arnau is taking on the responsibilities of a full Templar Knight. But when he is tasked with returning Brother Lütolf’s papers to settle a legal dispute between his family and the Order, Arnau is unexpectedly drawn into the killing at the castle. Here he enters a dark game of knives and double-crosses.
Trapped in the ice-bound fortress, mastery of the sword is no longer enough. This is a different kind of war: one of shadows and whispered threats. Arnau must use all the guile he possesses, or risk succumbing to an icy tomb.
The latest instalment of S.J.A. Turney’s unputdownable and bestselling Knights Templar series, The Winter Knight is perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane and Christian Cameron
REVIEW
A sleight deviation from the first three books in The Knights Templar, The Winter Knight is not only a further look into the development of Arnau as a trusted member of the Order, but it is also a masterfully told murder mystery. The author presents a seemingly impossible scenario - a murder with no viable suspects. But like the tapestry that hangs in the schloss where each picture; each section tells a tale, each chapter reveals more clues, more clarity, and more danger for Arnau who is tasked with solving the mystery. Naturally, the author has not made it easy for our sleuth. Stuck in the middle of a blizzard ridden mountain fortress, oft times not exactly dressed for the elements, and surrounded by people who have no love for the Templar Order, Arnau follows a twisting plot line as treacherous as the knee deep snow covered forest trail leading to the castle. Beautifully depicted, the pages practically emit the frost ridden breath of Arnau, or the sound of the snow crunching underfoot, the author has once again taken this reader on another page turning adventure. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A murder in a far off castle. A deadly struggle to survive… An intense and gripping Medieval thriller.
In the depths of winter at an ancient German castle, high up in the mountains, a noble is found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Back at Rourell, Arnau is taking on the responsibilities of a full Templar Knight. But when he is tasked with returning Brother Lütolf’s papers to settle a legal dispute between his family and the Order, Arnau is unexpectedly drawn into the killing at the castle. Here he enters a dark game of knives and double-crosses.
Trapped in the ice-bound fortress, mastery of the sword is no longer enough. This is a different kind of war: one of shadows and whispered threats. Arnau must use all the guile he possesses, or risk succumbing to an icy tomb.
The latest instalment of S.J.A. Turney’s unputdownable and bestselling Knights Templar series, The Winter Knight is perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane and Christian Cameron
REVIEW
A sleight deviation from the first three books in The Knights Templar, The Winter Knight is not only a further look into the development of Arnau as a trusted member of the Order, but it is also a masterfully told murder mystery. The author presents a seemingly impossible scenario - a murder with no viable suspects. But like the tapestry that hangs in the schloss where each picture; each section tells a tale, each chapter reveals more clues, more clarity, and more danger for Arnau who is tasked with solving the mystery. Naturally, the author has not made it easy for our sleuth. Stuck in the middle of a blizzard ridden mountain fortress, oft times not exactly dressed for the elements, and surrounded by people who have no love for the Templar Order, Arnau follows a twisting plot line as treacherous as the knee deep snow covered forest trail leading to the castle. Beautifully depicted, the pages practically emit the frost ridden breath of Arnau, or the sound of the snow crunching underfoot, the author has once again taken this reader on another page turning adventure. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
October 25, 2024
This was a story about a Knight Templar who unravels a mysterious series of deaths relating to a contested will in the 1100s in a monastery in German lands. At times, it reminded me of Umberto Ecco`s The Name of the Rose. The plot was convoluted and while some twists could be anticipated, some caught me by surprise. This book is a mix of historical fiction and historical fact and places the reader in a largely unfamiliar and mysterious time. I usually read Turney`s books to get a sense of history based on historical fact but the murder mystery was completely unexpected. I see that this is near the end of a series on the Knights Templar and I am inspired to read the entire series.
October 13, 2020
My least favourite book of this series, the chief character seemed to move into a Hercule Poirot mode and I just didnt feel it, plus it made me feel cold all the time!!!!!!! Hopefully the 5th book will move back to familiar ground and I do appreciate that the author tries out different approaches to each of his books.
May 24, 2024
Not a big fan of crime books
Not a big fan of murder mystery books as (to me) they seem to drag on and repeat themselves continuously. But the book was still interesting enough to keep me reading and did enjoy it more towards the end. And it's good to get the back story of some of the other characters in the series.
Not a big fan of murder mystery books as (to me) they seem to drag on and repeat themselves continuously. But the book was still interesting enough to keep me reading and did enjoy it more towards the end. And it's good to get the back story of some of the other characters in the series.
March 5, 2021
Mega!! But?
Really a enjoyed this it was different to others and could have been the start of many more medieval mysteries with him and his new clever squire, pity you killed him off? He had possibilities. But! Still a great series
Well done
Really a enjoyed this it was different to others and could have been the start of many more medieval mysteries with him and his new clever squire, pity you killed him off? He had possibilities. But! Still a great series
Well done
October 24, 2022
This book was hard going and the storyline did not flow
I’m going to carry on reading the series but the plot and storyline seems to be getting worse with each book
I’m going to carry on reading the series but the plot and storyline seems to be getting worse with each book
November 10, 2023
A different kind of templar
More a who done it than a crusader templar, but still enjoyed it, bring on the next in the series.
More a who done it than a crusader templar, but still enjoyed it, bring on the next in the series.
April 20, 2024
A very good mystery set in medieval Germany with our favorite knight.
April 12, 2025
Mystery and murder
The Winter Knight was a exceptionly exciting story worthy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. The constant who done it was engrossing.
The Winter Knight was a exceptionly exciting story worthy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. The constant who done it was engrossing.
July 18, 2023
This book was significantly better than the last one. On finishing the previous book I was tempted not to continue the series, I am glad I did. It was one of those books that once into the story you simply cannot stop reading.
I have two little points in the story which I found more annoying than anything else. After finding Felipe, he also recovered the 3 keys, why didn’t he just use the key to open the castle door, instead of what happened. Secondly when we left the hall to fight the actual murdered, he stated he had not got time to get his gauntlets which were up in his room, of course they weren’t he hadn’t back to his room since returning.
Neither is pivotal to the story except that possibly the actual conclusion was changed at some point?
I have two little points in the story which I found more annoying than anything else. After finding Felipe, he also recovered the 3 keys, why didn’t he just use the key to open the castle door, instead of what happened. Secondly when we left the hall to fight the actual murdered, he stated he had not got time to get his gauntlets which were up in his room, of course they weren’t he hadn’t back to his room since returning.
Neither is pivotal to the story except that possibly the actual conclusion was changed at some point?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2019
Unexpected, but really good read!
I had never imagined Arnau going north, but it makes sense that he would be the one to go to Lutolf’s family in Swabia. And yes, I had decided early in the first book that while Lutolf was not a particularly pleasant person, he was quite fascinating, so I am glad that he was not forgotten.
I had never imagined Arnau going north, but it makes sense that he would be the one to go to Lutolf’s family in Swabia. And yes, I had decided early in the first book that while Lutolf was not a particularly pleasant person, he was quite fascinating, so I am glad that he was not forgotten.
January 2, 2020
Excellent story telling
Another great adventure for the Iberian Templar knight Vallbona. Excellent story telling in a new world of medieval Germany with a bit of Roman history thrown in at the end. A week constructed narrative with many twists and turns keeping you engaged.
Another great adventure for the Iberian Templar knight Vallbona. Excellent story telling in a new world of medieval Germany with a bit of Roman history thrown in at the end. A week constructed narrative with many twists and turns keeping you engaged.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews