Customer Reviews

The Malice of Unnatural Death (Knights Templar)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This reader has long wondered how Sir Baldwin was going to continue his disdain for national politics, especially in view of his friendship with Walter Stapleton, a prominent figure in the reign of Edward II. This one goes out a bit on a limb by postiing that curse magic is real and that Bishop Walter, as well as those despicable figures, the elder and younger Despencers, and even the King himself would be the target of a well-financed attempt by a necromancer. There is all the suspense, action, and convoluted plot that we have come to expect of Mr. Jecks, and at least one guessed-at, but never quite thought though surprise. Highly recommended, as are all the series. BTW, it is best to read them in order, I have found. Start with "The Last Templar," if you haven't already.

Jecks continues in his excellent murder mystery series, but has gone up a step adding even more intrigue to the mix. Get this one now is my best recommendation. Jecks knows his history as well as his mystery and weaves a time piece work, Medieval, that is certain to keep you riveted to the pages. There are far to many authors that pretend to write period work that fall short of the mark for both the period and the mystery. I think that a truly good author deserves a proper review and Jecks is one of the few these days.

Jecks consistantly delivers a great story. His charters blend in perfectly with the real people of the period. I have enjoyed all of his books and always look forward to the next one. He does not disapoint.

Michael Jecks, one of the two best authors of English medieval murder mysteries, weighs in with this long-ish tale precipitated by the murder of a King's Messenger in the city of Exeter. Baldwin de Furnshill and Simon Puttock, the 14th Century's Holmes-and-Watson, are brought in to unravel the mystery.

Trying to make sense of the crime they uncover a conspiracy to murder the king using a necromancer's black magic. Intertwined in this are sub-plots involving a servant girl's unrequited love, the lingering after-effects of a devastating fire, in-fighting over a vacant abbacy and so on. In other words, a typical Michael Jenks potboiler!

There have been about 20+ Knights Templar mysteries and, as with the others, MALICE OF UNNATURAL DEATH is notable for its period detail, character development and puzzling mystery. At 512 pages, it's longer than most of the other titles in the series and you need to pay attention to the goings-on. I confess I had to occasionally check the 'Cast of Characters' page to make sure of who was doing what to whom but Jecks does a good job of keeping the momentum going and also of juggling the various sub-plots.

Murder mystery fans will welcome this latest outing by two beloved - and very human - characters!

Well, I guess certainly differ from the other reviewers. I found this book to be very confusing. Although I realize the author introduces several different plot threads and then pulls them together at the end, there were so many plot threads and so many characters I just couldn't keep them straight. I finally gave up and returned the book to the library, only half read.

If you know someone who enjoys the older style mysteries, my 89 year old mom loves this series and this book, also.

While reading a local library copy of The Malice of Unnatural Death, a darling but naughty puppy chewed up the library copy of this book.

Distressed, I took the "dog-eared" (actually seriously eaten and torn)library book to the checkout desk to find out how much of a fine for a replacement copy I was due for. The kindly librarian looked up the fine for a replacement copy and suggested I might be better off checking on a replacement copy from Amazon. I did and learned that the replacement would cost just half of what the Library would charge for the exact same paperback book. I ordered a new copy, took it to the Library and simply paid a small administrative cost to list it in the library's computer system and now it is back on their shelves circulating to other happy medieval mystery readers.

By the way, I did get to finish the story myself before taking it over to the library for general circulation. I am a happy Michael Jecks Knights Templar fan.

Thanks, Amazon.

In "Unnatural Death," the protagonist, Sir Baldwin, begins to realize he's finally being forced to decide whether or not he will involve himself in national politics. Jecks delves into the dark alleys of 1324 Exeter where the reader meets royal messengers--"cursores"--and evidence of regicidal assassins and court counter-assassins. To get mixed up in this business is for Sir Baldwin, a local Keeper of the King's Peace, potentially very dangerous. Blend all of these elements together with whisperings of sorcery in Exeter and beyond, and the reader will find a stirring brew excellently spiced by interesting complications and novelistic explorations of the potencies of rumor and misperception.

I've really enjoyed the Michael Jecks series. I'm catching up! Malice of Death was a "filler" book I think, getting our characters from one place to another with an interesting story line. I have enjoyed learning and visiting medieval times with the author.. he's very good. I adore the players and look forward to the next few in the series ( I just ordered them all!) I only have to say the use of swear words is getting used more and more often, and so I skip that, but the descriptions of a far away time and a far away place (for me) is a great amusement. The fact that Sorcery was a big deal then isn't new, since it's always been a big deal to many people, but i had never realized that people thought using demons to do there bidding was a God given use for those "in the know".. interesting back round! Thanks Michael for another good read.

If you like this mystery series, you will definitely enjoy this installment. It is well plotted and compelling.