Serpent in the Thorns: A Crispin Guest Medieval Noir

The one-word review: Wow! I was gobsmacked, knocked out, my socks knocked off, too by the excellence of Ms. Westerson's book and moved to tears by its pitch-perfect ending. Not only is it one of the best books I've read this year, but SERPENT IN THE THORNS has just joined the select ranks of my personal all-time best list, equaling this year's other big find for me, Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, in its big heart and soul and its non-stop action involving the beleaguered hero in ever-escalating peril as he struggles to do the right thing. From the beginning we are plunged into 12th-century London in all its sensory squalor and splendor with details that never overwhelm characters and story but place them in a satisfyingly realized culture and milieu that transports the reader as if s/he had stepped into a time machine. I was hooked from the opening paragraphs where Crispin Guest, disgraced former knight, wakes from a hangovered sleep to confront a lower-class woman pleading for help. His new title and profession is "the Tracker," a man who finds missing objects and investigates crime. The new client's problem? There is a dead man in her room and she has no idea who he is. From there, the pages fly under our fingers and the action never stops. But like Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, the non-stop action is grounded in the deeper themes of honor and what makes life worth living, themes that play throughout the book in the fully realized, three-dimensional characters of Crispin and his friends and foes. The course of redemption that Crispin charts is reminiscent of William Monk's progress in Anne Perry's well-loved series. Unlike Monk, Crispin has his memories intact--indeed, too much so for his own comfort--and unlike Monk, he has little of which to be ashamed, but his new life among London's lower classes has taught him to look at his fellow creatures through new eyes, to see other people as beings like himself rather than tools he may call upon to serve his own pleasure. Like Monk, Crispin Guest has learned compassion. Like Monk, he is a new man leading a redeemed life. But all this is accomplished with a light touch that eschews any taint of preaching or sentimentality, beneath the surface of a swashbuckling, action-packed story full of colorful characters, colorful settings, and colorful language replete with salty olde English expletives. Ms. Westerson should be proud. Nancy Adams

Set in London in 1384, this is the second in the Medieval Noir series (the first being VEIL OF LIES), featuring Crispin Guest, formerly a knight and protege of the powerful John of Gaunt, but stripped of his title and his lands when involved in a treason plot seven years before, his life saved only by intervention by his powerful patron. Crispin now roams the slums of medieval London, scraping out a living as a Finder (a sort of inquiry agent of his time period), or for whatever else his skills make him worth hiring. So, when a simple-minded tavern girl finds a dead man in her room whom she thinks she must have killed since she was the only one present (ignoring the fact that he was killed by an arrow and she does not have a bow), she runs to Crispin for help. The dead man turns out to be a French courier, in charge of a sacred relic meant as a gift for young King Richard II, without which both countries threaten war. Crispin wonders if he can work his way back into the King's favor if he returns the artifact... or better yet, find out who is behind a threat to the King's life-- only to find himself accused of attempted murder himself. An assassin is loose in London and Crispin is in for lots of action and bodily harm in evading authorities and attempts on his life. He must deal with dangers on the mean streets of London as well as the even more hazardous maze of a Court full of intrigue and international tension. The mystery of the dead courier and the possible assassin is complicated by the return of a figure from Crispin's past--the one man who led him into the treasonous plot that ruined his life. The setting seems true to period as well as figuring convincingly as a noir-like background. Crispin's fall from wealth and power and his new-found life among the lowest of the low make for a dramatic back-story that also impacts the mystery plot and lends an extra dimension to the tale. I thought the first book was an excellent beginning to a promising series. This book was not quite as good (Crispin's thoughts and feelings didn't quite come through as convincingly or as well, but it's a minor quibble), but I still think this series looks to be a good one, well worth the read.

