The King's Justice

A Stanton and Barling Mystery, Book 1

A murder that defies logic—and a killer on the loose.

England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York.

The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt—and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.

Facing growing unrest in the village and the fury of the lord of the manor, Stanton and Barling find themselves drawn into a mystery that defies logic, pursuing a killer who evades capture at every turn.

Can they solve the riddle of who is preying upon the villagers? And can they do it without becoming prey themselves?

The perfect historical mystery series for fans of C.J. Sansom's Shardlake series and Ken Follett

©2018 E. M. Powell (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Cleverly plotted, the action is fast paced and full of twists and turns, surprises, and suspense.”—Historical Novel Society

Slow Pace

The story was very slow moving and didn't engage me. The narrator was excellent. I will not be reading any more from this series.

Great character acting by the narrator

My dad recommended these books because I liked the Cadfael mysteries I really enjoyed it.

How the relationship between the 2 main characters slowly changed

The story and plot. Also the different suspects. Never saw the end the way it did

Loved it!

This is a mystery book set in the time where the King's Law used the ridiculous concept of testing if one was guilty or innocent based on whether you drown or not if dropped into water. The idea being that if you died, you were innocent.
If you lived, you were be guilty and therefore hanged or otherwise dispatched. Stanton and Barling are two men that end up being sent off to determine the innocence or guilt of a beggar accused of a vicious murder; one being the representative of the King as a judge and the other as his steward.

The mystery is well written. The pieces are given as Stanton and Barling would discover them. I felt the ending was well summed up and satisfying. The characters are consistent in behavior, wording, and are smart. At least they are smart of enough to be disturbed by some of the punishments. The judge looks for ways to determine the truth using the Laws of the King without necessarily putting the into action these questionable methods of finding out innocence. On the other hand, the steward questions his intelligence as his rank in life is so beaten into him that coming to conclusions is actually concerning to him. The narration is excellent and brings the book to life. Definitely a fan and happy to discover a future series to enjoy.

Great news series, I hope

I am so glad E.M Powell created a series with Stanton. 5he story was good and 5h3 narration was well done.