Traitor's Codes (A Crispin Guest Mystery) by Jeri Westerson

First Sentence:  Crispin Guest eyed the room.

      

Rather being hired to find a missing person or item as he usually is, Tracker of London, Crispin Guest, is given a package and told he'll know what to do with it. Inside is an ancient book written in a language he's never seen but learns is Coptic. It is an unpublished book of the Bible which could challenge the very doctrine of Christian faith.   The danger of possessing this book becomes real when people to whom Guest shows it are murdered. Someone very much wants the book, and all who know of it, destroyed.

      

It is always a pleasure to start a new Crispin novel.  Westerson excels at acquainting one with the characters, setting, the scene, and drawing one immediately into the story.  She creates a wonderful sense of place providing information and bits of history along the way, as well as establishing the mystery almost from the start. She creates a sense of normalcy and timelessness that supersedes the period.

      

Part of the joy of reading historical novels is in the things one learns, and there are numerous "who knew" moments included.  Special touches are the Glossary provided at the beginning and the Afterword at the end. One small criticism is that while the dialogue provides the feel of the period, there are times it seems to try too hard and ends up being awkward.

      

No matter what else, it's the characters which draw one into the book, and repeatedly back to the series.  Crispin is a character who has grown and, dare one say, mellowed over the years while still being someone on whom one can always depend.  The meetings with those Crispin loved and was loyal in the past, are real and touching, particularly that with King Richard II.  Jack, his "bagman" if one will, has undergone the most change; aging, growing and maturing while being ever loyal and dedicated.  The changes in his circumstances through the series have added dimension to all the characters and the stories.

      

Westerson makes one think—'You cannot stomp on an idea.  Excellency.  Once the idea is out in the world, it is like the bee that flits from flower to flower.  It cannot be stopped.  Ideas are what keep mankind from stagnating in a rotten pool.  It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make the appearance in the world.'  Some of those insights are particularly relevant today—'Character.  Character does not only belong to those with breeding, my lord. Good character is conferred on the lowliest of peasants.  God grants certain men and women this character and no trial of Job will see them change their minds on it.'
      

"Traitor's Codex" is a very good book.  There is much about the plot which can't be said without giving things away.  While there are several threads, each holds its own, and our attention without ever becoming confusing, yet coming together in a strong cloth.

       

TRAITOR'S CODEX (HistMys-Crispin Guest-England-1394) – VG+

      Westerson, Jeri

      Severn House – June 2019