This is the second of Penman's medieval mysteries, and I'd recommend that you read The Queen's Man first, because Penman refers to her characters' pasts a lot, and it's helpful to know those backstories. Anyway, in Cruel as the Grave, Justin de Quincy faces another important task as the queen's man: he must somehow arrange a truce between Eleanor and her rebellious son, John. At the same time, he's enlisted to help solve another private murder, this time of a 15-year-old Welsh girl found brutally struck down in a churchyard. The main suspect is an awkward young man who was in love with the girl, but Justin suspects that there is more to the story. While he investigates the murder and arranges the queen's business, he also has to deal with his lover Claudine's betrayal of him, as well as his anger towards his father. I wouldn't really classify this book as a "mystery"; it's more a medieval suspense novel. The murder investigation moves quite slowly. There will be one chapter about that, then the next about the siege of Windsor Castle (which John defends against his mother, the queen), then the next about Justin's personal struggles. I think the atmosphere is great, though; Penman really knows her stuff, and I felt like I was in medieval London. I'd definitely recommend this series for fans of the time period.

Justin de Quincy is back again in the 2nd book of this medieval series. Justin is called upon by a friend to solve the murder of a 15-year old Welsh girl Melangell who was killed in the church graveyard. The accused are two brothers who seem to be hiding something are not helpful in solving the mystery of this young girl. The father also seems to be hiding something. Again Justin has his work cut out for him to find a killer and the reason why.

It is April 1193 and Justin is summoned back to court by Eleanor of Aquitaine while Richard the Lionheart sets in a German prison his younger brother John seizes Windsor Castle and the Queen ask Justin to undertake a dangerous mission by asking him to mediate a truce with John. Also, Justin discovers that Claudine de Loudun is with child and she wants to abort the child with special herbs, not sure what to do Justin confides in the Queen, which upsets Claudine. The Queen arranges for Claudine to leave and have the child and home found for the child.

I do not read many mystery's, but the clues that Justin was able to discover and how he unraveled those clues were interesting. Although, not a terrible read was not as good as the first book and I was not impressed with the discovery of the killer. Many of the same characters return in this book, which I enjoyed. ( )

fiction, historical fiction, medieval England