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    Sanctuary Seeker, The
    Unavailable
    Sanctuary Seeker, The
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    Sanctuary Seeker, The
    Ebook324 pages6 hours

    Sanctuary Seeker, The

    By Bernard Knight

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Introducing crusader turned county coroner Sir John: the first book in the page-turning Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England.

    1194. Appointed by Richard the Lionheart as the first coroner for the county of Devon, Sir John de Wolfe, recently returned from the Crusades, rides out to the lonely moorland village of Widecombe to hold an inquest on an unidentified body.

    But on his return to Exeter, the new coroner is incensed to find that his own brother-in-law, Sheriff Richard de Revelle, is intent on thwarting the murder investigation – particularly when it emerges that the dead man is both a Crusader and a member of one of Devon’s finest and most honourable families. Assisted by his loyal bodyguard Gwyn and his new clerk, defrocked priest Thomas, Sir John sets out to solve the mystery – whatever the cost.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSevern House Publishers
    Release dateFeb 1, 2014
    ISBN9781448301232
    Unavailable
    Sanctuary Seeker, The
    Author

    Bernard Knight

    Bernard Knight is a retired Home Office pathologist renowned for his work on such high-profile cases as the Fred and Rosemary West murders. Bernard is the author of the ‘Crowner John’ series, as well as the Dr Richard Pryor forensic mystery series.

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    Reviews for Sanctuary Seeker, The

    3.5/5

    50 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Fun read. This is a very clever approach of setting a mystery in 12th century England, sort-of a fantasy/mystery blend. The author is well-versed in forensics and medieval history, which makes the book seem very realistic. I look forward to reading the rest of the Crowner John series.
    • 4/5
      First in the series. Crowners (Coroners) were first appointed in England by Richard I (the Lionheart) in September 1194. This is both an interesting mystery and history lesson . The tension between the coroner Sir John de Wolfe and his brother-in-law the sheriff over whose authority is higher, sheriffs lost a lucrative source of money with the appointment of the coroner and their different concepts of the law and truth. The on-going clash of church and state, and the lives of the 'ordinary' people provides a background for the murder of two returning crusaders. I would certainly read more by Bernard Knight.
    • 5/5
      A general review of this series:This is back in the good old days of law enforcement, when trial by combat was definitive and would-be plea bargainers had to fight their accomplice(s) to the death.I find these books fascinating as living history, perhaps even more than as mysteries. Knight always starts off with a glossary of terms. The period is not romanticized, but neither is it overly repulsive. Sir John de Wolfe went crusading with Richard the Lionheart. Now back in England, he has been appointed to the newly reconstituted office of Crowner (Coroner). He fights a pitched battle with his corrupt, treacherous brother-in-law, the Sheriff, over official territory. He is very unhappily married to Mathilda, his incompatible wife; their relationship makes sleeping in peasant huts while on duty a treat. One of the things that makes it interesting, is that although Sir John is the central character, and presumably to be regarded with sympathy, his marital problems are not entirely blamed upon his wife.John is assisted in his duties by his gigantic man of arms, and his clerk, a frail, defrocked priest.In this volume, Sir John first takes up his duties. His wife urged him to take the unpaid post for the social status, but her brother, the Sheriff, resents the post as an encroachment on his own authority and has his own interest in the case.
    • 3/5
      It is 1194, and John de Wolfe is settling into his new role as king's coroner for the county of Devon. As the novel begins, John, his bodyguard and fighting partner Gwyn of Polruan, and his clerk Thomas de Peyne are on their way to the Dartmoor village of Widecombe, where a body has been discovered in the brook. During the course of their investigations, it is discovered that the dead man was a Crusader, recently returned from the Holy Land. But the case turns more out to be more complex when a second body is found on Dartmoor ...As before with the prequel to the Crowner John series, Crowner's Crusade, the historical setting and details are first rate, giving a realistic flavour of the time period with its day-to-day life, customs and laws – just a shame that the narration and the plotting aren't up to scratch. I don't think Bernard Knight is a natural storyteller, as there is something terribly stilted about his voice, and he completely failed to engage me in taking an interest in his characters. Though there's a creditable red herring in the book, in the end it was all to easy to figure out the true perpetrator(s), which was not helped by the fact that they made such easy mistakes that anyone would be able to pick up on the clues – except the sheriff of Exeter, John's brother-in-law, who obstinately refuses to acknowledge the perpetrator(s)' guilt in spite of the clear evidence.As the book turned out to be more of a chore to read than expected, I decided to give up on the series, despite having another volume already on the shelf.