I admit to not having read all in the series, so have missed a few in the chronology. Having said that i do enjoy a bit of "medieval noir" with our anti-hero, Crispin Guest. Throw in a murder or two, a holy relic, plots twists, and a storyline like a dog's hind leg, and you have an entertaining read!

This was the first of this series I have read but I can’t wait to read more. I love Crispin and his motley crew with all their foibles and charm. The story was a little predictable but so enjoyable. The dialogue is great and the characters are very real.

I am a big fan of Jeri Westerson’s Medieval Noir mystery series featuring disgraced former knight Crispin Guest! With the release of the tenth book in this series, Season of Blood, my love does not waver, as the series just keeps getting better!

Crispin has taken his skills as a former knight and turned them into a new kind of occupation-that of a tracker. He can find anything, including murderers. While his financial status has gone up a bit lately, allowing him to have better lodgings, little else has changed. Crispin’s weakness for drink and women remain the same, and it is the later that brings him trouble in this latest book. book

A mysterious and beautiful woman hires Crispin to find her missing niece who seems to have run off with a married man–a man that Crispin knows all too well, former Sheriff Simon Wynchecombe. A monk ends up dead on Crispin’s doorstep and it is Simon’s knife in the dead man’s back. Even though he does not like Simon, Crispin finds it hard to believe he would kill a monk. The corpse also brings with him another problem–he has a religious relic in his possession. Crispin has had way more experience with missing relics than he cares for, so he hopes to quickly be rid of this one. Of course, things don’t work out quite that way. More dead bodies, people who aren’t who they say they are, a con artist, Church politics, trying to prove the innocence of a man he hates–could things get any more complicated for Crispin?

While I enjoy the Medieval setting of these stories, and the mysteries are always filled with interesting twists and turns, it is the characters that I love most. Crispin, a cynical former knight, who still tries to live by his former code of honor but struggles with his own demons. His assistant Jack, who has grown from a young street boy thief, into a young man who has learned much from Crispin. Idealistic young lawyer Nigellus Cobmartin, who is newer to the series and continues to surprise. And one of my favorites, Crispin’s interesting friend John Rykener, who is a cross dressing gay prostitute living in a world where that could get him killed. They all come together to help Crispin with this perplexing mystery.

If you have not yet tried the Crispin Guest series, don’t miss it! I highly recommend starting from the beginning so you can see the characters grow and change, but you can jump in with the new one and still enjoy this complicated mystery. But then you will HAVE to go back and read all of the rest!

Well this continues my run of "oh it's part of a series...how many have I missed...oh...bugger" novels. Only number ten (!) this time so my TBR pile has not had to much of a shock. Luckily this definitely works as a standalone. Yes there are referen ces to previous plots but not so much that it has ruined me going back to those (as I surely will one day) or to leave me in the dark.

Crispin Guest could be described as a 14th Century precursor to Sherlock Holmes, but without the borderline personality disorder. In this case he has an issue with a growing pile of dead monks, a beautiful and mysterious new client and the discovery an old nemesis may not just be guilty of been a thorn in Guests side but even possibly a thief and murderer. Guest and his apprentice Jack know that they might want to believe the accusations but something isn't ringing true....

I so enjoyed this book. There are twists and turns aplenty, doubles crosses and general skulduggery and little moments that made me giggle. There is definitely an odd sort of levity to the story that made this not just an intriguing read but also an immensely enjoyable one. Five well deserved stars.

I received this novel from Netgalley for an unbiased review.

Crispin Guest, former knight now finder of relics and solver of mysteries, must find who stole the relic of Hailes Abbey and killed two monks. It is a Season of Blood in 1390 London. Guest has a dubious female client with more stories of who she is than anybody should have. The former sheriff of London was one of her lovers. Monks are up to their necks in crimes. The sheriffs of London want the perpetrator. Lots of low life and red herrings. Intriguing look at the worship of holy relics and the trade in them.

Season of Blood follows last year’s A Maiden Weeping, and Crispin seems to have learned very little from all the trouble he got into during that case.

A man dies on his doorstep with a knife in his back. In Crispin’s down-at-heels section of London, that actually might not be all that uncommon an occurrence. But the dead man in this particular case is a monk. And in addition to his corpse, he leaves Crispin with two big problems.

That knife in the monk’s back clearly bears the seal of Simon Wynchecombe, former Sheriff, current Alderman, and always a thorn in Crispin’s side. Simon hated Crispin while he was Sheriff, and beat and belittled him at every turn, including when he needed Crispin to resolve a case.

The second problem presented by the corpse is that he has a religious relic in his possession. Crispin has been involved with relics before. He doesn’t trust them or the people who traffic in them. But the damnable things keep invading his life, and that never ends well for him.

On the heels of the corpse, a woman hires Crispin to find her errant niece, who seems to have run off with a married man – that married man being the same Simon Wynchecombe whose knife was in the dead man’s back.

This all should scream “unlikely coincidence” to Crispin the expert tracker, but something about this woman has Crispin doing most of his thinking with his little head instead of his big one. Not that that hasn’t happened before, too. Crispin can never resist a pretty face, especially when there’s a clever brain behind it.

So Crispin, as usual, finds himself investigating a case where he trusts that no one is telling the truth. He is forced to rely on his own wits to determine who killed the first monk (and eventually the second and the third) without having anything like 21st century forensic science. Only his own knowledge of how things work and how people behave – even if his wits are a bit addled by the beautiful woman who seems to be at the center of this spider’s web of a case.

And just because he doesn’t believe in the truth of the relic, doesn’t mean that others are not willing to kill for them. Or that just because so many of the people involved with this case are celibate monks, does not mean that there are not men under those robes, just as fascinated by a pretty face as he himself is. Possibly even the same pretty face.

The chance to solve this conundrum tests Crispin at every turn. But the unexpected chance to score against an enemy – PRICELESS.

Escape Rating B+: A part of me wants to say that this was fun, in spite of the dead bodies falling at every turn. This case is interesting because it is so foreign. The past is definitely another country in this one.

Crispin is skeptical about the truth and the efficacy of those much venerated relics. His attitude is in some ways almost modern, and in others fits within his time. He’s not sure they are real, but if they are, we don’t deserve them. And it’s not for him to judge their religiosity, only to follow the trail of death and end it – no matter the cost.

But this is a case where trying to follow “who benefits?” is difficult because the benefits don’t seem based in our reality – even though they are in theirs.

As always, Crispin is a fascinating character. Once upon a time, he was a nobleman, who lost his station and his fortune by backing the wrong claimant in one of the early skirmishes of what became later known as the “Wars of the Roses”. He should have been killed for his treason, but instead he was reduced severely in station.

He should have died of his ignorance, but instead was helped and taught until he could manage to make his own living as the infamous “Tracker” who solves problems for a fee and shows up the Sheriffs at every turn. He has seen life from both the heights and the depths, but is a stranger in both and at home in neither.

He’s also in his mid-30s and starting to feel that he is no longer young. At the same time he has no idea of if or how to “settle down”. He does have a knack for gathering interesting people around him who both help and support him. A group that gets more interesting all the time, particularly in this outing.

If you like historical mysteries where you really feel (and occasionally taste and smell) just how different the past is from our own present, Crispin Guest is a master at bringing his world to life – and solving its suspicious deaths.

This is my first visit with this author and I read this book as a stand alone.  It is set in 1390 and we are introduced to Crispin Guest and his apprentice and side kick Jack Tucker.  They have been approached by a mysterious lady for their help in finding her niece. But along with that a monk dies on Crispin's door step and in his possession is a religious Blood Relic artefact.

This is the 10th instalment in the Crispin Guest mystery series.  As this is the first I had read by this author, I was intrigued as to how well I would get on with an established series.  For me, I am pleased to say, it worked very well, there are hints and mentions of past stories but not enough to detract from this one.  This book has a very good "well researched" feel to it.  It is one of those books that feel right for the time it is set in and Jeri has some great description to back that feel up.  It is a well paced story that has some very unexpected twists, it is one of those books that you are never quite sure who is telling the truth, creating a good edginess to it.  The characters are quick to remember and identify as they are introduced gradually.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read, and I think a good introduction for me to this author, even though I have started at the wrong end of the series. I would recommend this to readers who like a good medieval murder, mystery read.  Some good twists, plots and characters.   It has been well researched and written.

Crispin at his best!

