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. ( )

An enjoyable read. Interesting characters and storyline. ( )

I love medieval mysteries. This is the first of the Crowner John mysteries series. It introduces Sir John de Wolfe who is Devon's coroner and he was appointed by Richard the Lionheart. His closest nemesis is Sheriff Richard de Revelle who also is his brother-in-law and who won't accept the new king's law that the coroner has the saying. De Wolfe has to solve the puzzle who was killing a former Crusader. The story takes place in Exeter and its surroundings.
Because I spent some time there the reading was a great pleasure and brought back good memories from this place. It was a fast-paced reading and I surely will read another of this series. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )