Serpent in the Thorns

Crispin Guest Medieval Noir #2

by Jeri Westerson

Convicted of treason, Crispin Guest was stripped of his title, his land, his money and his friends. Now with only his considerable wits to sustain him, Guest works the mean streets of 14th century London, building a small reputation for his skill. In 1383, a simple-minded tavern girl comes to his door—a body was found where she works and she's the only person who could have killed him. Except for the fact that the man was killed in place by a precisely aimed crossbow bolt. Making matters worse, the murdered man was one of three couriers from the French king, transporting a relic intended to smooth the troubled relations between France and England. Events quickly spin out of control and Guest now finds himself the prime suspect in the murder, one with terrible diplomatic implications. As the drumbeat of war between the two countries grow, Guest must unravel the con spiracy behind the murder to save not only his country, but himself as well.

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

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Los Angeles native JERI WESTERSON currently writes two new series: a Tudor mystery series, the King’s Fool Mysteries, with Henry VIII’s real court jester Will Somers as the sleuth and a Sherlockian pastiche series called An Irregular Detective Mystery, with one of Holmes’ former Baker Street Irregulars opening his own detective agency. She’s also written fifteen Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mysteries, a series nominated for thirteen awards from the Agatha, to the Macavity, to the Shamus. She’s written several paranormal series (including a gaslamp-steampunk fantasy series), standalone historical novels, and had stories in several anthologies, the latest of which was included in SOUTH CENTRAL NOIR, an Akashic Noir anthology. She has served as president of the SoCal Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, president and vice president for two chapters of Sisters in Crime (Orange County and Los Angeles), and is also a founding member of the SoCal chapter of the Historical Novel Society. See JeriWesterson.com for discussion guides, book trailers, and more.

Reviews

[Tiziana · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 full stars well deserved, it has been an amazing read!
__ I LOVED IT ! __ And here is why :

__ A GRIPPING MYSTERY AND A LOT OF ACTION __ An engaging adventure from start to finish, which begins immediately with a murder.
A simple-minded tavern girl comes to Crispin Guest ( the main character and our hero ) saying there's a dead body in her room and she was the killer. The dead man was precisely shot by an arrow.
It is clear that it could not have been her, but things are serious, since the dead man is a French courier, who had to deliver an important religious relic to the English king from the king of France.
To protect the girl, Crispin ( a former knight fallen into disgrace and estranged from court) decides to keep some secrets to himself and not reveal them to the sheriff, which will further complicate things and lead to trouble after trouble.

Crispin's investigations begin immediately and continue at a good pace for the first 25% of the book, then while it seems that some knots are starting to untie, actually the pace becomes more and more pressing.
The suspense grows to then lead to a series of daring adventures, interspersed with sudden twists and turns, just 5 minutes to catch a breath (both Crispin and the reader) and then here comes the unexpected again, the action, the suspense, the desperation, the solutions, new shocking revelations ( so really shocking for Crispin and the reader too, especially if one has read book 1 too) and then again a fleeting relief and action again !!! It goes on this way until almost the end of the book, you won't have time to get bored!

In this second episode of Crispin Guest, there was no falling in love or romance, but I didn't miss it... I didn't have the time, because everything was so compelling that I couldn't tear myself away from the book, indeed it was so strong my desire to know the truth about everything, that I wanted know it as much as our protagonist.

_ OUR HERO EMOTIONAL GROWTH __
Despite being only 1 year away from the first book our has still followed a significant growth path, which develops throughout the book.
Crispin is already 30 years old, a man, but now his soul and his way of perceiving the world are also maturing and while before his noble birth made him feel superior to those who were not (and in a certain way he could seem arrogant), now he pauses to consider less fortunate people's feelings.
Now he begins to see the world of the noble and rich people with different eyes, now he manages to see the arrogance and meanness, that power and greed inspire in human beings.
---> More importantly, Crispin begins to consider how important it is for him to have people who love him around, he values ​​their affection and realizes he reciprocates it, especially towards Jack, so much so that in the end, both us and our hero we can even draw a moral from the difficulties that happened to him.

