The Bloodstained Throne

Sir Geoffrey Mappestone #7

by Simon Beaufort

The new ‘Sir Geoffrey Mappestone’ mystery - When the former crusader knight Geoffrey Mappestone and his friend Roger of Durham try to slip out of England to the Holy Land, a ferocious storm destroys the ship they are on and casts them ashore. The two knights are unwillingly thrust into the company of other shipwrecked passengers, and while attempting to evade the unwelcome attention of the more dangerous members of the group, they become unwillingly drawn into a plot to overthrow the king and return England to Saxon rule . . .

Genres: Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Fiction, Historical Mystery

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2010

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

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simon Beaufort is another pseudonym used by the author known as Susanna Gregory and the Geoffrey Mappestone series is very similar in tone. Unfortunately this means that nearly all the characters other than the main character (Geoffrey here, Matthew Bartholomew & Thomas Chaloner in the series written as Susanna Gregory) sound like fools. I love reading about Matthew Bartholomew and enjoy reading about Geoffrey & Thomas, but the difference in mindset between them and the rest of the characters is so large it's distracting.

[William Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only word i can use is that this installment of the Sir Geoffrey Mappestone series was rather a major disappointment, in that it was mostly predictable, and until the last chapter extremely boring. Guessing who was the real villain in this story was fairly easy, and surprising it took Geoffrey so long. Also, for someone who is said to be extremely fit and healthy, Geoffrey gets ill a great deal, and in fact the last few books in the series he appears to be be getting ill or poisoned a great deal. Possibly, he should think twice before accepting food or liquids from everyone he meets. I was going to give this book 2 stars, but the last few pages were enough to give this specific book 3 stars.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

A most ridiculous book. I almost gave up on it more than once, but stuck with it. The unlikely tolerance shown by both Roger and Geoffrey towards Roger's squire's rude, disrespectful and pettish behaviour is beyond belief, and this, among other failings, makes this book little short of just plain rubbish. Not one character acts or reacts in any way normal or believable, and seldom have I felt I have wasted my time more than by reading this book. I have given two stars because I didn't absolutely hate it - I just thought it was puerile hokum. If I was in the mood for nonsense, this would have been fine, but I was not!

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t express how disappointed I was with this book. I love historical fiction and I’m willing to look the other way so much! I read other books in this series and they weren’t the best, but they were entertaining. This one went too far over the line between historical and fiction, and created a story that could never really have happened in history, even in the most vivid imagination. I’m not even averse to that most of the time, but there’s a reason I like reading historical fiction and not fantasy. DNF for me after 4 books getting gradually less interesting/believable as they went on

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

25. A journey to make sure that Tancred really didn’t despise him has resulted in a shipwreck and our hero is still in England and still falling headfirst into a plot not of his making. He does seem to be at the mercy of external forces which is contradictory to his Crusader nature. Nevertheless, an interesting story although far from a who dun it. ’ There was definitely something odd about their determination to catch their former passengers.

[Scott Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery, but the conclusions are hazy.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot but the dialogue was a little strange. It was almost like a farce.

[Monique · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 2.5 stars ⭐️

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing

I enjoyed, although fiction, a lot of historical information is true, the way things are interconnected together. Very fun.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge fan of historical mysteries, and especially medieval ones, I found the first Sir Geoffrey Mappestone mystery I read, Deadly Inheritance, a little too dense and confusing, also populated with truly unlikable characters, and never finished the book. So I chose this one with trepidation and was rewarded with a well-paced, smart, historically accurate and cleverly-plotted mystery. Sir Geoffrey grew on me with his peculiar honor and his habit of keeping things to himself (a survival skill in post-1066 England) and the other characters were fun, especially his selfish friend Sir Roger and his odd squire, Bale, who isn't as terrifying as the author would have us believe, but probably suffered from some Saxon form of Asberger's. For what it is -- an historical mystery -- this was top-shelf. Recommend it highly for fans of the genre.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing under the psuedonym of Simon Beaufort, Susanna Gregory comes through once more with this delightful historical mystery. Erstwhile knight Geoffrey Mappestone continues to hold on to his dream of returning to the Holy Land, but fate seems to have other plans as King Henry charges him with delivering a series of letters to the untamed frontier of Wales. Murder along the way, however, soon reveals that there is more than meets the eye to the knight's mission. A romantic side story adds to the novel's appeal as Geoffrey's appreciation and affection for his new wife grows steadily as the journey progresses.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set 37 years after the Battle of Hastings, we follow a knight's attempt to get to Jerusalem as part of a crusade to free the city from heathen control. A shipwreck derails the knight's plans, and we begin a mystery involving murder, politics, and historical insight. Not for everyone, nevertheless quite a good story, if you can relate to the era. Told in European English, thank goodness, not the hard to decipher vocabulary and sentence structure of the time. Quite an undertaking by a promising author. Nothing ever changes, men still are wrapped up in politics, murders, and sexual adventures. 4 stars

[Bonnie]

I love the history in the Sir Geoffrey Mappestone books, as they're set in a time (early 11th century) that I don't know a lot about. Though I learned about the crusades in school, we didn't get much of a feel for life at that time.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with an earlier reviewer who said most of the characters were thoroughly unlikable. I found the most likable character to be the murderous squire Bale, who only killed out of necessity or to protect his master. I don't plan to read another in this series.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the plot silly and uninteresting. the peripheral characters were unappealing.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good medieval mystery.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the other books in the series

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the Mappestone series.