The King's Justice

This is the first in EM Powell's medieval mystery series featuring the unlikely pairing of senior court clerk, Aelred Barling, and messenger, Hugo Stanton. In York 1176, the King's Justices are dispensing justice according to King Henry II's efforts to regularise the law across the 6 geographical circuits in England with the travelling Royal Justices. Sir Reginald Edgar, from Claresham arrives unexpectedly demanding to be allowed to hang Nicholas Lindley, a homeless beggar, the suspected murderer of the village smith, Geoffrey Smith. However, this demand is refused, and instead the careful, diligent and dispassionate Barling and Stanton who is rather fond of the drink and women, are both initially less than happy at being forced to work together and represent The King's Justices as they travel with Edgar to Claresham to look into the case.<br /><br />The two find a village baying for blood vengeance and an enraged Edgar as Barling insists on looking into the matter further. As Lindley escapes and a slew of further murders take place, Barling and Stanton come under severe pressure faced with a host of suspects and increasing danger. What shines in the novel is how, against the odds, Barling and Stanton begin to develop a good solid working relationship together with a growing respect for each other. This is a promising beginning to a great series that is well researched and gives a great sense of the period, although justice is rather warped in that innocence is assumed if the accused dies in the established ordeals of the time. Barling and Starling have personal back stories that are hinted at here that presumably will be revealed as the series continues. I recommend this medieval mystery series as gripping, with great characterisation and a well plotted storyline. Many thanks to my good friend, Peter, who recommended both this book and the series to me.

<b>Incorrigible</b><br /><i>The King’s Justice</i> is an intriguing and perplexing historical murder mystery based in England during King Henry II’s reign in 1176. Henry II is responsible for much of the current legal system in the UK, and introduced travelling Royal Justices to cover 6 geographical circuits in England, each circuit with 3 justices.<br /><br />In the story, Sir Reginald Edgar arrives in York to meet the circuit court. He’s drunk, obnoxious, has no witnesses or jurors, and is seeking approval to execute a suspected murderer in his hometown of Claresham. With his tetchy arrogant behaviour, he is not granted his request but promised a clerk of the court to travel with him to Claresham to resolve the issue and administer the Kings Justice if necessary. The King’s Justice is a name given to a barbaric test to determine if a person is innocent or guilty. It is administered by tying a person’s hands to their ankles, thus doubling them in two, and then hung from the waist submerging them into a 12-foot pit full of water. If you drown you are innocent, and if you survive you are guilty and then you are hanged. The Witch Test it’s better known as. Nice choice!<br /><br />Aeired Barling is the appointed clerk of the court, and through an unfortunate twist of fate, Hugo Stanton is selected as his assistant for the case (a messenger of the church). Both men have secret backgrounds that haunt them, and these are referred to but never explained in this novel (for another book). Barling is a religious, methodical and learned man that operates through well-defined plans. Stanton enjoys women and alcohol but has a sharp eye and a great ability to sense truth. As a lowly messenger, speaking up is not only frowned upon but punishable and to Stanton's own detriment he often speaks up rather than see an injustice occur. I really liked these two believable but apparently incompatible characters that are wonderfully constructed. A mutual respect starts to develop and maybe opposites do attract! A team for the future?<br /><br />Stanton suspects that the person they are holding in the jail is not the killer but before they can question him further, he escapes, and other murders occur. While it may look obvious for a while, there are other characters that could be the murderer. The death toll mounts and the clever plotting has a great capacity to keep you guessing. There are numerous red-herrings and suspicions to add to the complexity and it’s all delivered in a very believable and well-plotted manner. This is an excellent suspense murder mystery where the pace is maintained from cover to cover.<br /><br />What I also appreciated was that the supporting historical nature of the novel didn't detract from absorbing storytelling. The atmosphere and village life were very subtly interwoven with the story, which contributed to the overall experience of reading the novel and provided another element of characterisation which is often very difficult to achieve. <br /> <br />Looking forward to reading book 2 “The Monastery Murders” published in September 2018

Powell’s first offering in his Barling/Stanton series takes place in Claresham, England in 1176 during the reign of King Henry II. Drunk Sir Reginald Edgar claims to have caught the killer of the murdered victim on his estate and only wants the court’s permission to execute him. So, the court asks Aelred Barling, a clerk to the justices, and his partner, Hugo Stanton to investigate. This proves more difficult when the prisoner escapes. Soon, more murdered bodies are discovered.<br /> <br />Powell’s Barling and Stanton characters are engaging and the fast-moving plot makes this a quick read. He also provides a red herring or two. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Enjoy! <br />