_ YOU CAN READ EACH BOOK AS A STANDALONE, BUT EVERYTHING IS MORE ENJOYABLE STARTING FROM NUMBER #1 __ I have already said in the previous review that all books are readable as standalone, because the author always bends the Crispin Guest's background and things evolution.
Nonetheless I think it is much more satisfying to read this series starting from book 1, after all there are only 15 books and since in addition to the various adventures there is a common thread (the personal life of Crispin and of those related to him), which is equally interesting to follow and is probably what binds the reader to our hero, what really makes us passionate about this so well written series (in my humble opinion of course).

___ THE HISTORICAL PART __ in this book, in addition to the medieval background, the story of another holy historical relic is introduced: the famous crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the day of his crucifixion and the legends of his power to give invincibility to the pure of heart.
Even for those who are not religious, these are interesting notions to learn, notions that are not taught in schools.

In addition to this, in this 2nd installment we find the aforementioned (in book #1) the Duke of Lancaster, who plays an important role in a plot, which is obviously fiction created by the author.
--> However, the character really existed, he was a figure of great importance: uncle of King Richard II, he was the richest man in England after the king and the most influential at court and progenitor of the dynasty of kings of England in starting from Henry IV (his son, who deposed Richard II, the Duke's nephew).
John of Gaunt was also the progenitor of the English royal House of Lancaster, that starting from 1455 was at war with House of York until 1485, a war that we know as THE WAR OF THE 2 ROSES (red for the Lancasters and white for the Yorks).
You can find all that at the end of the book in the epilogue.

IT'S NOT A COZY MYSTERY: some harmless swear words, fight scenes, killings in self-defense, nothing exaggerated or that we don't usually see on TV, but obviously this doesn't make it belong to the cozy genre.

( NOTE : English is not my native language, so please be indulgent with my text :-) )

[Rossrn Nunamaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the first book in the series, I found I liked the fact that the stories are set in medieval times, because it is not what I typically read. I enjoyed the character and how the story progressed. The lone flaw was that the writing in certain spots didn't work for me.

In book 2, I felt the same way. The pacing was good, there were some nice twists as the story progressed. I was glad to see that there wasn't as much interaction with the local sheriff in this book. And the development of Crispin with his servant in training Jack was good.

All in all pleased with the book, it is an entertaining, quick read.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - the mystery was ok but I really liked the context and social historical details and especially the character development. Until now I’d just thought of Crispin as a bit of an idiot but was surprised to see him exhibiting a lot of integrity and taking Jack under his wing. He learned some hard lessons in this installment and I’m interested to see how the pair fare in future adventures.

[Tiziana · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 full stars well deserved, it has been an amazing read!
__ I LOVED IT ! __ And here is why :

__ A GRIPPING MYSTERY AND A LOT OF ACTION __ An engaging adventure from start to finish, which begins immediately with a murder.
A simple-minded tavern girl comes to Crispin Guest ( the main character and our hero ) saying there's a dead body in her room and she was the killer. The dead man was precisely shot by an arrow.
It is clear that it could not have been her, but things are serious, since the dead man is a French courier, who had to deliver an important religious relic to the English king from the king of France.
To protect the girl, Crispin ( a former knight fallen into disgrace and estranged from court) decides to keep some secrets to himself and not reveal them to the sheriff, which will further complicate things and lead to trouble after trouble.

Crispin's investigations begin immediately and continue at a good pace for the first 25% of the book, then while it seems that some knots are starting to untie, actually the pace becomes more and more pressing.
 The suspense grows to then lead to a series of daring adventures, interspersed with sudden twists and turns, just 5 minutes to catch a breath (both Crispin and the reader) and then here comes the unexpected again, the action, the suspense, the desperation, the solutions, new shocking revelations ( so really shocking for Crispin and the reader too, especially if one has read book 1 too) and then again a fleeting relief and action again !!! It goes on this way until almost the end of the book, you won't have time to get bored!

