I was hanging out in Bandi & Luni’s while my husband did some birthday shopping for me in the COEX. The Bandi & Luni’s at the COEX has the largest collection of foreign language books in Korea and for the past 3 trips I have been picking up the Bernard Knight mysteries each visit and then, overwhelmed by my own cheapness, putting them back. This time, with a large amount of cash in the bank and a small number of interesting books on my apartment shelves, I decided I wanted it. I like medieval mysteries, having read most of the Sister Freivesse and Father Cadfael series, and this series happens to be set right in my sphere of special interest, the tail end of the 12th century. In addition to that, the author, Bernard Knight, "became Home Office pathologist in 1965 and was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Wales College of Medicine, in 1980." Since coming to Korea I’ve become hooked on CSI (the first one, Miami and New York don’t do it for me.) Since the book was written by a pathologist, I hoped it would be a little more forensic in nature than the others.

It was. It just isn’t fabulously written.

Crowner (coroner) John de Wolfe, his crabby hunchbacked scribe Thomas de Peyne, and his squire/henchman Gwyn of Polruan are riding toward Widecombe to investigate a body found just inside the bounds of Widecombe where it borders with Dunstone. The body is obviously a noble man and there is suspicion that the people of Dunstone moved it out of their territory to avoid the murdrum fine. Because of the political situation, any time a nobleman’s body is found it is assumed that the people of the village did the murder unless it can be proven that the body belonged to an Englishman so the whole village is fined, guilty until proven innocent. It appears that the murdered man was the victim of bandits and the party returns to Exeter. There we encounter John’s miserable, status-seeking wife and her miserable, status-seeking brother who also happens to be the Sheriff. The new position of Crowner is taking some if the Sheriff’s power and status (not to mention income) so you can see the tension there. That escalates when another body is found and it appears that something hinky is happening in a local noble family that happens to be good pals with Bishop Henry Marshall, brother of William Marshall. Technically the name is William the Marshall, as in The Marshall Of All England, and good friend of the royal family. (This was all long before John had William Marshall’s son and wife locked up and forgotten until the son started gnawing on his mom’s face. Touchy business being pals with the King.)

The mystery itself is so so. Not the most complex or tricky of puzzles though it will keep you guessing, but not something you can’t put down. The solution is a bit simplistic. I almost felt that the author decided it was time to stop and flipped the switch to activate the deus ex machina.

The writing can be a little disappointing at times. It’s not actually bad and I didn’t spend the time I was reading it rewriting it in my head, but occasionally a line would jump out at me as being clunky. Still, it’s not horrible writing, it’s just not Ellis Peters.

The history is really neat. There’s a trial by ordeal where a man has to prove his innocence by reaching into a barrel of boiling water to his shoulder and pull out a (I think) 2 lb weight. Supposedly, if he’s innocent, he’ll survive the burn and the shock that will follow. There’s also, as the title implies, someone seeking the Church’s sanctuary and all that that entails (like abjuring England in sack cloth carrying a wooden cross until the King says he can come back.) The research into the law at the time is really wonderful. The societal dynamics are beautifully portrayed also.

The forensics are really good too. On the first body, they determine how long he’s been dead based on the local temperature and the state of composition. They determine how he was killed by the size of the hole.

In the end, the writing and the mystery aren’t a great draw, but the history and the forensics are something that you won’t find elsewhere. If you enjoy medieval novels, you’ll enjoy this. If you enjoy mysteries, you probably won’t enjoy this. It’s down to that. Personally, I’m going to have to go find book 2 in the series.

Other mysteries of interest:
Brother Cadfael By Ellis Peters
A Morbid Taste for Bones
One Corpse Too Many
Monk’s Hood
St. Peter’s Fair

Sister Frevisse by Margaret Frazier
A Servant’s Tale
The Boy’s Tale


Recommended: Yes