Once again, The Tracker, Crispin Guest is dogged by a mysterious holy relic. This time 'the Holy Blood of Hailes.' A Ciscurcian monk arrives at Crispin's door with a dagger in his back, and a holy relic in his hand! And that's not all, Crispin recognizes the dagger. And so it begins.
Why is it that these mysteries gravitate towards him? At one stage Crispin grimly ponders that, 'Nothing good ever came from association with relics, at least not for him. It was damnable how they kept turning up at his door.' As does a dead White monk of the Cistercian order just to add spice and intrigue. There seems to be a veritable plague of monks imbedded in this Tracker episode.
And let's not forget the last words of Crispin's friend Abbot Nicholas, ' ‘Forget what you think you know … Beware of what you find …’ ' words that haunt Crispin more than the relics. What will Crispin find and what is he really searching for? This is our ongoing exploration of Crispin, his strengths and failings, his personhood.
Jack Tucker is back, now a betrothed young man whose words of wisdom have occasion to bring Crispin up short. John Rykener appears (one of my favorite characters) and, most unexpectedly, the ex sheriff of London, no friend to Crispin, Simon Wynchecombe turns to the Tracker for help.
On top of this a rather mysterious woman enters Crispin's life and turns it upside down.
Another enthralling read. I continue to enjoy the interplay between Crispin and Jack Tucker. I love their verbal sparring, spiced with references to Aristotle and much grumbling from Jack. As always, Westerson's prose brings the streets of 1390's London vividly to life.

A NetGalley ARC

Tracker Crispin Guest is interviewing a very pretty new client who wants to find her missing niece when a knock at the door presents him with a Cistercian monk mumbling his name. The man dies before he can utter another sound, the victim of a stabbing. And Crispin recognizes the murder weapon! It is none other than the dagger owned by his nemesis Simon Wynchecombe. After his prospective client flees the bloody scene and the sheriffs are duly informed of the crime, Crispin finds a curious object apparently dropped by the dying monk. It is none other than a reliquary containing the True Blood of Christ which should be in Hailes Abbey.

So begins another very enjoyable tale in the career of disgraced former knight and current medieval detective Crispin Guest. As he follows the clues to who murdered the Cistercian and why the relic is not where it belongs, he comes across more and more murdered white monks. The puzzle becomes more complex when the rivalry between Westminster Abbey and Hailes Abbey over which pilgrimage site has the better vial of Christ’s blood is revealed. (Hailes’ blood becomes liquid when viewed by true repentants and Westminster’s blood remains a rust-colored smudge no matter who views it, saints or sinners.)

And it doesn’t take Crispin long to figure out that his enticing young aunt is somehow involved in the whole business.

Crispin and his apprentice Jack Tucker, along with friends and enemies from earlier adventures, travel from London to Hailes and back again to find the answers. And Crispin may have met his own Irene Adler!

A most entertaining addition to Crispin’s canon.

I had not read the first 9 books in this series but I don't think that hampered my enjoyment a bit of this medieval mystery starring (no other word) Crispin Guest. How fun that a knight has turned detective in 1390 London and that he's trained a young man Jack Tucker to follow in his footsteps (no pun intended!). Lovely well rounded characters, a villain, a missing woman, a relic, and atmospheric details made this a very good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I suspect there's a fan club of the medieval mystery genre and if so, this should definitely on your list. If you haven't delved into this area, try Crispin for lively entertainment.

I reviewed this book for the Historical Novel Society. The review should be in their February magazine and will be on the HNS website at that time as well. You can view it at my HNS profile: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/?post_type&s=kristen+mcquinn&submit=Search when it publishes.

1390 London and Crispon Guest is followed home by an unknown female who wishes to employ himto find her niece. Their meeting is disturbed by a monk with a dagger in his back. Holy relics, monks, ex-sheriffs abound but its Guest who must find the guilty parties.
An enjoyable mystery, which I liked but did not love. Not too sure I cared much for some of the characters but I might go back to the start of the series. This can certainly be read as a standalone novel.

