No synopsis, that's in the publisher's purview. I will just tell you that I enjoy excellent story telling within a sound (primary sources) historical matrix so I very much enjoyed this prequel. Dr. Knight has created a gift for long time fans of the "Crowner John Mystery Series (14 titles) who may have had questions about their favorite characters from the series. Knight provides many answers for readers of the series along with a fun read. However, for those poor souls who may not be familiar with the series, this title works well as a 'stand alone' title. I think old fans will be dusting off old titles in the series to refresh themselves with the enjoyment of reading them again. Others, who have not read the series, may very well be looking into those titles once tempted by "Crowner's Crusade." I should note that I have read other titles by Bernard Knight and have always been pleased! ( )

This prequel in the popular Crowner John historical crime fiction series comes in two parts: the first deals with the return of Richard the Lionheart and his small band of councillors and Knights Templars from the Third Crusade and the ill-fated journey across the Mediterranean, which ends with Richard's capture in Vienna; the second part describes how John de Wolfe arrives in his native Devon and tries to settle down after decades of campaigning, discovers a murder victim, and generally has a hand in trying to eradicate the spreading lawlessness in Exeter and its surroundings. Eventually the Archbishop of Canterbury recognises his service and appoints him king's coroner.

Being unfamiliar with the Crowner John series (but with two volumes on my shelf), this prequel was a good place to start. Bernard Knight appears to have done his research well, and he certainly paints a colourful enough (and presumably accurate enough) picture of life and campaign at the end of the twelfth century, but throughout the book I felt there was something lacking, and the novel didn't engage me as much as I'd hoped. His prose often showed repetitions of adjectives and facts, and there were plenty of clumsy terms of phrase, expressions and dialogue, as well as the odd inaccuracy in terms of plot; a natural writer he is not. The mystery itself was quite intriguing at first, but then seemed to peter out as John de Wolfe dealt with various crimes nearly single-handedly, the original murder fading into the background. I won't give up on the other books just yet, but I do hope the others will be an improvement on this prequel. ( )

This is a prequel. It's really 2 short stories, one about Richard the Lion Hearts journey from the Holy Land ending with his capture, which is medium good but has nothing to do with the mystery, and the first mystery solved by John. if you want just the mystery start at page 79. ( )