Guest arrives with his apprentice Jack and finds himself staying at the same inn where Geoffrey Chaucer, once a close friend of Guest’s, is now also staying. Guest is pleased to have the opportunity to renew his friendship with Chaucer until a prioress is murdered and it is Chaucer’s knife that is the murder weapon, making him the suspect in the murder and in the now missing bones. 

At the same time, the archbishop suspects the Lollards, a religious faction, may have a hand in these crimes as he suspects then of having infiltrated the monastery and having someone pose as a monk.  As Guest approaches what he thinks is a solution, a second murder occurs, muddying the waters even more, making Guest doubt what he knows and what is real.

A well-written, well-researched historical mystery, Troubled Bones will have you reaching for your college texts of The Canterbury Tales to catch all the allusions to Chaucer’s pilgrims and those who remember will feel very smug.  Crispin Guest is a delightfully flawed character that readers will identify with in spite of the fact that he lived so many years ago. His apprentice Jack is a ready and able foil and well-developed enough to stand on his own. 

There is a decidedly traditional English cozy feel to the mystery and it is easy to forget it is set in the Middle Ages. There are many clues and threads to follow, creating a neatly tangled web that may be easy to untangle, but there are so many pleasant detours along the way that you will enjoy taking your time getting to the end with Guest.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry