12th C. England

This was interesting in that it shows the job of the coroner in this period of English history as well as giving a vivid description of London and the Court at Westminster; all powerful characters in this story. Sir John's trials and tribulations to bring his inquiry to a (successful) end, given a time constraint, is skillfully woven into this well-researched historical novel.

Bernard Knight has yet to put a foot wrong, that together with an intelligent narrator makes this an enjoyable story to listen to.

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Good

Another good book about Crowner John. It's just as you would expect from Bernard Knight

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A pleasant listen

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It passed the time pleasantly but my test is whether I will want to listen to it again and I doubt I will. I did like the setting and it was good to hear details about the early courts. I could however have done without the detailed menu for each meal the Crowner took along the way.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The problem for me was with the central character, the Crowner himself. He is a charmless man, not very bright and ineffective as a coroner, something he feels himself if truth be told.

He would get nowhere without his clerk who pops up every now and then with a vital clue that he has discovered for himself or a flash of insight of which the coroner is himself incapable. I would almost have preferred the story to be about him as he was the one with the investigative mind.

It seems this is the thirteenth title in a series and the first in which the Crowner has been moved to Westminster at the King's request. That move may account for the fact that he is out of his depth. There is some doubt about the extent of his remit which is the excuse for some confrontations with the city merchants but by and large he just seems to go his own way.

I could also have done without the complications of his love life. I suppose in a long-running series about one man there has to be some back story but it took up too much space for me as I have not invested in his character coming to the series so late. He is not interesting enough for me as a central character to make me care one way or the other how things go for him.

Which character – as performed by Paul Matthews – was your favourite?

I rather liked the priest clerk. Paul Matthews also conveyed the women well.

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More Brilliance

I just can't get enough of Crowner John. Bernard Knight paired with a briliant narrator keeps you enthralled from start to finish.
He paints such a vivid picture of the period I feel that I've been there alongside him.

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waste of time

i gave up after a few hours.
the lead character, John, spends his time sulking over his unhappy marriage. the author spends a large portion of the book describing every meal he eats.

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Ok...

I’d read a few of Bernard Knight’s Crowner John books and always enjoyed them, but this one seemed to go on forever without anything happening, then all is revealed in the last half hour. It might be Mr K winding down the series and that’s fair enough, but to me the earlier books were more enjoyable. Narrator OK but maybe a bit lightweight for the main character.

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Laboured

Very slow with little action and virtually no suspence. If you're interested in constant references and descriptions of medievil London you may enjoy.

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