miramanga's review
5.0
I have been chasing down all the books in this series as I am a big fan of [a:Alan Gordon|165198|Alan Gordon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1286535592p2/165198.jpg] and Theo, his charismatic, sleuthing jester. I'm not normally one for historical settings in my reading but part of the charm of these books is the way that you are totally transported and immersed - this time into the middle of the Crusades and a city withstanding the armies of Saladin.
This book starts slightly differently as it begins with Theo explaining to his wife why he found it so important to go and steal a sign from an inn in a decidedly unfriendly territory. This means the story is sometimes interrupted with interjections by Claudia which I thought was a nice touch.
As usual the Fools' Guild are doing their best to steer the region out of chaos despite having to deal with the egos of many pretenders to the throne vying for the hand of the Queen of Jerusalem. During Theo's time, amidst intrigue and unexpected deaths, there is a rag tag group of apprentices to train and a strong friendship emerges between him and his fellow fool, Scarlet.
I am so glad I stumbled across this series. I always put whatever else I have open aside when one of these arrives, and I thoroughly recommend. Can't wait for the next!
This book starts slightly differently as it begins with Theo explaining to his wife why he found it so important to go and steal a sign from an inn in a decidedly unfriendly territory. This means the story is sometimes interrupted with interjections by Claudia which I thought was a nice touch.
As usual the Fools' Guild are doing their best to steer the region out of chaos despite having to deal with the egos of many pretenders to the throne vying for the hand of the Queen of Jerusalem. During Theo's time, amidst intrigue and unexpected deaths, there is a rag tag group of apprentices to train and a strong friendship emerges between him and his fellow fool, Scarlet.
I am so glad I stumbled across this series. I always put whatever else I have open aside when one of these arrives, and I thoroughly recommend. Can't wait for the next!
alexandranoelle's review
4.0
Excellent! I liked this one much better than the last one in the series, and am definitely going to continue reading these books.
iceangel9's review
3.0
The fourth book in the Fools' Guild Mystery series. As Theo and his wife flee the Papal army which has just run all the fools from their Guildhall, he tells Claudia the story of his time in the Holy Land with Richard the Lionhearted. It is 1191 and the Third Crusade is well underway and Theo finds himself in Tyre with the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and a dwarf named Scarlet. Another enchanting piece of historical fiction. Lovers of the Middle Ages and the Crusades will thoroughly enjoy this tale, although it is not as enchanting as the previous three books.
caidyn's review
4.0
Yes, even with my disappointment for a plot point, I will rate this four stars. What can I say? I'm a sucker for humor and historical intrigue.
As usual, this was woven very well around a specific point in time and the people in that time. I'm not familiar with the 1100s or 1200s, so it's always fun for me because I don't get pissed off over historical inaccuracies that might be there. Aka, I'm happier and everyone else who has to read my status updates is happier as well. Theo is great. Claudia is great. What made this one unique was the way this story was told.
This is literally a story. The whole mystery is set in the past, and Theo is sitting there telling the story. It was a lot of fun with random interjections from Claudia. The mystery itself was good and had a lot of build up to it. With this series, I don't bother trying to solve it because it's not until the last minute that you get important information.
However -- and this is a big however for me -- there was a large portion of the story that left a bad taste in my mouth. Actually, it was just a few pages, but it left an impact that made me question if I would actually enjoy it. For the first time in this series (at least that I remember, and I tend to remember these things) there was rape. Not graphic or really spoken about. But, it happened and it wasn't difficult to infer. I just personally prefer rape out of the story unless it's very important to a character. Like, it happened in the past or a book is literally focused around the rape, like in [b:Speak|439288|Speak|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310121762s/439288.jpg|118521] or [b:All the Rage|21853636|All the Rage|Courtney Summers|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410879862s/21853636.jpg|18982890] or [b:What We Saw|20922826|What We Saw|Aaron Hartzler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424276752s/20922826.jpg|40290636].
So, a good book, but it was sad to see that brought into the story with no real reason behind it.
As usual, this was woven very well around a specific point in time and the people in that time. I'm not familiar with the 1100s or 1200s, so it's always fun for me because I don't get pissed off over historical inaccuracies that might be there. Aka, I'm happier and everyone else who has to read my status updates is happier as well. Theo is great. Claudia is great. What made this one unique was the way this story was told.
This is literally a story. The whole mystery is set in the past, and Theo is sitting there telling the story. It was a lot of fun with random interjections from Claudia. The mystery itself was good and had a lot of build up to it. With this series, I don't bother trying to solve it because it's not until the last minute that you get important information.
However -- and this is a big however for me -- there was a large portion of the story that left a bad taste in my mouth. Actually, it was just a few pages, but it left an impact that made me question if I would actually enjoy it. For the first time in this series (at least that I remember, and I tend to remember these things) there was rape. Not graphic or really spoken about. But, it happened and it wasn't difficult to infer. I just personally prefer rape out of the story unless it's very important to a character. Like, it happened in the past or a book is literally focused around the rape, like in [b:Speak|439288|Speak|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310121762s/439288.jpg|118521] or [b:All the Rage|21853636|All the Rage|Courtney Summers|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410879862s/21853636.jpg|18982890] or [b:What We Saw|20922826|What We Saw|Aaron Hartzler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424276752s/20922826.jpg|40290636].
So, a good book, but it was sad to see that brought into the story with no real reason behind it.
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