In this second episode of Crispin Guest, there was no falling in love or romance, but I didn't miss it... I didn't have the time, because everything was so compelling that I couldn't tear myself away from the book, indeed it was so strong my desire to know the truth about everything, that I wanted know it as much as our protagonist.

_ OUR HERO EMOTIONAL GROWTH 
Despite being only 1 year away from the first book our has still followed a significant growth path, which develops throughout the book.

Crispin is already 30 years old, a man, but now his soul and his way of perceiving the world are also maturing and while before his noble birth made him feel superior to those who were not (and in a certain way he could seem arrogant), now he pauses to consider less fortunate people's feelings.Now he begins to see the world of the noble and rich people with different eyes, now he manages to see the arrogance and meanness, that power and greed inspire in human beings.
---> More importantly, Crispin begins to consider how important it is for him to have people who love him around, he values their affection and realizes he reciprocates it, especially towards Jack, so much so that in the end, both us and our hero we can even draw a moral from the difficulties that happened to him.

_ YOU CAN READ EACH BOOK AS A STANDALONE, BUT EVERYTHING IS MORE ENJOYABLE STARTING FROM NUMBER #1 __ I have already said in the previous review that the books are readable as standalones, because the author always bends the Crispin Guest's background and things evolution.
Nonetheless I think it is much more satisfying to read this series starting from book 1, after all there are only 15 books and since in addition to the various adventures there is a common thread (the personal life of Crispin and of those related to him), which is equally interesting to follow and is probably what binds the reader to our hero, what really makes us passionate about this so well written series (in my humble opinion of course).

___ THE HISTORICAL PART __ in this book, in addition to the medieval background, the story of another holy historical relic is introduced: the famous crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the day of his crucifixion and the legends of his power to give invincibility to the pure of heart.
Even for those who are not religious, these are interesting notions to learn, notions that are not taught in schools.

In addition to this, in this 2nd installment we find the aforementioned (in book #1) the Duke of Lancaster, who plays an important role in a plot, which is obviously fiction created by the author.
--> However, the character really existed, he was a figure of great importance: uncle of King Richard II, he was the richest man in England after the king and the most influential at court and progenitor of the dynasty of kings of England in starting from Henry IV (his son, who deposed Richard II, the Duke's nephew).
John of Gaunt was also the progenitor of the English royal House of Lancaster, that starting from 1455 was at war with House of York until 1485, a war that we know as THE WAR OF THE 2 ROSES (red for the Lancasters and white for the Yorks).
 You can find all that at the end of the book in the epilogue.

IT'S NOT A COZY MYSTERY: some harmless swear words, fight scenes, killings in self-defense, nothing exaggerated or that we don't usually see on TV, but obviously this doesn't make it belong to the cozy genre.

( NOTE : English is not my native language, so please be indulgent with my text :-) ) 

[PJ Who Once Was Peejay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 maybe. Crispin Guest remains a dashing and intriguing character reminiscent of Errol Flynn. His exploits sometimes stretch credulity, but that remains fun rather than irritating to me. I'll continue with the series, but this book read flatter than the first. The plot seemed painfully predictable at times, and for such a smart fellow, Crispin can at times be rather dim. Mostly, I suspect, for the author's convenience in stretching out the mystery. Crispin ignores an obvious clue early on, and continues to ignore it nearly until the end of the book no matter how many times it smacks him in the face. Still, I do enjoy the setting, ambiance, and watching Crispin's interactions with the other characters. Those are the things that will keep me reading.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

London, 1384. Crispin Guest is a former knight, stripped of his title and estate because of his role in a treasonous plot seven years ago. He now makes his poverty-level living as a sort of medieval private investigator. He becomes chief suspect in plotting to kill the king again, except this time Crispin is doing everything he can to prevent the assassination. The historical Duke of Lancaster and King Richard are key characters, although Crispin is fictional. With some daring-do, narrow escapes, swashbuckling, and the assistance of his trusty servant Jack, Crispin saves the day, the king, and his honor. Second in a series, and it read just fine despite my not having read the first book.

[Eileen Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting story

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was billed as a medieval noir and it straight up delivered.

✅ immersive medieval setting
✅classic noir detective
✅who kept getting shot and beat up but kept going
✅who kept taking care of suspicious women around him to his own hurt
✅ and needs money but can't be bought
✅ and had scores of his own to settle.

Good pacing, enjoyed the drama, and the swears felt authentically weird for the era. It is formulaic and that is the entire point. I would read more.

Content notes: Violence, some torture, an open-door but interrupted sex scene, medieval-style swearing by God's name.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Westerson has accomplished an extraordinary rendering of the back streets of London during the early years of the reign of Richard II. If the pace of action seems measured it is because she takes the time to bring the reader into the most intimate contact with her novel's world. And she brings us veritably under the skin of her debased former knight and poverty-stricken sleuth, Crispin Guest.

Finding a suitable language for characters in the past to speak is always a delicate matter. The 19th century answered the problem by having Robin Hood sound like a product of the editors of the King James Bible. That's no longer an option. Characters who are, or were, of the nobility should speak with a precision, a dignity, a reserve, and a quality of precision that reflects their early training in rhetoric, one of the principal subjects in a gentleman's education. Westerson's noble characters meet these criteria. Her slum creatures, on the other hand, display a variety of coarse accents that are a delight. if I have any complaint it is in the nearly obsessive inventiveness of all the characters' swearing. Yes, people of the period certainly did say, "By God's Head!." But by His toes?

That's my only complaint, and it's pretty picky.

What I immensely appreciate is the author's taking seriously the part that religion played in these people's lives, even to entering into the magical sense of the period regarding the miraculous -- without ever losing the quality of authenticity for the modern reader -- at least this reader.

The Crispin Guest is going on my highly select shelf of historical mystery series, in company with Judith Rock's series set in Paris in the reign of Louis XIV, and Stephen Saylor's series Roma Sub Rosa, set Rome between the time of Sulla and Julius Caesar. I;ve read quite a fee historical mysteries, but these are the only ones i rate as keepers.

[Spuddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second in this medieval mystery series featuring Crispin Guest, a former knight who was stripped of lands, title and wealth but spared his life when caught in a treasonous plot seven years previously against young King Richard. Now he lives in the London slums and works as a Tracker, basically a private detective. In this book, he is hired by a scullion in an inn, whose mentally challenged sister keeps confessing to the killing of a French courier--who was carrying a relic that may be the genuine Crown of Thorns. When Crispin comes across the man who betrayed him--and who now happens to be Richard's Captain of the Archers--and he is tied to the case, he tries to find a way to solve the mystery as well as have his revenge.

This book was somewhat disappointing, though I can't quite put my finger on exactly why. I know I was somewhat distracted by several typos I found--well, not typos that would have been found on spell check, but things like "that" instead of "than" or the wrong spelling of a word, for example, "make due with..." instead of "make do." So the proofreading/editing was somewhat less than professional. It's dubbed as "medieval noir" but I didn't find it particularly noir-ish. Certainly not a cozy, but noir? Not really. It also gets somewhat repetitious with descriptions of the stink and dirtiness of medieval London. A good story, and I do like Crispin and Jack, but...a bit off the mark this time.

[John Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second in the adventures of Crispin Guest - degraded knight, and many of the questions that I had after the first book were answered here.
This was an ebook that I started on my reader and maybe got about 25% through when a 'real' book arrived and I started on that instead. It is in this books favour that I could return to it so easily and not have lost track of the story despite the interruption.
It is a good yarn with a reasonable plot and well drawn characters. The 'who-done-it' element was certainly there (and I almost got it !). The sights, sounds and smells of the period are well described although not to excess.
For me the story became a real page turner from about the half way mark and although 'exciting' may be a little strong, the story was very readable.
In my opinion the author captures this period of English history rather well for a female American. The only thing that caught a nerve was that this edition was obviously American because words like honour were spelt without the 'u' In one section of the book, towards the end this word must appear about 10 times in the space of a couple of paragraphs - as if to rub it in !
Nevertheless, a definite 4 and I am already searching for the next in the series.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former knight turned street detective Crispin Guest begins an investigation into the death of a French courier transporting a holy relic to Richard II. Soon he himself becomes not only a target of the killer but also a prime suspect in an attempt on the king's life. On the run from the authorities and desperate to clear his name by finding the true assassin, he returns to court and discovers more than he bargained for - including the truth behind the plot that led to his downfall and almost cost him his life seven years ago.
Another great read from this medieval mystery series: an engaging, atmospheric and suspenseful pageturner that left me looking forward to reading more.

