Second Crowner John historical mystery set in 1184 Exeter. Two high-born women are attacked, one found dead and the other ravished, within a short period of time. Short on suspects, John’s brother-in-law the Sheriff reaches out blindly and has people arrested with no evidence whatsoever in an effort to make himself look good with the Chief Justiciar’s visit just days away. John is hard pressed to discover any information until new evidence comes to light and suspects start crawling out of the woodwork. Several crimes interwoven in the mystery. I figured out part of them, but not all. Enjoyed this quite a lot and looking forward to the next ( )

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 book, John investigates the rape of one daughter of a city official and the murder of a noblewoman. ( )