Crispin Guest Medieval Noir

A disgraced knight earns a meager living as a private inquiry agent in 1383 London Accused of treason and stripped of his knighthood, Crispin Guest has survived on gritty streets of London by reinventing himself as The Tracker, an investigator for hire who can locate lost objects and uncover secrets. When the merchant Nicholas Walcote hires Guest to investigate his young wife Philippa for adultery, he discovers an underground world of danger and dirty dealings. Philippa is indeed hiding something-but she's not the only one. Walcote himself is rumored to possess a holy relic so powerful that some would even kill for it. To get to the truth about the mysterious Walcotes, Guest must contend with his nemesis, Sheriff Simon Wynchcombe, as be becomes entangled in a strange world of superstition, seduction, and murder. With vivid period detail and a complex, thrilling story, Veil of Lies was a finalist for the Macavity and Shamus awards.

The disgraced knight turned inquiry agent searches for a missing relic in this Macavity Award-finalist mystery set in fourteenth century London. Former knight Crispin Guest is now known in the streets of medieval London as the Tracker-an investigator who can find anything and anyone. What begins as a straightforward case of murder turns complicated when Crispin realizes that the victim was an important courier in possession of a holy artifact-an object so valuable that its absence could start a war between France and England. Surrounded by possible suspects, Guest will have to use his wiles to navigate both the exclusive halls of King Richard's court, and the hardscrabble streets of fourteenth-century London. In a world full of old friends, mysterious strangers, and dangerous enemies-including the treasonous mastermind who caused Crispin's fall from grace-Crispin will have to uncover a deadly conspiracy to protect his country, save himself, and perhaps even restore his good name.

The Tracker pursues mystical documents said to conjure demons while hunting for a monstrous killer in this medieval mystery with "an appealing noirish air" (Booklist). Since losing his knighthood, Crispin Guest has reinvented himself as an investigator for hire known as the Tracker. But his reputation will once again be put to the test with his latest case. Jacob of Provençal, a Jewish physician at the king's court, is missing a set of documents that he claims contain the power to bring forth a dangerous demon. Meanwhile, it seems a monster has already been unleashed on the city. Vulnerable street children are being abducted and murdered, their mutilated bodies the only clues left behind. With the help of his orphaned servant, Jack, it is up to Crispin to unravel the grim tangle of mystery and murder. This third installment of the Crispin Guest Medieval mysteries was nominated for a Romantic Times Award and was a finalist for the Macavity Award.