Customer Reviews

The Awful Secret (Crowner John Mysteries)

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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!

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.

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.

The story is pretty good from 12th century in remote island of England. The character as good and likable. There is a good medival feel. There are some intersting insights to the Templars as well a english period law and customs.

Bernard Knight has a way with words, to put it simply, as he takes the reader back to the twelfth century. With Crowner John de Wolfe as a most human protagonist, one becomes intimately involved in the life of the times. For those who wish to gain knowledge of this period and at the same time enjoy an intriguing mystery, The Awful Secret is the book to read.