The Awful Secret (Crowner John Mysteries) [Paperback]

Bernard Knight (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004 | Series: Crowner John Mysteries

Gilbert de Rideford is a Knight of the Temple of Solomon, and an old acquaintance from Crowner John's crusading days. He claims to have come into possession of a secret that could shake Christendom to its foundations—and he desperately needs John's help to escape from the secretive order of warrior monks. Suddenly swept into a world of religious intrigue and dangerous politics, Crowner John finds himself undertaking a life-threatening mission to the Island of Lundy—inhabited solely by notorious pirates—until finally the awful secret itself is revealed.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743492080
• ISBN-13: 978-0743492089
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #761,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Transported back to 12th century England, September 29, 2007

By 

Cheryl A. Reynolds "Spuddie" (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Awful Secret (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)

Fourth in the Crowner John medieval mystery series set in 1190's Devon, UK. When a Templar Knight--or rather, an ex-Templar who has now left the order--who fought with John in Outremer seeks his assistance while he waits for a cohort to arrive, the coroner reluctantly agrees. When he finds out that Gilbert is now considered a heretic who has an `awful secret' about the Church that the Templars are suppressing, and is being pursued not only by three higher-ups in the Templar Order, but by a papal nuncio who is part of the Inquisition, John curses the moment he pledged his help, but stands by his word. When the ex-Templar turns up dead, obviously murdered, John must then investigate even though his suspicions lie with the Church, whom he has no authority to question. A secondary plot deals with piracy off the coast of Devon and brings the Crowner to Ilfracombe and Barnstaple, which provided a bit of personal interest for me as my husband's sister lives in that area.

I did guess the bad guy way ahead of time in this one and didn't think the story was quite as good as some of the others in this series--or maybe I've just been "DaVinci Coded" to death--but I still enjoyed it as I like the setting and the characters in this series. Knight doesn't sugar-coat the realities of living in medieval times, nor does he glorify his protagonist--Crowner John is a very real man, with very obvious faults and foibles as well as a few virtues that make him an excellent sleuth. The supporting characters are also well-fleshed out, diverse and interesting. This is a series I'll continue reading til the end!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fourth Book in an Excellent Series, December 16, 2006

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crowner John: the Awful Secret Hb (A Crowner John Mystery) (Hardcover)

Bernard Knight, or to give him his correct title, Professor Bernard Knight, CBE, was a pathologist to the Home office until 1980 when he was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology at the University of Wales College of medicine, 1980. He has written the extremely successful Crowner John series of medieval mysteries, of which there are now ten or eleven books, His character Crowner John is certainly among my favourite characters in medieval mysteries.

A Knight of the Temple of Solomon claims to have in his possession a secret that could shake Christendom to its very foundations. It so happens that he is also an old acquaintance of Crowner John (Sir John de Wolfe) from their crusading days together. The Knight's name is Sir Gilbert de Rideford and he is desperate to escape from the secretive order of warrior monks. He prays that Sir John may be able to help him.

Sir John find himself embroiled in a world of religious intrigue, and dangerous politics. Although Sir John's wife is never away from church, as a fighting man Sir John has never had the time or the inclination to become involved in religion and he does not like what he finds. He finally finds himself on a mission to Lundy Island, a place inhabited by pirates, until finally the secret itself is revealed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Reading, February 12, 2007

By 

P. Schaum "prussblue" (St. Louis area, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Awful Secret (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)

One can picture life in the late 12th century with considerable accuracy while reading a good "who done it."
Much like Michael Jecks in that you don't know the whole story by page 3 as you find in all too many books. Knight and Jecks are great reading especially when you need a break from the purely academic, etc. You may not like the behavior of some, but that's life. Some things never change.