Prince of Darkness

Sharon K. Penman has written many historical novels, many of them large volumes of several hundred pages, all diligently researched and all of them highly acclaimed by the reading public. The novels featuring Justin de Quincey have been equally popular and take place in the late 12th century. This is the fourth book in the Justin de Quincey series, a character we first came across in The Queen's Man, published in 1996. De Quincey can be likened to a modern day private detective, although he does his detecting work in the late 12th century. He is proud to call himself the Queen's man, the queen in question being Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of the late Henry II and mother of Richard the Lionheart. Bowing to an urgent summons from his former lover, Justin de Quincey races to Paris. On arrival he is more than a little annoyed to find that the Lady Claudine was acting on behalf of a man he dislikes intensely, Prince John. Because of his closeness with John's mother Justin has already seen what John is capable of doing and also his intense desire to take the throne of England. When John tells him of a document implicating him in a plot to depose his brother Richard, Justin is not sure what to make of the fact. The document is in fact a forgery and John on this occasion is innocent of the charge but the prince needs the help of Justin to locate and destroy the document before Richards hears of it . . .

Once again, this historical mystery series hits another high note. Our hero travels across the Channel, not once but several times, and spends much time in France. He is actually "employed" by Prince John, which should come as a shock to the series readers, but the author explains the seeming contradiction. In fact, Prince John comes across as more human than evil personality in this book, and that does make himn a more believeable character. Now that Richard has returned to England, it's going to be interesting to see where next the author takes us!

The fourth installment in this series sees Justin de Quincy's adventures as the "Queen's man" continue. I found the first part of this story hard to delve into, probably because of the large gaps between books in this series. However, once past some of the more unfamiliar names and events the story began to come alive again. Justin is enlisted to help Prince John prove that a letter implicating him in a plot to assassinate his brother King Richard is a forgery. He unwillingly teams up with the man who originally tried to murder him at John's command, Durand. Plots and subplots abound in this story and Justin is also pressed upon to find the murderer of a lady, whom he grew to like and who was also an ally (spy & lover) of Prince John's. Surprises are found around nearly every corner, mysterious characters are revealed and the plot thickens. Constance the Duchess of Brittany (widow of Geoffrey, John & Richard's brother) is believed to be at the center of the plot against Prince John. She wishes to see her own son, Arthur, John's nephew on the throne instead of another Angevin. This mystery was a veritable page turner and ended much too soon for me! Alas, we will just have to wait to see what Justin is up to next as we await the next book in this series. Read this series, in order (The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery, Cruel as the Grave and Dragon's Lair), as any one of them are really not a "stand alone" novel and are deeply entwined with one another.

If you're looking for a really good and well written medieval mystery novel that is rich in history and that fairly reeks of ambiance and atmosphere, look no further: Sharon Kay Penman delivers again with her latest Justin de Quincy installment, "The Prince of Darkness." When Lady Claudine engineers a meeting between Justin and Prince John (King Richard I's treacherous and dangerous younger brother), Justin is understandably furious. After all this was the prince who had had put a death sentence on Justin's head because Justin had got in the way of his plans. But when Justin discovers why it is that Prince John needs his help, he knows that as Queen Eleanor's loyal henchman, he must help him. For Prince John now finds himself in the middle of a plot not of his making and that may cause him his place as Richard's heir, and perhaps, even his life. It turns out that Constance, the Duchess of Brittany and the widow of Geoffrey (King Richard's & Prince John's dead brother) claims to have in her possession evidence that Prince John and the Count of Toulouse had planned to murder Richard. Constance has always hated her Angevin relatives, and has plans to make her six year old son, Arthur (Richard's & John's nephew), the next King of all the Angevin lands after King Richard's death. And if she manages to discredit Prince John once and for all, her son will get everything. Prince John must prove that this document is a forgery, and for that he needs Justin's help. And so, once again, for his Queen's sake, Justin finds himself riding into danger in order to sort this latest royal mess, totally dependent on help from those he quite cordially loathes (like Durand) and one lovely lady that he loves but dare not trust -- the Lady Claudine... This series just keeps getting better and better, and "The Prince of Darkness" definitely lived up to my expectations that I would be in for a thrilling and utterly riveting read. The period details and the historical ambiance were fantastic -- Sharon Kay Penman does a wonderful job of explaining the complex realities of the Angevin royal family and their various satellites, and making the characters and their relative situations comprehensible (even if I did get a little tired of nearly everyone's hero worship of Richard I). I liked how she seamlessly incorporated a very perplexing murder investigation into the real political and historical happenings of the time, and especially how she made Morgan Bloet a vital part of this story. Fast paced, suspenseful, tightly plotted and intriguing, the author successfully help my attention and interest from beginning to end. And need I say it? I eagerly waiting for the next Justin de Quincy installment when he will "ride again." A fantastic read.