Author Jeri Westerson has added another sterling chapter to her marvelous tale of 14th Century knight, Crispin Guest, in Serpent in the Thorns. Guest, a former knight who had pledged his loyalty to the one man in England he truly trusted, was accused of treason and stripped of his title, lands, and everything he thinks made him worthy of respect. The only reason he remained alive was because King Richard II thought stripping him of everything and tossing him into the street would be the most satisfying punishment. The young king knew the man better than the man knew himself. This medieval noir tale finds Guest living in the Shambles, one of the roughest areas of London, working as a tracker. Think: Sam Spade with a dagger and cotehardie instead of a gun and a trench coat. The case that ensnares him begins when a dull-witted wench pleads for him to help her. She thinks she killed the man lying in her room. The man was shot by an arrow and Guest cannot believe this simple woman had the strength, much less the skill, to kill the man with a well-placed arrow. The man turns out to be a courier from the French king who is in London delivering a relic purported to have mystic powers. The prize, the Crown of Thorns. Those in its presence seem to have unyielding courage and perhaps immortality, but there is a catch. As Guest tries to sort out who the killer is, he is in a quandary as to where the relic should go. He hides it, but there are those with evil intent who want it for more sinister reasons. But while Guest is searching for the killer, eyes start turning toward him, after all, he was a marksman when he was a knight. As more arrows fly, Guest and his trusty sidekick, Jack, a cutpurse or pickpocket by trade, escape the hangman's noose, but for how long? Just as in any good detective story, there are many suspects, each with a tale to tell, and the real villain comes as a surprise. But what Crispin Guest learns about himself in the end is the most fascinating tale of all. Truly a knight to remember...

Serpent in the Thorns features Jeri Westerson's wonderfully tortured sleuth, Crispin Guest. Stripped of his title and his lands and servants after foolishly getting tangled up in a plot against then 10-year-old King Richard II, Crispin now ekes out a miserable living as "The Tracker." In fact, he's a forerunner of Sam Spade, the cynical, world-weary private eye from Noir fiction. Jeri calls her books "medieval noir," and for good reason. In attitude as well as luck (mostly all bad), Crispin is the perfect noir detective. This one starts a little slower than the first Crispin mystery, but all the essential elements are there - an impossible and inexplicable crime, a mysterious femme fatale who might know more than she's telling, and a lot of people who want Crispin dead. We get to learn a lot more about how Crispin came to such a low state in this installment. We even get to meet one of his former co-conspirators in the treasonous plot against the king. Only this conspirator escaped detection and now lives the high life as captain of the king's archers. Not surprisingly, Crispin is determined to bring this former friend down and restore himself to favor with the king. The mystery involves a holy relic alleged to be the very crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ. Jeri does a fantastic job of recreating the religion-obsessed atmosphere of medieval Europe, and of exposing the hypocrisy that lay beneath that era's obsession with religious icons and faith. She paints a vivid picture of life on the mean streets of medieval London - and those streets were truly mean. This is an absorbing and entertaining mystery with well-drawn characters. Looking forward to the next one!

Jeri Westerson has penned A SERPENT IN THORNS to extend her opening medieval noir mystery, A VEIL OF LIES. Crispin Guest, a dishonored knight, is yanked from a bad hangover to come to the aid of a simple scullery maid who claims she killed a man in her room. He finds the body of a French courier with an arrow in his throat with a special gift from the King of France to the young Richard II. A swift search of the man's belongings shows he was not robbed and the gold casket containing the famous crown of thorns is intact. Crispin's first allegiance is to his client and her sister who pays his fee. Many men want the gift to insulate themselves with the king, who as a child stripped Crispin of his lands and knighthood. Crispin wants the truth and to regain his knighthood. The plot is intricate and fast paced, it will keep you glued to your chair as you follow Crispin and his London slums servant through the dark allies of London to the hall of the King in search of answers. The Tracker finds lost things and discovers answers he may not want to obtain from the world of Court politics. The previous reviewer should check KINGS, RULERS, AND STATESMEN p. 187-188 for verification of time periods, as I did when her review puzzled me. Nash Black, author of Indie Finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.