Set in England in 1371, The Crossed-Legged Knight is the latest in the Owen Archer series by Candace Robb.
A sombre procession make their way from York Minster after the burial of Sir Ranulf Pagnell, late head of a influential Yorkshire family who died in tragic circumstances in France while in the service of the King. Even though the Bishop of Winchester, William of Wykeham had escorted the meagre remains of Sir Ranulf back to the north, the rest of the late knight’s family have shunned him. They blame him for the death of Sir Ranulf, for failing to negotiate his ransom on time.
Days later while the Bishop is staying with John Thoresby, the Archbishop of York, his townhouse is found ablaze. But this was no accident, the Bishop is safe and sound but a body of a young woman is found in the house and disgrace is imminent. Owen Archer is asked to investigate and is soon troubled by what he finds out. To make things worse both Owen and his wife Lucie are still trying to cope in their own different ways with the loss of their child as a result of a miscarriage. This plus the investigation puts an even further strain on both of them
I have always enjoyed the Owen Archer series by Candace Robb, and in Stephen
Thorne they have found the perfect person to narrate the story. He manages to
get all the nuances and different dialects just right. Unlike some readers you
can tell when he is supposed to be a woman. The characters are brought to life
with what appears to be such easy. If you are a fan of historical crime fiction
then this is a good book to listen to. I certainly enjoyed it and I hope that
they continue to use Stephen Thorne to read the other books in the series as
they come along.
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Ayo Onatade