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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780425217658
ISBN number: 0425217655
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: September 04, 2007
Publishing house: Berkley
Sale Popularity Level: 27233
Studio: Berkley
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Product Description:
A Templar treasure for mystery readers!
An honorable-yet world-weary-Knight Templar solves the mysteries of Medieval England.
After eight years of captivity in the Holy Land, Templar Bascot de Marins escapes with injuries to his body and soul. Now on a sojourn at Lincoln Castle, he hopes to regain his strength, and mend his waning faith-but not even the peace of God's countryside is safe from the mortal crimes of man. For what appears to be the grisly end to a drunken row is in fact a cunning and baffling crime.
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Rated by buyers 
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A young man, a pregnant woman, a moneylender, and an alekeeper lay murdered upon the alehouse floor. The bodies are discovered by Agnes, wife of the murdered alekeeper. A day later a priest is stabbed in front of the church altar, the same priest who was seen comforting the grieving Agnes. The townspeople are looking for answers, and all eyes are directed towards Agnes.
Is is the summer 1200 A.D. and the English town of Lincoln is happily preparing for the annual fair and tournament. "Will the murders scare away merchants and pleasure seekers, and the subsequent profit," stews the sheriff, Gerard Camville? "Will this complicate our relationship with the King," worries his wife, Nicolaa de la Haye. "Will poor Agnes be hanged for a murder she didn't commit," agonizes the alewife's sister Jennet?
Bascot de Marins, a templar knight and Crusader, is initially drawn into the mystery by the stalwart Ernulf, captain of the castle guard, and later asked to get to the bottom of things by the levelheaded castellan of Lincoln Castle, Nicolaa de la Haye. Bascot can hardly refuse, since he is a guest in her castle, sent there by his Order to recuperate from injuries sustained during eight years of Saracen captivity in the Holy Land.
As Bascot gathers information throughout the village we get a glimpse of unfamiliar medieval life and all too familiar human passions. Thankfully, any historical information the reader is unlikely to know is inserted into the text in a casual light handed manner. Occasionally, the author switches voice, and we enter the private thoughts of the alewife's sister, Jennet, and the aristocrat, Nicolaa, women of very different character, but in whose connections and perceptions may lay the key to the mystery.
And murder is not the only unsolved mystery in Lincoln. As Bascot questions suspects, he examines his own heart. Is his own human capacity for self-deception blinding him to the direction God wants for his life? Should he continue in his Order, or make a new life? The temporal and spiritual solutions elude both the reader and Bascot until the novel's satisfying close. This is the very first of Ash's Templar Knight Mystery Series and I look forward to the further adventures of Bascot and the townsfolk of Lincoln.
Rated by buyers 
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In her very first of a new mystery series, Maureen Ash introduces the reader to Templar Knight Bascot de Marins, who has returned to England after years of captivity in the Holy Land at the hands of the Saracen. Injured in his escape to freedom, de Marins is on sojourn from the Order at the castle of Lincoln, to allow his leg to heal. The leave from the Templar Knights also gives him a chance to question and renew his fading faith.
Nicolaa de la Haye, the lady in charge of the castle and wife to the sheriff, charges Bascot to find the murderer of four people found dead in the alehouse. The deaths come on the eve of Lincoln's huge midsummer fair and she is concerned that the person responsible could disappear into the crowds.
As the temperature rises, so does the body count and Bascot finds himself dealing with a ruthless and very determined killer.
Ash creates a vivid picture of medieval life and culture against the backdrop of King John I's reign. Although the monarch does not appear in the story, his pressure is felt by all and his influence is palpable. It is interesting to read Ash's portrayal of John as king which is in contrast to the depiction of him as prince to his brother, Richard I. Sharon K. Penman's excellent Justin de Quincy series lays John's perfidy and malice (some of which seems genuinely justified) unapologetically open and exposed.
The most engaging of Ash's characters besides Bascot are his young ward Gianni, and the aging matriarch Hilde, who also recognizes the intelligence of the wounded Templar and becomes instrumental in helping him solve the mystery. Gianni, the mute Italian orphan rescued from the streets and starvation by Bascot, communicates with the Templar through a series of hand signals and captures the readers' hearts as well as attention. Gianni is devoted to Bascot as a son is to a father and the sentiment is returned. Bascot lost an eye during his captivity (reminding the reader of Candace Robb's one-eyed hero Owen Archer) and relies on the boy's visual acuity for finding clues.
Bascot de Marins is a complex character like another Templar sleuth, Michael Jecks's Sir Baldwin Furnshill.
Ash received kudos from Penman and another medieval mystery legend, Margaret Frazer, along with other accolades printed everywhere on the paperback edition. The glowing reports are deserved as this book is worthy enough to be put along side the other medieval whodunits from Frazer and Penman. Ash's writing style tends to be heavy on the passive voice, but this does not distract from the reading pleasure. I look forward to reading the subsequent one.
Rated by buyers -
There seems to be no shortage of medieval/historical mysteries. Thank goodness, as it's quite a popular genre and one that has merits of its own.
"The Alehouse Murders" is a very first novel by Maureen Ash and features Bascot de Marins, recently returned from the Crusades with the Templar Knights. The world-weary (and physically depleted) knight with his worldly knowledge and background looks to re-build himself, body and soul, following the grueling, decimating Crusades. And what more exciting profession should he turn to but that of sleuth! He's been gone for eight long years and, naturally, is a bit rusty. He settles down in Lincoln in the year 1200 and mid-summer activities are in full bloom. Alas, the pastoral side of Lincoln isn't to last, for, ironically, four bodies are found in a local alehouse and with complicated complications, ever-spiraling associations, and convoluted avenues which Bacot must pursue, the book takes off with a rapid, yet steady pace. Ash has complete control of the plot development, never leaving the reader dangling (or even confused). This is not to say that the story line isn't complicated. It is, but Ash keeps it in a controlled fashion. Her powers of description and episode easily carry the book, traits that most readers will applaud.
Bascot is quite an interesting man, of course, reminiscent of later fictional sleuths and heros and Ash gives us a good foundation for him and his character, noble, sensitive, intelligent, indeed, that he is. A second Knights Templar mystery by her ("Death of a Squire") is already on the shelf and, hopefully, this will become another of the successful historical mystery series. It's a good read!
Rated by buyers -
Maureen Ash is a new author to me and I believe that this is in fact her very first book. As I always like to try new writers when I can find them I was happy to read this book. I found it good light and interesting reading. The type of book where you do not have to try too hard to understand the plot. A tried and tested storyline used by many of the top writers of historical mystery fiction.
A knight from the Templar Order, back in England after eight years of captivity in the Holy Land. Weary in both body and soul, Bascot de Marins injuries have affected his body quite badly but not his fertile mind and as he seeks to regain his strength and well-being while on a stay at the castle in Lincoln, he is on the look-out for something to exercise a mind that has lain fallow, during his long years of captivity.
Soon, while Bascot de Marins is trying to renew his faith in God, there is an event that will do just that. Man's inhumanity to man is never very far away in medieval England and what at very first seems nothing more than a brutal end to a drunken row soon turns out to be something far more baffling. Just the thing for a convalescing Templar Knight to get his teeth into . . .
Rated by buyers -
What a great read. Interesting characters, a plot with twists and turns and historical elements throughout.
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