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Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of his rank and his honor - but left with his life - for plotting against Richard II. Having lost his bethrothed, his friends, his patrons and his position in society. With no trade to support him and no family willing to acknowledge him, Crispin has turned to the one thing he still has - his wits - to scrape a living together on the mean streets of London.
When a corpse turns up at his favorite tavern, Crispin Guest-disgraced knight turned detective - begins an inquiry, but the dead man turns out to be a Templar knight, an order thought to be extinct for 75 years, charged with protecting a certain religious relic which is now missing. Before he can begin to investigate, Crispin is abducted by shadowy men who are said to be minions of the French anti-pope.
It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man - Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of student William Farringdon floating in the river Cherwell, it looks like a drowning. Soon, however, Nicholas finds evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his scholar friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William's death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot.
Internationally best-selling author Lyndsay Faye became enamored with tales of Sherlock Holmes and his esteemed biographer, Dr. John Watson, as a child and later began spinning these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction - from her acclaimed debut novel, Dust and Shadow, which pitted the famous detective against Jack the Ripper, to a series of short stories for the Strand Magazine, whose predecessor published the very first Sherlock Holmes short story in 1891.
When a girl is gruesomely murdered, thief taker Charlie Tuesday reluctantly agrees to take on the case. But the horrific remains tell him this is no isolated death. The killer’s mad appetites are part of a master plan that could destroy London – and reveal the dark secrets of Charlie’s own past. Now the thief taker must find this murderous mastermind before the plague obliterates the evidence street by street. This terrifying pursuit will take Charlie deep into the black underbelly of old London, where alchemy, witchcraft and blood-spells collide. In a city drowned in darkness, death could be the most powerful magic of all.
Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of his rank and his honor - but left with his life - for plotting against Richard II. Having lost his bethrothed, his friends, his patrons and his position in society. With no trade to support him and no family willing to acknowledge him, Crispin has turned to the one thing he still has - his wits - to scrape a living together on the mean streets of London.
When a corpse turns up at his favorite tavern, Crispin Guest-disgraced knight turned detective - begins an inquiry, but the dead man turns out to be a Templar knight, an order thought to be extinct for 75 years, charged with protecting a certain religious relic which is now missing. Before he can begin to investigate, Crispin is abducted by shadowy men who are said to be minions of the French anti-pope.
It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man - Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of student William Farringdon floating in the river Cherwell, it looks like a drowning. Soon, however, Nicholas finds evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his scholar friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William's death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot.
Internationally best-selling author Lyndsay Faye became enamored with tales of Sherlock Holmes and his esteemed biographer, Dr. John Watson, as a child and later began spinning these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction - from her acclaimed debut novel, Dust and Shadow, which pitted the famous detective against Jack the Ripper, to a series of short stories for the Strand Magazine, whose predecessor published the very first Sherlock Holmes short story in 1891.
When a girl is gruesomely murdered, thief taker Charlie Tuesday reluctantly agrees to take on the case. But the horrific remains tell him this is no isolated death. The killer’s mad appetites are part of a master plan that could destroy London – and reveal the dark secrets of Charlie’s own past. Now the thief taker must find this murderous mastermind before the plague obliterates the evidence street by street. This terrifying pursuit will take Charlie deep into the black underbelly of old London, where alchemy, witchcraft and blood-spells collide. In a city drowned in darkness, death could be the most powerful magic of all.
Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton is no stranger to Edinburgh's darkest crimes. Scarred by the mysterious fire that killed his parents, he faces his toughest case yet when a young man is found strangled in Holyrood Park. With little evidence aside from a strange playing card found on the body, Hamilton engages the help of his aunt, a gifted photographer, and George Pearson, a librarian with a shared interest in the criminal mind.
An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto. When the eccentric and enigmatic Barker takes the case, he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved", he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past.
Selchester Castle in 1953 sits quiet and near-empty, its corridors echoing with glories of the past. Or so it seems to intelligence officer Hugo Hawksworth, wounded on a secret mission and now reluctantly assuming an altogether less perilous role at Selchester.
Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they've just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life. But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There's a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...
As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry - and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, Ruth Galloway lectures at the University of North Norfolk. She lives happily alone in a remote place called Saltmarsh overlooking the North Sea and, for company; she has her cats Flint and Sparky, and Radio 4. When a child's bones are found in the marshes near an ancient site that Ruth worked on ten years earlier, Ruth is asked to date them.
Evan Evans is a young police constable who has traded in the violence of city life for idyllic Llanfair, a Welsh village tucked far away from trouble. Nestled among the Snowdonia mountain range, Llanfair looks to Constable Evans like a town forgotten by time, but he quickly learns that even the bucolic countryside has its share of eccentric - and deadly - characters.
Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents' deaths, is curious about the secrets of her father's mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father's former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture...a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes. But her hunt leads her to Hyde's daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns.
A tragic accident leaves Inspector Monk with amnesia just moments after he solves the murder of a popular Crimean war hero. Forced to redo his entire investigation, a frustrated Monk faces a desperate murderer who will do anything to keep the inspector from discovering the truth twice.
Northumberland, 1809: A beautiful young heiress disappears from her locked bedchamber at Linn Hagh. The local constables are baffled and the townsfolk cry "witchcraft". The heiress' uncle summons help from Detective Lavender and his assistant, Constable Woods, who face one of their most challenging cases.
Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
When magistrate Patrick Colquhoun orders a habitual thief and ne'er-do-well transported to Botany Bay, he doesn't realize a 14-year-old boy has been left behind to follow in his father's footsteps - not until young John Pickett is hauled into Bow Street for stealing an apple from the produce market at Covent Garden. Feeling to some extent responsible for the boy, Mr. Colquhoun prevails upon Elias Granger, a prosperous coal merchant, to take him on as an apprentice.
Convicted of treason, Crispin Guest was stripped of his title, his land, his money and his friends. Now with only his considerable wits to sustain him, Guest works the mean streets of 14th century London, building a small reputation for his skill. In 1383, a simple-minded tavern girl comes to his door - a body was found where she works and she’s the only person who could have killed him. Except for the fact that the man was killed in place by a precisely aimed crossbow bolt. Making matters worse, the murdered man was one of three couriers from the French king, transporting a relic intended to smooth the troubled relations between France and England. Events quickly spin out of control and Guest now finds himself the prime suspect in the murder, one with terrible diplomatic implications. As the drumbeat of war between the two countries grow, Guest must unravel the con spiracy behind the murder to save not only his country, but himself as well.
This is 2nd of an historical fiction series that was presented on audio in reverse order; but each book stands well on its own merit. Which says a lot for any book that is part of a series these days.
This is a believable historical portrayal of Richard I era England, accompanying delightful characterizations in an intriguing adventure / mystery. There is action, a smattering of sex, a good deal of philosophy about the concept of "honor" in people of both noble and ordinary birth, all without too much agonizing over ideas when they can be shown in the deeds of the characters, from lowest to highest in the social order. There is also a sample (a bit too much for my taste) of the torture of victims of the royal jail, albeit realistic for the times. But the characters win the day, especially the "disgraced" and former knight, Crispin Guest, and his child side-kick, Jack (who provides a charming "Greek chorus", while being a good foil for our hero).
Overall enjoyable enough to make me want to hear the entire series. And the most excellent reading of Michael Page carries me along into these stories nicely!
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
If you like twists and turns in a plot, where the details matter, and things don't quite go where you expect, then pick up Serpent in the Thorns. You'll have to pay attention to the little things and don't forget to take some of them at face value. The story doubles back on itself, and some questions about Crispin's fall from knighthood are answered. Crispin and Jack are central, but pay attention to those around them. As the story unfolds you see some real character growth in Crispin and Jack. As for other characters, the sheriff plays a smaller part then in the first book, and Gaunt played a larger one. Richard as written is petty, vindictive, and throughly unlikable. It all wraps up in a really good ending. I'll be picking up the next one in the series soon.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I didn’t read the first book in this series as this book had better star ratings.
