One of the joys of opening a book from a long running series is not merely a new mystery to solve, but to catch up with the characters’ lives. John not only has to get to the bottom of the Axmouth murder and hunt down some pirates, but he also has woman trouble closer to home and gets to meet King Richard again. There are helpful maps, a useful and quite exhaustive glossary and even a brief author’s note about Axmouth, and why the characters do not sound more "Olde Englishe". It all adds up to a heady brew with plenty of adventures, the 12th century equivalent of a police procedural as well as the main characters’ private lives. I don’t claim to be a medieval scholar but this series always has the ring of truth about it, and you can trust this author not to insert any paranormal episodes. More please, and keep them coming!