Customer Reviews

The Leper's Return (Knights Templar)

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Another triumph for Michael Jecks! In "The Leper's Return," Michael Jecks introduces us to the world of the outcast lepers, the people who care for them and the fear, ignorance and prejudices that the populace at large feels towards them.

The threat of a civil war is looming, but the people of Credition are more concerned about the murder of the goldsmith, Godfrey of London, and the grevious assault on his daughter, Cecily. Many seem to think that John of Irlaunde, a womaniser of some notoriety is responsible. But Sir Baldwin Furnshill, the Keeper of the King's Peace, is not so sure. And together with his good friend and companion in detecting, Bailiff Simon Puttock, the duo are determined to get to the bottom of this perplexing murder. However, adding to the tension is the sudden rise in bad feeling that is being aroused in the populance of Credition towards the lepers. Will Sir Baldwin and Simon also have to deal with the possiblilty of a massacre? Or will good sense prevail?

If you're looking for something that is a little more than a mere historical mystery novel, Michael Jecks's Medieval West Country mystery series is the one for you. The novels are always well written, with plots that will capture your imagination, and characters that will engage interest and compassion. And I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Leper's Return," I have noticed that the series may not be everyone's cup of tea. But if you enjoy mystery novels rich in historical detail and atmosphere and character portrayals that are rich and fully realised, I'd urge you to give the West country Mysteries a go.

Michael Jeck's books about the West Country of England in medieval times are all well written and researched and his main characters Sir Baldwin Furnshill one time Knight Templar and latterly Keeper of the King's Peace and his friend and associate Bailiff Simon Puttock are now familiar names to the many readers of Jecks books. The plot of this book is built around a Leper Hospital and there is soon murder and mayhem for Sir Baldwin and Simon to deal with. The plots of these books run along at a fast pace and for those interested in the period of the 14th century in England are a joy to read.

I discovered this author by accident and have been a fan since. The main character, Sir Baldwin is a early version of CSI. Baldwin is solving murders through out the realm using a tenacious need for truth and a focused, sharp intellect. The trappings of the period are thoughtfully and colorfully spun around all the characters giving the reader a feel for the English Moors.

Jenks knows how to write and tell a good story that is historically accurate. A really good "whodunit."

All of Michael Jecks' Knights Templar novels provide a richly-textured historical backdrop that indicates the author's significant research into aspects of medieval English society, including the law, monasticism, economics, herb lore, architecture, attire, feudalism, industry, and more. To the best of my knowledge of The Knights Templar series--I have read most, but not all, of the novels following The Leper's Return--The Leper's Return is distinctive in introducing with significance the topic of leprosy in the Middle Ages. Jecks' delves into the agonizing isolation that a medieval leper no doubt experienced, but does not dwell on it at the expense of the murder mystery itself. Jecks also manages with a subplot involving a domestic hound and a maidservant to interject more light-heartedness into the novel than I think is typical in his Knights Templar series, perhaps as a deliberate counter-balance to the somber subjects of ostracization, disease, and scapegoating that The Leper's Return also explores. While virtually every Knights Templar novel includes a sprinkling of lighter moments, one expertly executed scene ending with a brilliantly crafted line surprised a genuine, hearty guffaw out of me--a fantastically pleasant reaction *extremely* rare for me, a generally stoney-faced reader.

Another of the minor characters worthy of note, and one convincingly and enjoyably crafted by Jecks, is an Irish immigrant who plays a significant supporting role in the unfolding of the mystery's solution, and also works to ably move the story along at some key moments.

The Leper's Return is something of a study in contrasts: Baldwin Furnshill's loves and manor life versus the outcast status and far less hopeful life of lepers like the character, Thomas Rodde. In addition to the dramatization of the life of the medieval leper, the next greatest strength of the story is the look at Sheriff Baldwin Furnshill's continued courting of his would-be fiancée, Lady Jeanne: both this specific courtship's idiosyncratic aspects and those aspects of it reflecting the more formal parts of courting in the 1300's. The emotions of Baldwin are rendered well enough, and I found myself invested in the hoped-for outcome of his efforts, as well as related events along the way. One can tell from the Knights Templar novels' convincing writing relating to domestic family life that Michael Jecks has first-hand experience with marriage and children (though the latter is not revealed in The Leper's Return in particular) that provides welcome depth.

Not every novel can explore every aspect of the world that comprises its setting, and other Knights Templar novels than The Leper's Return produce more numerous and stronger descriptions of the West Country itself (landscape and general feel--after all, in The Leper's Return there is less than the average amount of travel experienced by the principle characters in the Knights Templar series), examinations of English town or city life in the 1300's, fast-paced action sequences--which is not to suggest The Leper's Return lacks dramatic tensions--explorations of the law at work, or unusually deep background information about the principle characters Sheriff Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock. Also, slightly less convincing than most of Jecks' creations is the behavior of an unruly mob that figures into the plot, as well as the inner motivations of the characters that lead it.

While not Jecks' strongest title in the Knights Templar series, the book's deft look at leprosy--a reality of the Middle Ages under-represented in Middle Ages fictions in general--the believable intricacies among the details of the crime itself, its examination of basic manorial life (specifically, the details of Baldwin Furnshill's household and domestic routine, as well as details of other households, such as that of the victim, Godfrey of London) and the overall strongly-written supporting characters, make it worth purchasing and enjoying.

This is, like all of Michael Jecks' Templar mysteries, well-plotted and characterised, but it is the weakest that I have read so far for predictabllity, at least for those of us who have suffered through Stephen Donaldson's writing.