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Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Crowner John at His Best 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... more info
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 all tied up at the end. I felt this was more realistic than the usual murder mystery where all the events tend to be interlinked and a single culprit is usually responsible. In the case of this book, the obvious suspect is sometimes guilty, and the fact that a man protests his innocence doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't involved... more info
The second in the series is every bit as good as the first! 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... more info
THE CROWNER CONTINUES TO IMPRESS 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.
