Review - Serpent in the Thorns

 Monday Jeri Westerson joined us here as a guest blogger.  Her last book, The Serpent in the Thorns has been on my to-be-read list and this was the ideal time to read it for a review to coincide with the guest blog.  I confess - I have now become a fan of this series.

Author: Jeri Westerson

Copyright: September 2009 (Minotaur); 288 pgs

Series: #2 in The Crispin Guest Novels

Sensuality: Some adult situations and innuendo

Mystery sub-genre: Medieval Historical

Main Character: Crispin Guest, disgraced knight of England making a living as an investigator

Setting: 1384 England

Obtained book through: Library Find

The book starts with Crispin Guest receiving a client at his lodgings.  A simple minded kitchen maid who has the problem of a murdered man in her rooms.  She asks "The Tracker" to help her.  When Crispin arrives at her rooms he finds a murdered French official bearing a valuable religious relic to be presented to England's king, The Crown of Thorns, still in the dead man's possession.  Crispin takes the girl and her sister into his protection while he works to discover who is the killer and what is the killer's real agenda.  This book seems to have everything, a murder, a mysterious religious relic, a potential plot against the king of England, and even a bit of swashbuckling action. A shot at redemption as an added spice is thrown in as well.

Crispin made a surprised sound, but before he could respond with a question, the door flung wide.  Crispin shot to his feet and blocked the woman from the unknown intruder.

A ginger-haired boy dashed into the room, slammed and bolted the door, and rested against it, panting.  He looked up at Crispin through a mane of curled locks.  Riotous freckles showed darker against his bone pale skin.

"Jack!"  Crispin put a hand to this throbbing head.  "What by God's toes are you doing?"

"Master," said the boy.  His gaze darted between the girl peering around Crispin's back and then up to Crispin again.  "Nought.  Nought much."

Crispin glared at his charge.  Jack Tucker was more trouble than any servant had a right to be.

 The series is referred to as "Medieval noir" but however you classify it I liked it.  The main character of Crispin Guest is complex and you begin to believe that he is better off as a person since he was stripped of his knighthood, title and lands.  Crispin has a troublesome yet loyal young servant boy (habitual pickpocket) who shines in this tale. Jack is a well portrayed sidekick who can be wise beyond his years when he isn't being chased for stealing. Crispin has learned the value of true friends in the inn-keepers and merchants he associates with since his banishment from the royal court.

The plot moved along at a steady pace and I hated to put it down.  At times you think you know where the story will lead - which is deceptive.  A few twists that kept me reading and tension was built up expertly.  No slow or sagging middle to push through - it sailed along keeping my interest.  The setting of Medieval London is deftly brought to life (not too much nor too little details) with a smooth writing style.  I enjoyed figuring out the killer and the scene when Crispin confronts the killer is nicely setup.  The story was well rounded out and full in every aspect.  I really liked the wrap up and the ending is stellar.  I can't wait for the next book in the series.

If you enjoy historical novels or like a slightly grity amateur sleuth novel I recommend this series.  Great fun.  If you haven't indulged in this book, give in now.

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Guest Blogger, Author Jeri Westerson

Winners of the Book Giveaway and Guest Reviewer spot are: Farm Fresh Murder goes to Stella (Ex Libris) , Til Dice Do Us Part goes to  Pixie13, and Murder of the Wedding Belle goes to  Debbie.  Congratulations folks!  I am really looking forward to your reviews of these books.  You should have received an email from me requesting your mail addresses.

Today we have an extra special surprise...Jeri Westerson, author of the Medieval Mysteries starring Crispin Guest,  is our guest blogger!  Her books are phenomenal and I am sure you will enjoy her post.  Please give a warm welcome to Jeri.  And the crowd goes wild with applause and cheering.

Noir and hard-boiled fiction seem to be in Jeri Westerson’s blood. She was born and bred on the mean streets of Los Angeles. Reporter, would-be actress, graphic artist; these are the things she spent her time on before creating the newest hardboiled detective, Crispin Guest—ex-knight turned PI, solving crimes on the mean streets of fourteenth century London in her Medieval Noir series. The Boston Globe called her detective, “A medieval Sam Spade, a tough guy who operates according to his own moral compass.” Her 2008 debut, VEIL OF LIES, garnered nominations for the Macavity Award for historical mystery and the Shamus Award for Best First PI novel. Her second, SERPENT IN THE THORNS, is also a 2010 finalist for the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award, and her third, THE DEMON’S PARCHMENT is due for release October 12.