London, 1390, and Crispin Guest, a disgraced knight and current “Tracker” is approached by a beautiful stranger, who needs his help – only the task in question involves his nemesis, the former Lord Sheriff of London, Simon Winchcombe. But before any deal can be reached, their meeting is interrupted by the arrival of a dying monk, clutching a valuable relic. And with a dagger in his back, a dagger that Guest recognises as belonging to Winchcombe…
As Guest finds himself trying to find the identity of the monk, the source of the relic, the whereabouts of Winchcombe – and the beautiful stranger, Katherine, who disappears once the body appears – and more bodies pile up, he finds himself up against an adversary who just might be smarter than he is.
This is the tenth Guest mystery but the first for me. I was thinking about the direction the blog might be taking, given the prevalence of the Golden Age recently. Well, apart from cutting back on the unreliable narrator genre – until the next N J Fountain book, anyway – the only thing that I realised was that it was well past time that I went back in time again. So I looked around Netgalley and came up with this one.
It’s set about ten years after Paul Doherty’s Athelstan series, in the reign of Richard II – it’s mentioned that Guest was a follower of Bolingbroke (later Henry IV). I presume that means in the 1387 uprising, but as Bolingbroke was forgiven, I guess that’s why Guest wasn’t executed. There’s a fair bit of back story that I felt a regular reader of the series would know, but is only hinted at here. Of course, this is the problem with many a series – does the writer keep repeating the back-story in every book and alienate the regular readers, or just hint enough to try and keep new readers on board?
The best part of this tale is the relationship between Guest and Katherine. This aspect of the plot keeps bouncing around, whereas the mystery plot is just fine. Perfectly entertaining, but nothing revolutionary. And it didn’t help that when one party is found guilty of one aspect of the crime, I found myself wondering who that character was.
The biggest problem for me – and I admit that this is probably not a major issue for most – is that I never got a real sense of when the tale was set. Apart from the mention of Bolingbroke, this could have been set anywhere in pre-Renaissance period. Indeed the notion of the equivalent of a cat-burglar just felt… off. No particular reason, just off.
So, a perfectly decent historical mystery, and I imagine that fans of the series will love it. Worth A Look.

It's nicely written, but unfortunately I won't have the time to read it. Thank you for kindly providing me with an ARC.

Whenever one of Ms. Westerson's Crispin books hits my Kindle or my hands, all other books go to the 'hold' list until I finish it. Her books are well researched. They are set in medieval times, which I find to be a fascinating period, and they are intelligent. Her descriptions make me feel like I am right there in the story. There are some interesting twists presented to Crispin and Jack in this 10th Crispin book. The female character is also quite interesting. You won't want to miss this one! Or any of the others, for that matter.

5 stars

It is 1390 in London. Crispin Guest is being followed. He hides in a doorway only to find his stalker is a woman. She wants to hire him to locate her apparently abducted young neice who she believes has been taken by the former Lord Sheriff Simon Wynchecombe. He is a powerful figure indeed. A knock on the door proves to be a dying monk with a very distinctive dagger in his back. He drops a crystal as he falls. The dagger belongs to Wynchecombe. Crispin rises to discover that the woman is gone and she has taken the crystal with her.

What follows is a remarkable romp through London and Hailes to monasteries, slums, cathedrals and sheriff’s offices. Crispin falls for the lady, and then he learns a great deal about her – or does he? We meet some delightful and unusual friends of Crispin’s. They will also play a part in uncovering the conspiracy and catch the killers. They recover a relic artifact, and then lose it. Do they get it back safely? And what of the mysterious woman? Who is she and what does she really want?

This book is very well written and plotted. The descriptions of the 1390’s London were brilliant. I felt like I was there, seeing the people and smelling the smells. I truly enjoyed it. The suspense starts out immediately and continues throughout the book until it reaches its denouement in an exciting and surprising ending. This is my first Jeri Westerson novel, but it won’t be my last. I immediately went to Amazon to look at her other books.

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful book to read and enjoy.

Season of Blood takes the reader on another adventure with Crispin Guest as he investigates murdered monks and stolen relics. I've enjoyed several of these Crispin Guest novels and enjoy the setting during Richard II's reign. Crispin is a disgraced knight who has earned a reputation as an investigator and finder of lost objects. He has become known as the Tracker.

A beautiful and mysterious woman sets this mystery in motion. She approaches Crispin, asking for his aid in finding her niece. Things are not what they seem, however, and when a monk falls into his door with Crispin's old rival Simon Wynchecombe's dagger in his back and a blood relic in his hand, events take a perilous direction.

Crispin has a skeptical approach to relics, but this one seems unlike the usual fakes. Religious institutions were often competitive about relics because relics were a source of pilgrims and income, but blood relics containing the blood of Christ were particularly desirable.

Crispin's attempts to return the relic are thwarted because the relic keeps returning to him.

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Read in September; review scheduled for Dec. 21.

Goodreads/Severn House

Historical Mystery. Jan. 1, 2017. Print length: 224 pages.