Fear in the Forest (A Crowner John Mystery) [Hardcover]

Bernard Knight (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003 | Series: A Crowner John Mystery

The seventh gripping medieval murder mystery featuring Crowner John, Devon's first county coroner. C12th Devon. Much of the country lies under the iron rule of the Royal Forest laws, with all hunting reserved to the King. The penalty for killing a deer on the King's land is mutilation or death. These harsh laws are rigorously upheld by the King's foresters, notorious for their greed and corruption. June 1195. A tall, brown mare gallops into the sleepy village of Sigford, its rider dragged by the stirrup, the broken shaft of an arrow protruding from his back. The embroidered badge on the dead man's tunic identifies him as a senior officer of the Royal Forest. But, with plenty of money still in the victim's purse, the motive for the murder is a mystery. When a second forest officer is violently attacked, Sir John de Wolfe begins to uncover evidence of a sinister conspiracy. And why is his unscrupulous brother-in-law, the sheriff Sir Richard de Revelle, taking such an interest in the case?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Medieval England is powerfully evoked in these gritty forensic investigations, with Sir John de Wolfe, Devon's first county coroner, at the heart of each riveting tale. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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 (he examined all twelve bodies that were recovered) and the child killer, Mary Bell. The author of ten novels, a biography and numerous popular and academic non-fiction books, he has written six books in the Crowner John mystrey series.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743231082
• ISBN-13: 978-0743231084
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,660,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Prosaic and prolix, but authentic, April 16, 2006

By 

Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fear in the Forest (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)

Did you know that the Woodmote was a court that dealt with offences against the vert amounting to less than four pence, whereas larger vert offences and those against venison were dealt with by the Forest Eyre? Well, you will do after reading this novel, because the author tells you several times. As always, Knight packs plenty of history and very little mystery into this Crowner yarn. Much of the dialogue is stilted and unnatural, sounding like a history lecture. The trick in historical fiction is to be authentic without the authenticity being obtrusive, a trick that Knight has not mastered. Nor is he unfailingly accurate, despite his obviously meticulous research. The term 'rogering' is certainly anachronistic, and I'm not sure that 'goodwife' was current at the time, either.

This is an adventure story rather than a mystery. It is therefore in the tradition of Ivanhoe, but without Scott's poetry. The subplot involves complications in the hero's extramarital affairs, and this aspect of the story is surprisingly well done, leading to a very poignant finale.

These novels are prone to misprints, which is annoying. Thus we have a character who is fighting for his life and we are told "...it was killed or be killed". Well, I suspect it was actually "kill or be killed", but it's a great way to break the tension in a fight scene. I spotted a dozen or more such mistakes, including one sentence which had become garbled beyond all comprehension.

As always, Knight draws out scenes that most writers would deal with more succinctly, and so devotes 410 pages to what could have been related in fewer than 300.

This series will appeal to lovers of historical fiction who value authenticity and character depiction rather than literary prose or twists and turns in the plot. If you are new to the series and would like to try it, start with the first, The Sanctuary Seekers, because the novels form a continuous narrative.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dusty Gem Sitting On the Shelf...., June 20, 2009

By 

Katheryn J. Symank "Katank1003" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fear in the Forest (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)

My husband took a chance on this book a while back as it was one of the books that Amazon had recommended for us. But alas, it sat on our book shelf for months. If only we had known what excitement lurked within the pages of this fab book. I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting this book was! I will agree with the review by Mr. Reeve that this story does have a strong adventure aspect, but who doesn't love some adventure!

For comparision purposes this book sort of reminds me of a Michael Jecks book (although about 100 years separates the characters). If you love historical novels or just a good book consider giving Bernard Knight a chance. We are definitely going to order some of the earlier books in this series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good writing is always enjoyable, February 12, 2007

By 

P. Schaum "prussblue" (St. Louis area, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fear in the Forest (Crowner John Mysteries) (Paperback)

I am selective, even in my non-academic reading. If you like history and a good mystery, then like Jecks, Knight's mystery novels are always worth the time.