In SERPENT IN THE THORNS, a simple-minded tavern girl stirs up trouble for ex-knight turned detective, Crispin Guest, when a body is found in her room, struck down by an arrow. Making matters worse, the murdered man was one of three couriers from France, transporting a religious relic with grave diplomatic implications. Now, as time runs out, Crispin must unravel the conspiracy behind the murder to save not only his country, but himself as well.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly of Writing Historicals

By Jeri Westerson

Writing historical mysteries comes with its own set of problems. There’s already the problem of writing a mystery but on top of that is this layer of history swathed on like frosting. As with science fiction or fantasy, there is a certain amount of world-building that needs to happen, and by that I mean that the reader must be thoroughly placed in that time and place. The smells, the sounds, the feel of it all must be part of the prose without devolving into a travel log or documentary. Everything must be real for the characters and no one should seem out of place. And because readers of historical fiction and mysteries are very particular and have purposely stepped into your world to time travel, the history has got to be authentic.

But how does that work when you are writing a work of fiction to begin with?

I consider the history the skeleton of my story and the fiction—the fictional life of my ex-knight turned detective, Crispin Guest—the flesh and muscle I hang there. If the skeleton isn’t sound, that is, if it’s made of fictional history, then it doesn’t give enough structure to the rest of it. It’s also more of a challenge to bend the fiction to suit the history rather than the other way around.

But it can sometimes be frustrating. I try to choose the words I use to be authentic to the time period. I spend a lot of time with the Oxford English Dictionary to tell me when certain words first came into use, or at least were written down for the first time. This gives you a little leeway. After all, a word was most likely already in use for some time before it was actually written down. But the meanings of words have also changed. Some words we use today didn’t start out with quite that same meaning, and certain idiomatic phrases had a very early origin. In fact, there were instances when I wanted to use a word or phrase that was legitimate to the fourteenth century, but I ended up scrapping it because it sounded too modern!

Research, as you can imagine, is the most time-consuming part of the writing process. I do some initial research before I start to write so I can ground myself in what’s going on at the time, but even as I write there are constantly things that need to be addressed with further research. The real people who walk into the story must be investigated. An occupation or some point of politics must be gone over. And sometimes even weather or the phases of the moon play a role. In my latest, SERPENT IN THE THORNS, the plot is a medieval a thriller (or what I like to call my “ticking sundial” story) and my detective, with time running out, searches for an assassin who is trying to dispatch King Richard II with an arrow. So I had to research all aspects of archery which was actually an integral part of the lives of men in London during this time period.

How is this research accomplished? Plain old-fashioned book reading, which means a trip to my local university library. (And by the way, do not ignore those footnotes. I have found the best turns of plot in just the footnotes!)

Then there is the internet. I can contact people in archives across the pond to get information I need and sometimes I can simply Google something, like a cathedral floor plan, and it comes up! Gotta love the internet!

There’s hands on research, too. I have a collection of medieval weaponry, mostly daggers and a sword. How did it feel to wear these items, to use them? What do the clothes feel like? What does the food taste like? All of these things have to be done to really get a feel for the era.

I’ve often been asked if I would like to time travel back to England in the fourteenth century. And if I did have access to a time machine, I would certainly go back and step out. I’d love to really smell those streets and the people. I’d like to taste the food the way they cooked it rather than relying on the medieval recipes I have. I would like to see the shopkeepers and touch the wares they are selling. I’d like to eaves drop on conversations to hear the cadence of the language and how they used their words and how they pronounced them.

And then, I’d climb back in that time machine and go home, because I know how good we’ve got it here and how tough and foreign it was back there.

A novel is that time machine, at least for the readers. I like to let them walk around.

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Jeri Westerson does a lot of walking in her head when it comes to imagining the medieval streets of London for her medieval noir series. You can read an excerpt of her latest novel, SERPENT IN THE THORNS, at her website http://www.jeriwesterson.com/.

Crispin Guest has his own Facebook page, Myspace and a website dedicated to him.  Check them all out.

Please leave comments and thank Jeri for her wonderful post.

* * * * * If you have enjoyed this blog, then PRETTY PLEASE vote for this blog as best Entertainment Blog (proving reading is entertainment) and also as best Hobby Blog. Thank you most sincerely. There are voting buttons on the sidebar too. You will have to register with Blogger's Choice, but it is a simple process. I am listed under Mysterysuspence.Blogspot.com. * * * * *