The Templar Magician

The Middle Ages of P.C. Doherty's The Templar Magician (#221) is a grim place with death lurking behind each rock and tree.  Edmund de Payens is a Templar knight, born and brought up in the Holy Land and kin to Hugh de Payens, one of the Order's founders.  He takes his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience seriously, but all around him, things are changing.  When he and his fellow Templar Peter Mayele are assigned to protect Count Raymond, they are unable to prevent his assassination at the gates of Tripoli.  But who was actually responsible for the murder, and for what reason?

Rumors begin swirling around Jerusalem that witches, warlocks and sorcerers were involved, with the connivance of a mysterious Frankish nobleman, possibly a Templar himself.  The Grand Master assigns de Payens to investigate with the aid of Mayele and the Genoese Parmenio, who is not what he appears to be.  When the culprit is identified as an English Templar, Henry Walkyn, they are ordered to pursue him to England.  With a brutal civil war raging between King Stephen and Empress Mathilda for the English throne, Edmund must tread carefully to carry out the Grand Master's orders if he is to survive.

Dr. Doherty really makes the world of the Crusaders come alive in this book, as well as the period in English history when the chroniclers say "the saints slept".  If feeling grubby after reading about the living conditions back then is the measure of immersing yourself in the atmosphere of a different time and place, then this book, like Doherty's others, fits the bill.  So glad I can read about it, and not have to live there!  The bonus is that it's a good mystery, too, because I did not expect the ending.