Adding to his dilemma is the King’s offer of the return of his father’s fief and the young man, Gianni, an urchin who escaped with Bascot and who has been like a son to the Templar these past two years. Bascot’s concern for Gianni is that he will be returned to a life on the streets if not in Bascot’s care.  Almost ready to decide not to return to the order, Bascot agrees to think and pray on it a bit longer, but his decision is interrupted when a poisoning occurs at dinner in the castle.

Ralf, a scribe, is found dead in the scriptorium, from a honeyed cake he ate, and the next day another clerk dies, presumably from the same tainted food.  Suspicions quickly arise that Ralf was not the original intended victim and Lady Nicolaa, the castellan of the castle, sends for Bascot to sort things out.  Bascot quickly decides that Lady Nicolaa was the intended target, but he doesn’t believe that the murderer comes from the inside, especially when the deaths begin to spread beyond the limits of the castle.

Battling his own weaknesses, Bascot, loyal to the king, does as Lady Nicholaa asks, and tries to do it quickly and quietly as May Day approaches so as not to spread a panic throughout the land.

 Maureen Ash has faithfully recreated life in England during the Crusades.  The details of everyday life transport the reader and put them in the middle of the action, but are not so overdone and repetitive as to take away from the plot of the story.  The story is well plotted; there are enough details, easily woven into the story, about Bascot’s past so readers new to the series do not feel at a loss.  The characters are well-drawn and familiar, they do not seem of another time, or out of time, but fit into their setting easily and readers will be sympathetic toward them and will be pleased for them when things work out well.  The mystery is intricately plotted with enough red herrings to keep interest high and readers guessing.

  Not only for fans of medieval histories, A Plague of Poison will appeal to anyone looking for a satisfying mystery.                                                                              

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry