The anthology centres around a piece of the True Cross, allegedly stained with the blood of Christ, which falls into the hands of Geoffrey Mappestone in 1100, at the end of the First Crusade. The relic is said to be cursed and, after three inexplicable deaths, it finds its way to England in the hands of a thief. After several decades, the relic appears in Devon, where it becomes part of a story by Bernard Knight, set in the 12th century and involving his protagonist, Crowner John. Next, it appears in a story by Ian Morson, solved by his character, the Oxford academic Falconer, and then it migrates back to Devon to encounter Sir Baldwin (Michael Jecks). Eventually, it arrives in Cambridge, in the middle of a contentious debate about Holy Blood relics that really did rage in the 1350s, where it meets Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael (Susanna Gregory). Finally, it's despatched to London, where it falls into the hands of Elizabethan players and where Philip Gooden's Nick Revill will determine its ultimate fate.
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About the Author
BERNARD KNIGHT, a senior Home Office pathologist, is the author of nine books in the CROWNER JOHN series. MICHAEL JECKS is the author of the TEMPLAR series, which describes life among the Devon peasants under King Edward II. Former police officer SUSANNA GREGORY's novels feature MATTHEW BARTHOLOMEW, a Cambridge physician in the period immediately after the Black Death. Cornwall-based IAN MORSON is the author of the FALCONER series, and PHILIP GOODEN writes Shakespearean murder mysteries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By Josi Martin
Format:Paperback
This book, or almost anthology, has five 'acts' or novelettes together with a prologue and an epilogue on a single theme: the 'tainted' or cursed relic.
Each 'act' is by one of a number of well known medieval murder mystery authors. They have used it to each create a single stand-alone murder mystery, using their well known individual characters from their own series (such as Crowner John or Matthew Bartholomew) but incorporates the tainted relic of the title at a different period. Each story therefore also carries forward the history of this relic in a continuous time line.
I very much enjoyed most of the stories though the Elizabethan least of all but, there again, that is not my favourite historical period. A very good read.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By J. Edrupt
Format:Paperback
I am a great fan of this genre and was not disappointed. My favourite author is Susanna Gregory and her writing in this particular novel did not let me down. It also gave me an opportunity to decide whether to give other writers a look. The novel is split into acts, with each author writing a separate act. The story flowed and although there were clearly different styles involved, it did not detract from the desire to continue reading.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
I used this novel to investigate the writings of a variety of authors.
5 April 2010
By J. Lesley
Format:Paperback
The reading of this novel was helpful to me because it gave me a chance to sample the writing style of five different* authors. The basic story follows the travels of a religious relic from Jerusalem to modern day London. This relic was said to have been cursed by it's caretaker when the soldiers of the Crusade invaded the city of Jerusalem and committed wholesale slaughter, often for absolutely no reason whatsoever. According to the curse, any person who actually touched the relic itself, not just the container, would die as soon as the relic had passed into the hands of another. The segments are written in novella form, meaning that there are no chapter breaks, merely spaces within the story which signify passage of time or moving to the perspective of another character. This is how the story progresses:
Prologue - Jerusalem 1100, pages 1-27, written by Simon Beaufort*
Act One - Devonshire 1194, pages 28-108, written by Bernard Knight
Act Two - Oxford 1269, pages 109-194, written by Ian Morson
Act Three - Lincolnshire, 1323, pages 195-293, written by Michael Jecks
Act Four - Cambridge, 1353, pages 294-425, written by Susanna Gregory*
Act Five - London, 16??, pages 426-500, written by Philip Gooden
Epilogue - London, 2005, two pages, written by Bernard Knight
*Beaufort is the pseudonym of Gregory
I had already read a novel by one of the authors featured here and had not liked the style of writing, but I did want to use this method to find out whether I might enjoy reading the works of some of the other authors. The book served it's purpose in that way, but this particular novel is not something I would ever wish to read again. The story is very uneven, surely a result of so many differing styles of writing, and I found that it was really rather uninteresting to me. I could never make myself care anything about what was happening to the relic and since that is the item which carried through from one "act" to another the book never worked for me on anything more than a superficial, investigative level. The Epilogue does make for such an ironic ending that I just groaned aloud.
Prologue - Jerusalem 1100, pages 1-27, written by Simon Beaufort*
Act One - Devonshire 1194, pages 28-108, written by Bernard Knight
Act Two - Oxford 1269, pages 109-194, written by Ian Morson
Act Three - Lincolnshire, 1323, pages 195-293, written by Michael Jecks
Act Four - Cambridge, 1353, pages 294-425, written by Susanna Gregory*
Act Five - London, 16??, pages 426-500, written by Philip Gooden
Epilogue - London, 2005, two pages, written by Bernard Knight
*Beaufort is the pseudonym of Gregory
I had already read a novel by one of the authors featured here and had not liked the style of writing, but I did want to use this method to find out whether I might enjoy reading the works of some of the other authors. The book served it's purpose in that way, but this particular novel is not something I would ever wish to read again. The story is very uneven, surely a result of so many differing styles of writing, and I found that it was really rather uninteresting to me. I could never make myself care anything about what was happening to the relic and since that is the item which carried through from one "act" to another the book never worked for me on anything more than a superficial, investigative level. The Epilogue does make for such an ironic ending that I just groaned aloud.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting concept
This is the first medieval murderers book I have read having read all the Crowner John series by Bernard Knight. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Phil Sell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent bit of hocum
The concept behind this is excellent. Here you have five of the best Medieval murder writers, each writing a story using their featured characters with a common thread running... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Dodster
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting Concept
The idea of having several authors involved in producing one story is interesting but I feel the story perhaps flows a little less smoothly. Read more
Published on 9 May 2011 by Roger Pickard
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Tainted Relic
The book is written by a number of different authors as a mystery that spans each authors time period. It is an interesting concept and it worked well in this book. Read more
Published on 22 Sep 2010 by Suz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable Read
A group of authors contribute to a tale that takes place over a period of time. It is well done. But, I am prejudiced in that I think that Bernard Knight and Micheal Jecks are... Read more
Published on 23 July 2009 by P. Schaum
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