Product Description

London, 1196. At the command of Richard the Lionheart, Sir John de Wolfe has left his beloved West Country for the Palace of Westminster, where he has been appointed Coroner of the Verge. But with the king overseas, embroiled in a costly war against King Philip of France, Sir John is dismayed to discover that the English court is a hotbed of greed, corruption and petty in-fighting. The murder of one of the palace clerks, stabbed in broad daylight and thrown into the River Thames, leads John to suspect that there's a conspiracy underway to overthrow King Richard. And with the visit of the dowager Queen Eleanor fast approaching, the new Coroner must risk his life to prove his suspicions are right, root out the traitors within and prevent a national catastrophe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2625 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

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, and the child killer, Mary Bell. The author of numerous popular and academic non-fiction books, he has written thirteen novels in the Crowner John mystery series. Professor Knight lives in Cardiff.

Customer Reviews

Never Enought of Knight
I have sought out everything written by Knight that is available.
He is master craftsman whether writing fiction or non-fiction.
This latest work surprised even me. It is terrific and was worth getting the hard cover version in the U.S. I can only hope that there will be more to follow in this series!

Another great read.
Again the atmosphere of the period and the place is well described. Crowner John and his team become involved and put under pressure from more than one quarter. Murders, accusations and the politics of the Court all combine to give an excellent read and with the addition of remiinders of their former life in Devon the story progresses in several directions.

great story great humour.
Bernard Knight always delivers a great yarn from the southwest excepy this time Crowner John is in Westminster , some haggling with other Sherriffs in London Town adds the discomfort that John feels after his love Nesta has left him , his wife is in a nunnery and he is away from his beloved Exeter and faithful wolfhound.
Kings business must be done and soon John is embroiled in palace intrigue. If you can get hold of audio book version it is well worth it, the narrator is excellant and it brings the whole medieval theme alive.