by Lorie Lewis Ham

The Silence of Stones is the latest Medieval Noir mystery written by Jeri Westerson. It features Tracker Crispin Guest, a former knight who was accused of treason and stripped of everything. To survive, he has turned to his considerable deductive skills and become basically the first detective, though they call him the Tracker. He has managed to survive using these skills, providing a meager life for himself and his apprentice Jack Tucker, a former thief.

In this book, the mythical Stone of Destiny has been stolen from the throne of England in Westminster Abbey. Crispin and Jack are actually present to witness this. Desperate to get the stone back, King Richard II turns to Crispin to find the Stone. To ensure that Crispin will do his best, the King imprisons Jack and tells Crispin if the Stone isn’t found within three days he will hang Jack for treason.

This book in the series brings the reader a bit of a different twist–instead of having Jack by his side, Crispin finds himself being helped by a cross dressing friend named John Rykener. To put this type of character in a time period such as this provides no end of hilarious moments, helping to lighten the tension of such a grave and serious task. It was so much fun having John as Crispin’s sidekick in this story, and I really hope that this character will return. While Crispin is busy looking for the Stone, Jack ends up being able to help as well despite his imprisonment. He also shows how much he has grown up when he helps a very important young woman in the King’s household despite how dangerous it could be for him.

I love the Crispin Guest books–not only are they filled with interesting characters, but you also learn interesting things about the time period the books are set in. Westerson is an excellent writer who does an amazing job of bringing not only these characters, but this time period, to life. This book is filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. You will get some swashbuckling style action, an interesting and complicated mystery, history, comedy, and some great characters! What more could you ask for? You will not want to miss this book!

You can go to her website to find out if she has a booksigning coming up near you!

To enter to win the Silence of Stones contest package mentioned above, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “stones,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen February 6, 2016. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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The Silence of Stones

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Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and an enthusiastic contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie’s mystery writing at Mysteryrat’s Closet.