"Veil of Lies: A Medieval Noir" by Jeri Westerson

From Amazon.com and Booklist: 

What is a disgraced knight qualified to do? Westerson answers this pressing question in a promising debut featuring reluctant sleuth Crispin Guest. After Guest is accused of treason and stripped of his rank, he uses his considerable powers of deduction to earn a meager living as a “tracker.” Desperate to pay his rent and his long overdue tavern bill, he accepts a less than savory offer to spy on the wife of a prosperous merchant. When his client is discovered dead in a locked room, Guest must unravel an intricate plot involving a missing religious relic in order to save himself. This authentically detailed medieval mystery has an intriguingly dark edge that will appeal to fans of both historical fiction and noir. --Margaret Flanagan --

I read this on a whim--I'm typically more of a Regency or Victorian era mystery fan, and haven't read many placed in medieval times. But the premise intrigued me...a disgraced knight becomes a detective. How can you go wrong with a tale about a knight? 

The answer: You can't! I loved the character of Crispin Guest, and I very much enjoyed the stories secondary characters. The mystery was well-plotted and interesting. I look forward to reading the second book of the series, and hope that Crispin Guest solves many more mysteries in the future.


Btw, I like the paperback cover much better than the hardback cover. While I purchased the ebook copy from Amazon.com, I do look at the cover images when I purchase. Just my two cents, but I'll more readily pick up a book cover with a person on it, rather than a more abstract cover. And I love the artist's rendition of Crispin against the Gothic-styled background.

Here's the paperback cover:

Rating: 4 stars