Customer Reviews
First Book in the Series - By: J. Chippindale, 07 Dec 2006 
This is the firstin a series of books written by Simon Beaufort & if you think the books are well written & well researched, you would be correct. Because Simon Beaufort is a pseudonym of Susanna Gregory, perhaps better know for the series of books featuring Matthew Bartholomew. I have never read a badly written or boring book by the author & I am sure this series will be just as good.
It is latein the eleventh century & all men who call themselves Christians are being called to arms to join the Crusade & take Jerusalem from the Infidel. By the year 1100, Sir Geoffrey Mappestone is one of the few Crusaders who have survived the unbearable climate & the fighting to take the city.
On returning to the city after partakingin a patrol across the desert Sir Geoffrey is alerted when he hears a woman screaming. He discovers that a fellow knight & close friend has been murderedin a woman's bed chamber. But this is not the first murder of a knightin the city. Several priests have also been attacked.
Geoffrey's liege lord, Prince Tancred, orders Geoffrey to investigate the murders & it is not long before he find himself embroiled with some of the most dangerous menin Jerusalem. He also learns that some of his closest friends could be his deadliest enemies.
Great debut novel of a new historical mystery series - By: , 26 Nov 1998 In 1100, the holy city of Jerusalem remains a fractured place even though the Crusaders have retaken the city back from the Infidel. Returning from a desert patrol to the city, Sir Geoffrey de Mappstone hears a woman's screams from the nearby Greek bakery. Accompanied by his Sergeant of Arms, Guy goes to investigate. They meet the frazzled woman, Melisande Mikelos, who informs him that there is a corpsein her home. He goes inside & finds the murdered body of John, a Norman knight.
Norman Prince Tancred assigns his vassal Geoffrey to investigate this murder & several similar ones. However, instead of uncovering a simple serial killer or even some twisted from of vengeance, Geoffrey finds a conspiracy to overturn the current precarious power structure of the city. As he continues to make inquiries, Geoffrey places himselfin danger of becoming the next victim.
MURDER IN THE HOLY CITY, the first novel in what hopefully is a long series, is a brilliant historical mystery that brings home early twelfth century Jerusalem to the audience. The who-done-it is fun, but it is the motives of the various groups & daily lifein the city that makes this a necessary novel for genre fans. Simon Beaufort, a historian at the University of Cambridge, turns history into a gourmet's delight.
Harriet Klausner