[Maki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great installment by Jeri Westerson. This book was a page turner and a great read. I would have never guessed that I could be hooked by an adventures of a P.I. in Medieval, England, as I pretty much devoured this book in a couple of days. Great writing, and great storyline. I highly recommend this book.
Can't wait for the next one!

[Barbara Ardinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good twisty-turny plot, honorable outlaw protagonist, good use of history, but really lousy editing. This book was published by a major publisher; who do they hire to edit their books??? The author was very, very poorly served by her publisher. I wish her luck.

[K.B. Inglee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love it. The feel is right for my interpretation of the time. Very sensual; you can almost smell the dung and offal. Just the right amount of violence.

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good story. I was mystified as to "whodunit" until the very end. That makes for a good mystery.

I do want Crispin to get his sword back.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was finally good to read character back stories! It makes it easier to understand where Crispin is coming from.

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tracker, Crispin Guest, is approached by a dim witted scullery maid, Grayce, who confesses to murdering a man in her quarters beneath the inn where she works. When examining the scene and the body, Crispin meets her sister and keeper, Levith. The dead Frenchman is wearing ambassador livery and has a Crown of Thorns in his bags. Grayce cannot be moved from her confession which holds no weight as the man is arrowshot.
Jack, Crispins cutpurse urchin servant is running amok, pursued by two men he has robbed. This cause sproblems with his landlords. Both he and Crispin handle the Crown, which Crispin has moved to their quarters with dreams of reingraciating himself with the King upon it's return. But handling the crown and being pierced by it's thorns fill him with confidence, and in this state he responds to his landlord's daughter in a most impolitic manner. Jack, similarly pierced and inebriated, falls out of their window, but suffers no harm. Crispin will later encounter his nemesis at mandatory archery practice , only to discover the man who lead him into treason has been appointed Captain of Archers. Martin, his landlord, demands Crispin apologize to his wife and daughter for his insult and threat to the obnoxious wench, which he does because his lodgings are cheap and all he can afford, or even more than he is able to afford.We learn at the butts that Crispin's archery skills are the result of hunting when he was a knight, not from battle where he fought on horseback with a sword.
Crispin is obsessed with Miles, Captain of the Archers, but restrains himself from revenge, wanting to know who he was working for when he enjoined Crispin to a tresonous plot to place the Duke of Lancaster on the throne. The Duke is Crispin's foster father, the Lord he served, and to some extent is still loyal. The Crown may serve to restore him to Lancaster's side and his place in court, but chivalry overcomes this idea when he needs to use the Crown as surety of the two scullions safety. Having moved them to his friend's tavern, The Boar's Tusk, his old friends Eleanor and Gilber are also endangered by his rash pursuit of Miles. Things escalate when an attempt is made on the King's life, again with a bow. Crispin is also knicked in the shoulder by an arrow.
Crispin collects the arrows, recognizing the work of the Master Fletcher. Livith has been pinned to a work table at the the Boar's Tusk, so he moves the ladies to Westminister kitchens, playing the role of a cook to gain entry to them. The Master Fletcher, Peale, pays with his life after revealing all the arrows are ones he made for Lancaster. Crispin returns to interview the French couriers, whom he finds suspicious in that they were at a very low tavern on the eve of a court visit, sampling the favors of the ladies, and very distracted. So distracted they did not keep track of the member of their party who was carrying the Crown, the first man found dead. They are surprised to learn of the attempt made on the King, and appreciate, again Crispin'scommand of French. They have never heard of Miles Allyn.
The book explores Crispin's complex set of loyalties and assumptions, his honor. He recognizes that he has certain obligations to Jack, his servant, and that he will work without pay to rescue a simple minded servant and her sister. He comes to question his nostalgic view of his former life when Lancaster is implicated by the arrows and subsequent revelations. We meet a new character, the Abbott, a friend of Crispin in his former degradation. It is he who explains that the Crown of Thorns only enthuses those who do not wish to degrade or exploit those who are lower than themselves on the chain of hierarchy. While Crispin cannot entertain a lasting union with a scullery maid in the previous book he does have a brief dalliance with Livith, which ecposes her French clogs.
I found the end of the plot somewhat beyond belief, yet very telling about Crispin's character. he saves the King from assassination, yet ends up with the incriminating bow in his hands. Eventually he is able to clear his name and is called to court to recieve his reward for service to the crown. Ultimately his service is only to the lawful ruler of England and he balks at begging the King for his former title and stature. And when the insult becomes grave enough he refuses to accept the purse the King offers. And this is after his disenchantment with Lancaster, the man he thought should be King, He returns to the Shambles with another scar, another patch in his distressed coat, and again a very lax purse. But he does start teaching Jack to read, in English, French, and Latin. Jack has risen in his estimate from servant to apprentice. Education, unlike titles cannot be revoked, and seems to vow to do better by his wayward charge.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christ's 'Crown of Thorns' had a long and mysterious history and at the time of this story it was in France... and as a gesture of peace and friendship, the King of France sent the religious relic with 4 couriers to King Richard's court. When one of them was found dead with an arrow through the heart when they did a detour to one of the poorest and criminal~infested part of London for some reason... then a dimwitted female scullion from the King's Head where the body could be found, went looking for The Tracker and confessed to Guest that she killed the Frenchman... which fact he did not believe considering her mental state. Upon investigating the scene of the murder, Guest took the Frenchman's reliquary box thinking that he might yet redeem what he lost by restoring the Crown of Thorns to King Richard. Why would France give such a powerful relic to England's king? According to the Lord Abbott of Westminster, the Crown would only work for the "pure of heart" for it would make the one wearing it invincible from everything, even death. Many sinister forces at work here, an attempted Royal assassination by an arrow belonging to the Duke of Lancaster... same as the arrow that killed the French messenger... all these had some connection with what happened to Guest and the treasonous plot he was involved in 7 years ago that stripped him of all his Entitlements and left him nothing but his life. He finally had a chance to get back all what he lost if he would but kneel and beg the King... But he would not beg for his lost Entitlements not even for the King... so he literally turned his back on his King and the King's gold (aside from the previous offer for saving the King's life) and once again, he was banished from court for the second time leaving the King on a Royal Fit... how could a 17~year~old have an apoplexy?... giving the reader a Royal Satisfaction in Guest's behalf.

P.S. ~ In Chapter 6... the spelling of honorable... honor... rancor... again in Chapters 9... 10... 18... 26 etc... should not these be in British English considering the setting?

P.P.S. ~ I did not quite get what the unattractive Mathilda Kemp and her mother had in mind as a service that Guest would render them as a concrete apology for insulting the sly and annoying wench. Also, did he keep the single thorn left by those who took the Crown from its hiding place in Guest's lodgings after solving the case?

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows the gift of an important relic, The Crown of Thorns, supposedly that worn by Jesus during his scourging. One of the couriers, sent with the crown from the King of France as a gift to the King of England, is dead of an arrow wound. When Crispin Guest is asked by a dim-witted scullery maid to find out who did it, he discovers that while the courier is indeed dead, the relic is still on his person enclosed in a jeweled box, indicating that whoever did it, the motive was not robbery.
Crispin thinks he knows exactly who is responsible for the murder and the following attempts on King Richard II's life. Along the way, he is presented with some hard and harsh facts about his own history regarding his mentor, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. In the end, Crispin is proven wrong about the killer, but he manages to save the king anyway.
I felt the author did a better job in this book regarding the medieval setting than she did in the previous one, "Veil of Lies," but this story had plenty of its own issues.
I knew that the killer had to be other than the person Crispin was pursuing in order to make the story viable, but the "solution" we were given was unconvincing and even worse, we were made aware of an evil mastermind behind the whole plot, but never given the satisfaction of knowing who it was! Too frustrating!

[stevo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stories but formulaic.

I genuinely enjoy these stories, which I am reading in no particular order. Was glad to see Crispin show more much deserved appreciation of Jack in this one. Really like the historical insights without having to crack a history book.
On the other hand, I don't like the predictable part of formula plot. Whoever protagonist Crispin is sure is the object of his investigation early on will turn out to not be correct by the end. He is not stealthy and for a former knight can't fight very well. Also, very tiresome having to read over and over his monotonous wallowing in self-pity about "what he lost". He lost nothing, he threw it away and he had never earned it in the first place. He should grow up and accept responsibility for his situation and that he just might be hanging out with a better class of people even if he and they are poor.
All that being said, the stories are enjoyable and I will continue to read them.

[Mhd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, especially the last 1/4. Court politics, life on the streets of London in late 14th century London, with a little bit of religious relic thrown in. Crispin seems to make a lot of risky decisions but they may be justified because he is so disparate to return to his previous status. Pacing is a tad slow in the middle but end makes up for it. // Will definitely continue with this series but I think I'll skip to #7 now because it's supposedly a prequel in the series and it might be better for me to do that now rather than 5 books from now?

[BRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second in the series gives a bit more backstory to the protagonist. The murder of a French courier brings him in close contact with the agents of his downfall; one he knew of and one whose involvement will shatter his life. Good mystery and good historically immersive feel. I came to be a bit annoyed with Crispin in this story because he just can't seem to stay out of his own way and seems determined to sabotage his own efforts to survive.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers will find a fascinating continuation of the authors detective story set mostly in 14th Century England. Each book in the series deals with a different religious relic. In this story it is the crown of thorns which will supposedly provide invincibility but only to one who is pure of heart. There are also two women who play a key role in the story. They are both archers and I will leave it at that.

This is a reread.

[Edwin R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this author is kind of genius to have carved out a niche in historical fiction in such a clever way. Sam Spade of the 14th century. I love the idea, I wish the execution was better though. The plot made little sense, the prose stilted, the dialogue was way too modern to feel like the era. These are short books so I'll try another because the idea holds promise for an entertaining story but sadly this one wasn't that.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second book of the series that sees Crispin trying to unravel various plots against King Richard II. Ironic, since he himself once plotted against the teenage king. Like the first book, an alleged holy relic plays a role - this time it’s the Crown of Thorns which is supposed to cause the possessor to be invulnerable.

Once the king learns Crispin saved his life, he offers to restore his knighthood, but petulantly requires Crispin to beg. He throws a pouch of gold at Crispin, and of course, Crispin turns his back to the king and walks out.

I really like the character, Jack.

[Tonya Mathis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very much an impulse reader. I choose by author or genre or even by the cover of the book. But I love a good medieval murder mystery. So, I'm surprised that I had never heard of this author before. I enjoyed the first book in the series and this one even more. I will be reading the rest of the series.

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent medieval mystery, this story follows Crispin Guest, a former knight who has been stripped of his knighthood and his possessions for treason, as he tries to track down the killer of a man who was a French emissary to the British crown. This is a good historical mystery, with an excellent setting and atmosphere, as well as good characters and a good plot.

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

14th century London, a detective who's a young nobleman stripped of his title and lands, and a mystery involving politics between England and France. I enjoyed the relationship between Crispin and his servant, might or might not continue the series.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book about a disbarred knight, who tries to save the life of his king, Richard. The author added a holy relic, the Crown of Thorns and two kitchen ladies to spice up the plot. A fairly quick read that kept me interested until the last page.