The Demon's Parchment: A Medieval Noir [Kindle Edition]

Jeri Westerson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Westerson's third 14th-century historical featuring disgraced knight Crispin Guest (after 2009's Serpent in the Thorns) is the best yet in the series, though the plotting and characterization remain a cut below that of, say, a master of the medieval subgenre like Susanna Gregory. Guest, who's developed a reputation as "the Tracker," pursues two cases: a Jewish doctor, Jacob of Provençal, retains him to recover some lost Hebrew manuscripts, and the sheriff of London asks for his help to trace a serial killer who's strangled and eviscerated four young boys. In the course of his inquiries, Guest encounters a hulking figure who may be the legendary golem, a creature molded from clay to protect the Jewish community. Those who may regard the serial killer story line as anachronistic will find a real-life model, Gilles de Rais, cited in the author's afterword.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Crispin Guest was a landowner and knight until a treason charge stripped him of everything. Now he ekes out a living as a sort of medieval private eye. Here, in his third outing, a physician at the king’s court asks Crispin to locate missing documents that could be connected with a rash of murders. There’s no shortage of mysteries set in the medieval period, but since the era lasted about a thousand years, there’s always room for more. Especially when they’re this good: a solid plot and cast of characters, a feel for the story’s place and time (fourteenth-century England), and an appealing noirish air. A welcome addition to the medieval-mystery landscape. --David Pitt

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 484 KB
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (October 12, 2010)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003P8QSC8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,972 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Hey, thanks for stopping by.

I'm Jeri Westerson and I write medieval mysteries with an enigmatic, flawed, sexy, and very different protagonist. His name is Crispin Guest and he's an ex-knight turned private eye. You might want to think of him as a Medieval Sam Spade and these mysteries as Medieval Noir. That's what makes these novels different. They're full of hard-hitting action and characters with dirty little secrets. Then there's the added twist dropped in the middle of murder: a relic with mystical powers. They always seem to stir things up, whether it's something everyone wants to get their hands on or can't wait to get rid of.

Book one, VEIL OF LIES, was released in 2008 to critical acclaim. The Boston Globe called my detective, "A medieval Sam Spade, a tough guy who operates according to his own moral compass and observes with detached humor...this book is pure fun." Booklist said, "...this authentically detailed medieval mystery has an intriguingly dark edge." Library Journal gave it a starred review: "...Westerson's mystery debut is a brilliant tale of survival in a hostile environment, where anything can lead to death...Highly recommended." Historical Novel Society Review made it an Editor's Choice title: "...To say Veil of Lies is a remarkable novel doesn't do the book justice. Just when the plot seems set on a fixed course, the author deftly arranges another neat surprise and keeps the pages turning..." VEIL OF LIES was shortlisted for the 2009 Macavity for the Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award and for the 2009 Shamus for Best First PI Novel, the first medieval mystery to be so honored with a nomination.

The second in the series is SERPENT IN THE THORNS. Kirkus Review called it, "Appealing...Crispin's derring-do is distinctly entertaining," while Library Journal said, "Readers who can't get enough of medieval historicals will snap this one up." SERPENT IN THE THORNS was also shortlisted for the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award and the Macavity.

The third in the series is THE DEMON'S PARCHMENT. Library Journal gave it a starred review and said * "Westerson skillfully lulls her sleuth and the reader into a sense of 'I know what is going on,' then zings them with the truth. Absolutely first-class; highly recommended for fans of medieval mysteries." It was also shortlisted for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and The Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award.

The fourth in the series, TROUBLED BONES will be released Oct 11. Bestselling author John Lescroart called it "creative and enthralling." Be looking for it this fall.

I also have a short story in the new anthology SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN, along with a slew of other mystery authors. This book is only available on Kindle. 100% of proceeds go to Japan earthquake relief.