Crispin, the main character, has all his self questioning inner thoughts, or interpretation of them … “he’d forgotten the noise …” explored, but to no purpose. He seems unable to do more than be dragged along by events as he spends his time thinking “… even though his good judgment told him not to …” instead of paying attention.
He is so self absorbed while at the banquet scene that he doesn’t notice the person he is attending to keep an eye on has wandered off while he wasn’t paying attention “… he turned toward the low tables a … Where the hell was …”
Plot exposition gets hammered into the story rather than integrating … using contrivance.
Descriptions of the environments, the world of the middle ages, the clothes worn and the look of the characters (how long the king's hair is, what they are wearing), dominate.
Plot exposition gets hammered into the story rather than integrating … using contrivance.
I can’t tell if Michael Page’s reading is a contributing factor to the malaise that I eventually felt after about 5 hours that led me to abandon listening.
Maybe the writing is the problem, not giving Page enough to work with.
Maybe it’s a combination of both.
Page has a good voice and his characters have unique sounds and are easily differentiated, but the reading fails to make good use of what action is in the story. It is more than just a reading, and should be more successful, but it just didn’t achieve a connection with me; I feel no empathy or sympathy with the characters. In the end I just didn’t care what happened to them.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
The second book in the series is even better than the first one. Crispin is still struggling to make a living as someone who finds missing people, things, religious artifacts, etc. Jack Tucker is still his young side kick, and the banter between the two of them is very entertaining. In this story, a French courier is murdered, a religious relic (THE crown of thorns) goes missing, and all sorts of mayhem ensures with Crispin in the middle. I love this series!
Michael Page is excellent as the narrator.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Another entertaining saga that will keep you enthralled.
This Narrator is one of the best in the audio world helping to
capture the characters with aplomb & all makes for one of the
best audio books to keep you wanting more.
You will not be disappointed. Hundreds have reviewed these books saying they cannot drive the car, others have spent money on unnecessary petrol just to keep on listening & others cannot get their work done for listening & getting pulled into these stories. You can not get much better than that.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
In some ways, I enjoyed it. Crispin is an interesting and relatable character, and little Jack Tucker is such a dear. However, there are various 'holes' in the plot, execution and characterization that bring the rating down.
Would you ever listen to anything by Jeri Westerson again?
One of these is the excessive references to torture. Seriously, torture was banned under English common law, except in cases of heresy or treason, so I very much doubt it would have been used as often as the references to it in this story make out.
Also, the Americanisms stood out a lot more in this story, as well as some attitudes and beliefs of Crispin which did not seem to be 'of the time' at all. I understand the author wanted him to be skeptical about relics, but he's supposed to be a fourteenth century person, and the skepticism and irrelgious attitudes are too pervasive. I'm surprised he even believes in God at all.
Also, as other reviewers have pointed out, the story gets rather repetitive and a little implausible after a time. Its one of tose tales in which the author throws every adversity concievable and sometimes inconcievable at the protaganist, and the whole thing gets a bit too wrapped up in its own complexity. Dare I say, over the top?
Finally, as with the last book, the sex scene was not required. It came across as unecessary tittilation, and actually quite gross. The idea that someone in the circumstances Crispin was facing would just be thinking about sex with the nearest girl who offered was implausible enough, and made him look like an irredemadle lecher incapable incapapable of relating to persons of the opposite sex in the way normal people do on a daily basis, without wanting to get his clothes off.
Said girl's remark about 'looking for a shaft' in his trousers was really an image I did not need. The scene really lowered the tone of the whole story, and as such, I don't think I shall be listening to anymore audiobooks by this author anytime soon.
What aspect of Michael Page’s performance might you have changed?
The narrator's performance was wonderful, his handling of the voices of different characters very good.