Sharon Kay Penman is an impressive historical novelist. Her books are well researched, steeped in historic details, but are never dry or stagnant. She alway fills out the historic figures in her books so that you feel like they are actual living breathing people rather than dry historic artifacts. She has written an  impressive series about the Plantagenets and a trilogy about the Welsh Princes and in between those she has been writing a series about a fictional investigator for Eleanor of Aquitaine, Justin de Quincy. Prince of Darkness is the fourth book in this series and stars none other than that much maligned Plantagenet, Prince John.

Justin de Quincy has a healthy aversion for Eleanor of Aquitaine’s second son, but when a letter surfaces implicating Prince John in a plot to assassinator his brother, King Richard, Justin must set aside his qualms and help Prince John clear not only his name, but Eleanor of Aquitaine’s as well.

Justin’s aversion for Prince John stems from his attempt to have Justin murdered, but now not only must Justin work to clear John’s name, he must also work with Durand, the man John sent to murder him. But desperate times call for desperate measures and soon Durand and Justin are following evidence that leads them to the monastery of Mont St Michel, a dungeon in Brittany and on to Paris, where they uncover a plot that could have changed the course of English history.

Each of Penman’s Justin de Quincy novels gets more and more interesting. I suspect that we benefit from all the research she puts into her more fact based historic novels which cannot possibly contain all the information she uncovers and so these novels of a fictional character who interacts with historical figures is one way to use that extra material. In any case this is one of the best historical detective series I have read!

Brenda’s Rating *****(5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.