Some personal facts: I was born and bred in Los Angeles inhaling smog and enduring earthquakes. I've been writing fiction for some time, became a freelance reporter, published award-winning short stories, and am scribbling away at the Crispin Guest series. (You can read excerpts at www.JeriWesterson.com or read about Crispin's life on his own blog at www.CrispinGuest.com or "Friend" him on Facebook.)

Besides writing I am a public speaker, artist, singer, wife, and mother. I am on the board of directors for the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America; I am president of the Orange County Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a member of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles chapter; I am a member of Private Eye Writers of America and the Historical Novel Society. I live with my photographer husband, wave at my twenty-one-year-old son in college, and herd two cats, one tortoise--and the occasional tarantula-- in my home in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clash of Cultures, October 19, 2010

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Demon's Parchment: A Medieval Noir (Crispin Guest Novels) (Hardcover)

Jeri Westerson presents readers with another winner in her medieval noir series with THE DEMON'S PARCHMENT.
Crispin Guest is a defrocked knight who has taken to the streets of London to earn his livelihood as "The Tracker." Crispin finds lost religious items and inadvertently delivers justice for the disenfranchised. The mean streets of 14th century London are his estate.
Crispin is hired by a Jew who is in London to treat the queen. The physician has had some ancient scrolls stolen from him and he is desperate to get them back without going to the authorities. On the way to make final arrangements for the quest Crispin helps pull the body of a male youth from the Thames. The boy has been strangled, sodomized, and his entrails were cut from his body. Three other bodies had been discovered and the Sheriffs of London agree to let Crispin find the killer.
As with previous stories, the crooked London streets are no match for the plot twists.
Mystery lovers this is one author you don't want to miss.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Missing Spells for a Supernatural Monster, Murdered Children, Mystery in Medieval London, December 27, 2010

By 

A. Lee (L.A., CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Demon's Parchment: A Medieval Noir (Crispin Guest Novels) (Hardcover)

London, 1384. Crispin Guest has been stripped of his knighthood and banished from Court after being involved in treason. Seven years on, he is scraping a living in the poorer parts of London as the Tracker, a finder of lost things. Although anything to do with the Court has been forbidden to him, Crispin seem to have ill-luck in clients and cases. This time the Queen's own physician comes to him about some parchements stolen from him. Jacob is a Jew and all Jews have been expelled from England a century before, but the King of course, can allow his own special dispensations. Crispin is as wary and as ignorant of Jews as most, although he's learned and traveled and had seen them in the distant lands he'd traveled as a knight. According to Jacob, he can't trust this task to the Court because the parchments contain spells for the making of a Golem and if known, would bring trouble (as in anti-Jewish hatred) to the Court, something everyone would like to avoid. As it is winter and business is slow and money is scarce, Crispin takes the case, despite misgivings.

Is there an unholy monster roaming through the dark nights of London? What about the four young boys who have been found murdered and mutilated? Crispin wants to solved those murders, too, but are they all related? What about the mysterious nobleman who is watching Crispin? Is he someone who can help, or someone with an opposing agenda, or the murderer? And how is Crispin to inquire into who may have stolen the papers when to be found at court could mean his death?

I am greatly enjoying this series so far. It adds to the drama and the suspense having a main character who lives in such a precarious position in society. The time period is also fascinating as it is filtered through the eyes of this unusual character. The mysteries have been good enough to carry things along in an exciting manner. I hope this series continues as I am certainly looking forward to the next book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super series, April 20, 2011

By 

Rapid City book lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Demon's Parchment: A Medieval Noir (Crispin Guest Novels) (Hardcover)

Crispin Guest is a great character. His friends and foes are likewise very compelling. The good ones you empathize with the bad ones you love to hate. You want Crispin to get his knighthood back but it wouldn't make as good a story so I'm afraid he's doomed to protecting the people of London and being at odds with the sheriffs and his old mentor John of Gaunt who's the closest thing to a father he's ever had. The first book was fairly good but this third book The Demon's Parchment was superb. The interweaving of the history of the Jews in Europe at the time and the fictionalized true story of the atrocities perpetuated on young children is fascinating and chilling.