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C12th Devon. Much of the country lies under the iron rule of the Royal Forest laws, with all hunting reserved to the King. The penalty for killing a deer on the King's land is mutilation or death. These harsh laws are rigorously upheld by the King's foresters, notorious for their greed and corruption. June 1195. A tall, brown mare gallops into the sleepy village of Sigford, its rider dragged by the stirrup, the broken shaft of an arrow protruding from his back. The embroidered badge on the dead man's tunic identifies him as a senior officer of the Royal Forest. But, with plenty of money still in the victim's purse, the motive is a mystery. When a second forest officer is violently attacked, Sir John de Wolfe begins to uncover evidence of a sinister conspiracy. And why is his unscrupulous brother-in-law, the sheriff Sir Richard de Revelle, taking such an interest in the case?
About the Author
Professor Bernard Knight, CBE, became a Home Office Pathologist in 1965 and was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Wales College of Medicine, in 1980. During his 40-year career with the Home Office, he performed over 25,000 autopsies, and was involved in many high profile cases, including that of Fred and Rose West, and the child killer, Mary Bell. The author of numerous popular and academic non-fiction books, he has written thirteen novels in the Crowner John mystery series. Professor Knight lives in Cardiff.
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As Sigford lacked a church or even a tithe barn, the coroner's inquest had to be held in the open air on what passed for the village green. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
As Sigford lacked a church or even a tithe barn, the coroner's inquest had to be held in the open air on what passed for the village green. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good read,
By
This review is from: Fear in the Forest (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)
This is the seventh in the series and follows on from the previous. There is a fair bit of repetition to bring the new reader up to speed with what has gone previously. Despite this, I really enjoyed the novel.
The scenario is that, the Foresters, who supposedly look after the King's interests in the forest and enforce his law, have become more corrupt and violent having linked up with a criminal gang to assist them in their pursuits. Crowner becomes suspicious when his brother in law, the Sheriff, an opponent of the King, declines to become involved, despite the criminal elements. He and some local Lords set about bringing order back to Forest. Crowner has further problems when his lover, Nesta, finds herself pregnant and has suspicions that Crowner is not the father. Matilda, his wife finds out about the baby and leaves John to join a convent... Very entertaining read, exciting and well told.
4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Prosaic and prolix, but authentic,
By Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Fear in the Forest (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)
Did you know that the Woodmote was a court that dealt with offences against the vert amounting to less than four pence, whereas larger vert offences and those against venison were dealt with by the Forest Eyre? Well, you will do after reading this novel, because the author tells you several times. As always, Knight packs plenty of history and very little mystery into this Crowner yarn. Much of the dialogue is stilted and unnatural, sounding like a history lecture. The trick in historical fiction is to be authentic without the authenticity being obtrusive, a trick that Knight has not mastered. Nor is he unfailingly accurate, despite his obviously meticulous research. The term 'rogering' is certainly anachronistic, and I'm not sure that 'goodwife' was current at the time, either.
This is an adventure story rather than a mystery. It is therefore in the tradition of Ivanhoe, but without Scott's poetry. The subplot involves complications in the hero's extramarital affairs, and this aspect of the story is surprisingly well done, leading to a very poignant finale. These novels are prone to misprints, which is annoying. Thus we have a character who is fighting for his life and we are told "...it was killed or be killed". Well, I suspect it was actually "kill or be killed", but it's a great way to break the tension in a fight scene. I spotted a dozen or more such mistakes, including one sentence which had become garbled beyond all comprehension. As always, Knight draws out scenes that most writers would deal with more succinctly, and so devotes 410 pages to what could have been related in fewer than 300. This series will appeal to lovers of historical fiction who value authenticity and character depiction rather than literary prose or twists and turns in the plot. If you are new to the series and would like to try it, start with the first, The Sanctuary Seekers, because the novels form a continuous narrative.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
who done it,
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This review is from: Fear in the Forest (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)
another medieval 'who dun it', has a good historical link and a good story line
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