This amazing historical mystery is the 1st volume of the "Stanton &amp; Barling" series, from the formidable Irish author, E.M. Powell.<br /><br />At the back of the book you'll notice a Historical Note, in which the historical details concerning this story are superbly explained, a List of Characters, listing people who are featuring in this exciting medieval novel, as well as an informative Bibliography. <br /><br />Storytelling is of a top-notch quality, all believable and lifelike characters, whether real great historical or wonderful fictional, come vividly to life within this tale of murder and mayhem, and the atmosphere and political procedures during the reign of King Henry II come splendidly off the pages.<br /> <br />Before I come to the book itself, let me introduce to you our two main protagonists; on the one hand there's, Hugo Stanton, former King's messenger and former real lover of the King's reluctant mistress, the Fair Rosamund Clifford, see and read "The Blood of the Fifth Knight" from this same fine author, and now messenger of King Henry's three itinerant justices, being Ranulf de Glanville, Robert Pikenot and Robert de Vaux, while on the other hand there's, Aelred Barling, senior clerk of these same justices, and a man with a very dark secret himself.<br /><br />The story starts in June, AD 1176, when the King's Justice is dealing with cases in York, when all of a sudden Sir Reginald Edgar steps up and demands an audience with the justices, and bringing to them the murder of the blacksmith, Geoffrey Smith, in his village of Claresham, Yorkshire.<br /><br />According to Sir Reginald Edgar, the blacksmith Geoffrey Smith, was murdered by a beggar named, Nicholas Lindley, and Edgar wants to hang him for that crime but without witnesses and evidence, Aelred Barling and Hugo Stanton are sent to Claresham Village, Yorkshire, to investigate this murder case and execute the King's Justice in the name of King Henry II themselves.<br /><br />What will follow is a magnificent fast-paced and a real page-turner of a medieval mystery, and when more murders are following in rapid succession, Stanton and Barling will by logic, stealth finally come to the truth of the matter, and after quite some twists and turns, followed with an amazingly evolving plot, they will eventually reveal a very surprising and ruthless culprit at the end of this very exciting mystery.<br /><br />Highly recommended, look very much forward to the next volume for this has been a fascinating read, a read that reminds me somewhat of Matt Bartholomew &amp; Brother Michael by Susanna Gregory in their dealings, and because of all this I like to call this wonderful episode: "A Fantastic Stanton &amp; Barling Start"!

Review to follow

First Sentence: Pit or Punishment: Hugo Stanton couldn't tell which excited the folk of these hot, crammed streets more.<br /> <br />With traveling courts established by Henry II having more than enough to handle, the justices send court clerk Aelred Barling, and his young assistant Hugo Stanton, to a village outside York. Although there were no witnesses, Nicholas Lindley has been imprisoned for the murder of the village smith. The case seems certain, yet Stanton has his doubts. The prisoner escapes, more deaths occur, and the two men are tasked with quelling the villagers, dealing with the lord of the manor, and finding the killer.<br /> <br />To Powell's credit, no attempt to pretty-up the period has been made. Justice is anything but just and the streets are beyond foul. However, it is interesting to see the early stages of the justice system. <br /> <br />All the characters have dimension and distinct personalities, pleasant and unpleasant. Barling is the type of character one likes more as the story progresses. He is pragmatic—"To dwell on an error is never of benefit."—focused on the details and dedicated to his role and responsibility. Stanton is observant and deductive. There is very nice, subtle humor—"And well done, Stanton: a good evening's work.' But he could believe the next. 'Good,' continued Barling, 'for one who is so new to learning how to exercise their wits.' The clerk carried on to his solar. Stanton mouthed a favourite word at Barling's retreating back. And for one who was supposedly limited in his wits, it was a fine, fine choice." Powell does a good job of building the respect and the relationship which develops between the two men. It's nice to know there will be more books in this series as watching the partnership grow will be interesting. <br /> <br />There is a very good twist and the introduction of danger to the protagonists, as well as a sad event. The story has something of a "Midsomer Murders" feel about it, except the number of murders surpasses that series usual three. One does start to wonder whether anyone will be left alive in the village, although it does raise the stakes as to who the murderer could be. Although revelation by exposition may not be a preferred style, it works in this instance and the killer is unexpected.<br /> <br />One criticism is that the Cast of Characters is at the end of the book rather than the beginning where it would have been more useful. However, the Historical Note is fascinating and well worth taking the time to read.<br /> <br />"The King's Justice" is much more than it appears when one first starts. Besides being a very good mystery, this is definitely a book for those who enjoy historicals. <br /><br />THE KING'S JUSTICE (Hist Mys-Stanton/Barling-England-1176) - VG<br /> Powell, E.M. – 1st in series<br /> Thomas &amp; Mercer – June 2018<br />

