The Winter Knight is the fourth adventure of Arnaud Vallbona in SJA Turney‘s wonderful Knights Templar series. Each story in this series is unique and focuses on the experiences or life of the individual brothers of the preceptory at Rourell in Spain. The first book, Daughter of War, dealt with the very survival of the preceptory itself and its indomitable ruler, Ermengarde; a female preceptrix of the Knights Templar. And while the second book, The Last Emir, saw Arnaud hunting for relics, the third sent him east, to Byzantium and the Fourth Crusade.

The Winter Knight once more sends Arnaud on his travels, this time to the home of his former mentor, Brother Lutolf, in Germany. And to an altogether different adventure. Rather than a tale of war and destruction, The Winter Knight is a totally gripping murder mystery set among the chilly atmosphere of a German castle, or schloss, in the depths of winter.

SJA Turney fills each page with an atmosphere of suspense and intrigue that is hard to escape, even after the book is finished. The clever plot, beautiful and desolate snowy countryside and wonderful, diverse characters have the reader intrigued from the very first page – the opening scenes being the grisly murder itself!

As I have come to expect with SJA Turney, the research is impeccable. From the Templar Rule, through the German weather and the bleak and imposing castle, down to the language and customs of the time, the author has recreated medieval Germany in great detail, even down to the German mindset, their distrust of foreign military orders and the political machinations of the time.

Arnau de Vallbona is a wonderful lead character, and it has been a pleasure to watch him grow and mature over the 4 books, from an immature novice to a full-fledged knight of the Order, having grown in confidence and ability. However, he is no knightly paragon and it is fascinating to watch his struggles with his Order’s rules, with a little flirtation with Brother Lutolf’s sister, and his responsibilities, in searching for the murderer, supervising his squire and looking after Templar interests in the face of a grieving family.

As a murder mystery, The Winter Knight is impressive. Even looking at it with a critical eye, the plot is cleverly woven into the story, drawing on legend, human emotions and the worst of humanity to leave the reader guessing at the identity of the murder until the full extent of his crimes is revealed to the reader.

Despite being the fourth book in a series, The Winter Knight has a unique quality in that it is entirely readable and entertaining as a standalone. At no point does the reader feel that they are missing a part of the story as a result of not having read the previous 3 books. Although, as someone who has read and devoured them all, I highly recommend the entire series.

With The Winter Knight, SJA Turney has again shown his versatility as a writer in this thoroughly absorbing and entertaining novel. I can’t wait for the next instalment!

Another SJA Turney book, another seriously good read. Book 4 in the Knights Templar series see us travel to a cold, wintry Germany. I like how with each book in this series, Turney has taken to different corners of the medieval world. It keeps the series fresh, and presents us with a different read each time.

What also sets The Winter Knight apart is Turney's first foray into writing a crime thriller. Its brilliant. It ticks all the boxes. Isolated location, shifty cast, compelling motives and solid alibis. I loved it. It turns out i has the suspect pegged quite early, but i did change my mind a few times as the plot thickened!

I would love to see more of this genre from Simon Turney, hes just such a damned good author, and his style perfectly suits the suspense building needed for a murder mystery.

I cant wait for book 5 of the Templar series, and whatever else Turney puts out next!

An engrossing and well written story with a well thought cast of characters and an interesting storyline.
I liked how the writer developed the characters and the plot.
It was a good read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine