The complicated plot and bravura ending are sure to appeal to fans of medieval intrigues and stirring battles.
Malgwyn ap Cuneglas, in the service of High King Arthur, uncovers murder and heresy in a second investigation in Dark Ages Britain.
After a long-winded recap of his previous adventure (The Killing Way, 2009), Malgwyn sets off to accompany Arthur on a visit to the monastery at Ynys-witrin, where the king will negotiate with the abbot Coroticus and make certain of the loyalty of his vassal Lauhiir. On the road, they meet Brother Ider, who urges them to make all speed to the abbey. Elafius, a learned old monk, has been found dead in his ransacked cell, poisoned and wrung by the neck. Is the motive for the crime buried deep in Church teachings? Elafius had been a staunch opponent of women in the Church, arguing with the beautiful abbess Rhiannon. And there are whispers of more insidious heresies in the monastery, heresies so threatening that the saintly missionary Patrick has come from Hibernia to root them out. Or is the motive more venal? Lauhiir has become suspiciously rich from mining tin, and Elafius knew much of metallurgy. Confronted by a mystery so deeply entwined in the Church, Malgwyn joins forces with Patrick to investigate. But even their combined wits cannot stave off more killing, as Malgwyn scours the West to discover a dark conspiracy.
The complicated plot and bravura ending are sure to appeal to fans of medieval intrigues and stirring battles.Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1946-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Forge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2009
A taut, exceptional thriller.
If you’ve always wished Lee Child’s Jack Reacher had a little more balance in his life—but the same formidable talents—you'll love Joe Pike and the latest book in this long, superb series (The Wanted, 2017, etc.).
All Joe wanted to do was go to the bank and make a deposit. He knew Isabel Roland, the young teller, seemed a little interested in him, but he doesn’t mix romance and money. Sitting in his car shortly after leaving the bank, though, he notices Isabel walking outside and putting on a pair of sunglasses, and then he sees her talking to a man and disappearing into an SUV with him, "a flash of shock in her eyes." Joe's training—which includes stints in the Marine Corps, the Los Angeles Police Department, and “various private military contractors”—makes him sit up and pay attention. He follows along in his own Jeep, and when the SUV stops for a traffic light, Isabel’s abductors don’t stand a chance. Then, when Isabel is kidnapped again, Joe feels compelled to find her. He enlists Elvis Cole, his longtime friend and private eye, whose laconic style and sharp wit are a helpful counterbalance to Joe’s terse style. As they search for answers, more dead bodies pile up, and the men wonder just how innocent this bank teller really is. Told from the alternating perspectives of Joe, Elvis, and various criminals, the story becomes multilayered while the tension builds. Crais never loses control of his clean, clear prose or his ability to sketch fully fleshed characters in a few scenes, with Joe providing the action and Elvis providing the insight.
A taut, exceptional thriller.Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-53568-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Some of the twists are more convincing than the last one, which leaves a few loose ends. But it’s great to see Cole (The...
The shooting of an apparent serial killer allows the LAPD to close the books on seven murders—but private eye Elvis Cole won’t have it.
Dead suspects don’t look any more guilty than Lionel Byrd. In his hand is the gun that fired the fatal shot into his head; at his feet is an album with Polaroids of seven women who’ve been killed at the rate of one a year, each photo snapped moments after the subject’s death. Homicide detective Connie Bastilla is only too happy to write finis to a troublesome case. But Cole, who produced the evidence that allowed Byrd’s lawyer to verify an alibi for the fifth murder, isn’t convinced. And he comes up with enough evidence to convince the seventh victim’s brothers to quit beating him up and help him investigate further. The harder Elvis digs, the more Byrd’s suicide looks like a murder whose evidence the cops are deliberately sweeping under the rug. But how far does the cover-up extend, and how high up are its beneficiaries? With some help from Detective Carol Starkey, late of the bomb squad, and his partner Joe Pike, whom nobody’s ever accused of being too sensitive, Cole follows the trail through a string of well-placed twists to a satisfying climax.
Some of the twists are more convincing than the last one, which leaves a few loose ends. But it’s great to see Cole (The Forgotten Man, 2005, etc.) back in action.Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7432-8164-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2008
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