I wasn't terribly impressed with this start to the Stanton and Barling historical mystery series. It's set in England during the reign of King Henry II. Barling is a well-respected clerk in the King's Court and Stanton is a young widower who works as a messenger for the court. A murder in a nearby village causes the two men to be dispatched to see that a proper investigation and judgment of law is carried out. That single murder is soon compounded and I started to think the author was going to bump off the whole village. The investigation conducted by Barling and Stanton seemed rather inadequate. We're told several times about Stanton's ability to see what others cannot but this ability is never actually shown in the course of the story. I doubt they ever would've managed to solve the case if not for someone outright telling them where to find key evidence that pointed directly to the killer. And that brings me to the final act of the story that had me rolling my eyes. The killer monologues for a chapter and a half - a chapter and a half! - laying out all the details of the crimes. It's certainly convenient because otherwise neither Stanton nor Barling would've never been able to piece it all together.

<br />I have not read this author before, so this book was a blind gamble on my part, based purely on the fact that I generally enjoy historical mystery novels. Still, a book’s quality is never guaranteed. But I enjoyed this one.<br /><br />The book is the first in a series, but the two protagonists – Stanton and Barling – are clearly carrying past traumas with them. At first I thought this was part of a multi-book character arc, cleverly designed to draw the readers in whilst presenting a new crime mystery in each book; but the Author’s Note at the back of the book reveals that at least one of the two main characters featured in the author’s other novels, where aforementioned traumatic events played out. As a result, I’m not sure if readers can jump in here, the first Stanton &amp; Barling mystery, or if it would be better to read the author’s other books prior to this one. I would say, cautiously, that you can jump in here with no prior knowledge, but on the other hand I definitely got the sense that I was missing a bigger picture and I felt a little frustrated at not being in on it. Then again, that may compel some readers to buy and read the author’s other books, so who’s to say it’s a negative at all?<br /><br />I also felt a little uncertain about the relatability of the protagonists in the early stages of the book. I disliked how Stanton wallowed in his grief and let it cripple him at times, but I was wholeheartedly on board with his modern sense of justice and his disgust at brutality. Barling, meanwhile, appealed to me as a book lover, but I felt contempt for his damaging adherence to order over ethics (the two are not always the same) and his stuffiness. I stuck with it though because it seemed to me that characters like these should (and probably do) grow and change over time, and as the mystery got going I got well and truly hooked into unravelling the clues and speculating about the suspects. I won’t talk about the central mystery, as I don’t wish to give spoilers, but I will say that I did not guess whodunnit and was taken by surprise. The pace was good, and I have to say in particular the length of the chapters seemed perfectly pitched to tempt me into ‘just one more’ – something significant advances the plot in each one, so you know there’s going to be a payoff, and they’re short enough that even when pressed for time you can get away with a sneaky extra chapter. The cliff-hangers were just as perfectly delivered.<br /><br />All in all, whilst I didn't consider it an outstanding book, I would definitely call it a solid start to the series, enjoyable, and worth reading.<br /><br /><b>7 out of 10</b>

This had *some* parts that I liked- the relationship between the two MCs for example. But the plot was convoluted and frankly, not worth the bother. Read properly until 60% then skimmed to the end. The best I could manage.

<b>3.5 stars.</b><br /><br />There's something about historical fiction that had been calling out to me of late. I believe that it's mainly due to finishing the late Carlos Ruiz Zafon's amazing The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, which would be very hard to beat. Nonetheless, I set myself to looking for mysteries &amp; thrillers with a historical backdrop and this was one of those that I've picked up with Amazon UK Prime Reading. <br /><br /><i>The King's Justice</i> was an enjoyable and pretty interesting read. It's so different from reading a modern mystery thriller because the protagonists cannot rely on scientific methods to identify the culprit. The backdrop of the village where the murder and investigation henceforth took place lent it an authentic atmosphere that felt very period appropriate. One thing's for sure, these were hard times for women. The main characters are also likeable enough, although I can't say the same for the infuriatingly annoying lord of the village. The one thing I didn’t like the most was the long monologue by the revealed killer towards the end, and it was delivered gloatingly towards the next intended victim. This always felt very contrived to me, but seemed to be a pretty common narrative device in mystery books.