The King of Thieves

By Michael Jecks

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In 1325 the Earl of Chester was put in charge of a diplomatic mission to King Charles IV of France, who had required the English king, Edward II, to personally pay homage to him for his French lands which included the valuable dukedom of Aquitaine. But Edward had his own problems and dared not leave England at this time. So instead, he created his son, Edward, Duke of Aquitaine and sent the Prince instead under the guidance of Bishop Walter II of Exeter. In Michael Jecks’s tale Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend Simon Puttock are also in the Bishop’s party.

Of course things are never simple in these books. When a man is found murdered within the Louvre Palace and his wife is found dead in a street in Paris not long after, Sir Baldwin’s suspicions are aroused. The questions keep coming. Who is the ‘king’ of the Parisian low life? What is Queen Isabella doing at the French court? Couple this with the discovery of a plot which threatens the future of the English crown itself and you have a powerful novel.

I have always enjoyed Michael Jecks’s books, and this one was no exception. Several of them adorn my bookshelves. They are always well researched, the characters are totally believable, and once started the pages simply must be turned. Highly recommended.