A historical "whodunnit", set in 12th-century Devon. When Christina, the daughter of an Exeter businessman, is raped, Crowner (coroner) John must bring the unknown assailant to justice. Then Lady Adele de Courcey dies after an illegal abortion, and John suspects that the two events are related.
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A medieval who-dunnit with historical authenticity
A medieval "who-dunnit", written by a forensic pathologist, which combines detection and suspense with historical authenticity; the second of a trilogy, the first being THE SANCTUARY SEEKER
A medieval "who-dunnit", written by a forensic pathologist, which combines detection and suspense with historical authenticity; the second of a trilogy, the first being THE SANCTUARY SEEKER
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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The chamber was almost in darkness. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
More than once, I have read the first book in a series and really loved it only to be disappointed in the second book where the characters become wooden and the plot from the first book is simply re-hashed. It's as if you can feel the hot breath of deadline pressure on the back of the author's neck! However, I am happy to report, that this is not the case with the Crowner John series!
Prof. Knight continues to dig-up wonderful historical tidbits about crime and the law in 12th century England. The already well-rounded characters continue to evolve and remain very interesting people.
Give this a read!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By J. Chippindale
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
December 1194 and Crowner John is away from Exeter in his capacity as Coroner of all Devon. He is called to the remains of a shipwreck in Torbay, but not everything is as it seems. Bodies from the wreck have been found among the debris and some of them carry injuries not conducive to being drowned.
While Sir John is away with Gwyn his bodyguard and his clerk Thomas de Peyne, trouble is brewing in Exeter, a rape has been committed on Christina Rifford, the daughter of a rich merchant. Sir John returns to Exeter to find the city in uproar with accusations flying around from the families involved. Then just before she is due to be married Lady Adele de Courcy is found dead underneath a pile of rubbish in the poorest part of the City. She also appears to have suffered a sexual attack. Suddenly Sir John has most of the influential people of Exeter banging on his door for justice.
The common factor in both killings appears to be the silversmith, Godfrey Fitzosbern, who by chance is Crowner John's next door neighbour. Can john protect the man until the truth emerges . . .
Bernard Knight is a consummate writer of the medieval novel and this is as good as any he has written.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The first of this series ('The sanctuary seeker') was an excellent debut for this impressive new character but 'The Poisoned Chalice' easily manages to maintain the high standard. When a young gentlewoman is raped and another is found dead, suspicion falls on Crowner John's neighbour the suave silversmith Godfrey Fitzosbern and his workmen, Garth and Arthur. John is called upon to keep the peace and uphold law and order in the face of aggrieved relatives and the lynch mob they stir up.
Again, the major strength of this book is the strong characterisation, not only of the central figure but of the supporting cast.Twelfth century Exeter is once again evoked beautifully as is the Torbay area where John has to investigate dark deeds concerning a wrecked and plundered ship. The mystery itself is not over-intricate but is always interesting with a couple of nice twists along the way...it seems perfectly in place amongst the cast of characters who play it out. John's harridan of a wife and his oily brother in law continue to plague his life whilst his henchman and clerk continue to support him manfully as he struggles to unravel the tangled web of deceit, lust and suspicion that prevails across the city as a result of the two assaults. Give these excellent books a try and you wont be disappointed.
By spalanzane
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The sequel to The Sanctuary Seeker (Crowner John Mystery), book two in the series picks up almost where book one left off, just a week or two lapsing between, it seems. It's not a bad second book, either - very often a slackening off occurs in such ventures, but here we have a new case for the coroner to investigate, which in many ways I find better than the first. There was a lot more mystery around the culprit of the crimes under investigation, and I found myself changing my mind as the story went along as to who was guilty. The eventual end was quite unexpected, but not entirely so.
There was very little development on the first book, however, which makes it somewhat dissatisfying. We meet John de Wolfe's family at their manor (very briefly) and Thomas is now riding a pony, but that is all the character development we seem to get. The coroner and his team are still very much the same as they were in the first book, and relations with the wife are still fraught.
The most irritating thing, to me, was the relationship between the coroner and the sheriff - we're set up to have the squabble between the two from the last installment, about who can do what legally, all sorted when the Chief Justiciar arrives. After a couple of pages of discussion, nothing is really resolved, and while it's true that this did historically happen, it felt like a plot device to ensure the dynamic between John and his brother-in-law would remain to be exploited by further entries in the series.
Interestingly, though, Sheriff de Revelle actually has the best character development of everyone, I felt.... Read more ›
There was very little development on the first book, however, which makes it somewhat dissatisfying. We meet John de Wolfe's family at their manor (very briefly) and Thomas is now riding a pony, but that is all the character development we seem to get. The coroner and his team are still very much the same as they were in the first book, and relations with the wife are still fraught.
The most irritating thing, to me, was the relationship between the coroner and the sheriff - we're set up to have the squabble between the two from the last installment, about who can do what legally, all sorted when the Chief Justiciar arrives. After a couple of pages of discussion, nothing is really resolved, and while it's true that this did historically happen, it felt like a plot device to ensure the dynamic between John and his brother-in-law would remain to be exploited by further entries in the series.
Interestingly, though, Sheriff de Revelle actually has the best character development of everyone, I felt.... Read more ›
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book arrived well packed, and in good condition. However, the story itself was not to my taste, which is why I only gave it 4 stars. I am sure that a lot of people love Bernard Knight's books, just not for me.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Second in the series
Better than the first book but you need to read the first book to get to know the characters for the rest of the series. Just wish they were on Kindle instead of adding clutter.
Published 15 months ago by IT Girl
3.0 out of 5 stars
CROWNER BACK...
i like these books- easy reads dont take long,
the endings arent exactly riveting but heh hoh
theyre fine.
the endings arent exactly riveting but heh hoh
theyre fine.
Published on 10 Mar 2011 by David Mckeown
4.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended Read
Having listened to a couple of the audio books (the later ones in the series )whilst decorating - recommended to me by my father - I decided to read the series from the begining. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2011 by Craig W
4.0 out of 5 stars
Murder in the Middle Ages
First Sentence: The chamber was almost in darkness.
Sir John de Wolf's life has challenges enough with a cold, social-climbing wife and her brother, the power-hungry... Read more
Sir John de Wolf's life has challenges enough with a cold, social-climbing wife and her brother, the power-hungry... Read more
Published on 31 May 2010 by L. J. Roberts
4.0 out of 5 stars
Medieval murder and mayhem
I'm a fan of medieval novels. Having finished the Matthew Bartholomew chronicles, I came across Bernard Knight and the Crowner John Series.
I'm hooked. Read more
I'm hooked. Read more
Published on 25 Dec 2009 by Dodster
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant Author
I have just stumbled across Bernard Knight and have now read 5 of his Crowner novels. You can't put the books down. A superb read.
Published on 14 Oct 2009 by Mrs. P. Hartley
3.0 out of 5 stars
A pretty average whodunnit
What interested me most about this book was not the historical background - which was sometimes introduced with rather a heavy hand - but the way in which the loose ends were not... Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2001
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