The King's Coroner (Sir Law Kintour Mysteries, Book 4) by J.R. Tomlin

Release date: December 1, 2018

Subgenre: Historical mystery, Medieval mystery

About The King's Coroner:

 

A game of spies is afoot. The king's new coroner, Sir Law Kintour, investigates the death of a mysterious stranger in fifteenth-century Perth, Scotland. The investigation is complicated by the civil war brewing as the king raises his army against a rebellious duke. Sir Law is pitched further into intrigue and betrayal when he discovers a hired assassin is lurking in Perth. No one knows who will be the next victim. Now Law must call on every resource he has to stop the killer.

 

Excerpt:

 

The crowd soon began to thin. With the lord sheriff not keeping a sharp eye on them, Cormac and the other entertainers were helping themselves to the remains of the feasting. Law strolled over to refill his cup and listen as Cormac and his friends chattered like a flock of excited robin redbreasts. At least they would be well paid for their work.

A sudden silence in the group caused Law at look around, and he frowned when he saw who was approaching. “What could he want?” Law muttered to himself. Meldrun’s face was grim as a thundercloud. He was the most senior of the burgh’s dozen or so watchmen, employed by the burgh to keep order. Officially they answered to the lord sheriff, but Sir William largely left them to their own devices so long as no nobles or wealthy merchants complained.

Cormac and the other three entertainers watched Meldrun approach, the food ignored for the moment.

“A body has been found outside the High Street Gate, floating in the Lade, Sir Coroner. A robbery most like since the body is naked as a newborn babe.” Meldrun frowned doubtfully, obviously still uncertain how this new coroner business would work. “Did you want to come to see the body? The lord sheriff wasnae so clear…”

“Naked?” Meldrun was right that it sounded as though the dead man had been robbed, his body stripped even for its clothing, but before or after he was dead? “Did he drown then?”

“The body was already cold when a laborer taking a load of leather through the port spotted it, near the edge of the Lade. You’ll see the state of it for yourself.”

Law tugged at the tuft of beard on his chin. A dead body was not good news in any decent man’s light, but he was glad to have more to his duties than collecting a few pence from a hanged felon. Cormac along with the other musicians had taken in every word, mouths agape, so Law just nodded to his friend. Cormac shook his head and waved.

“I see my new clerk is still here,” Law said to Meldrun. The young man had kept himself inconspicuous, skulking in a corner, but still helped himself plentifully to the food. No doubt it just showed a young man’s appetite because surely the bishop had not let his cousin go hungry. “Get him to come with us. I’ll need the findings recorded.”

Meldrun clapped a hand on the clerk’s shoulder who was hunched over a bowl of sweet chardquynce, spooning it up as quickly as he could. A few moments later the three of them were striding down Skinnersgate. On each side of the pebble-cobbled street, overhung with the second stories of most of the houses, buildings had windows opened with shelves dropped to display their leather goods. Gloves were the most common, but boots, horse tack, and every type of leather good could be found, and the street was noisy with boisterous bargaining.

 

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About J.R. Tomlin:

 

J. R. Tomlin is the author of eleven historical novels, four of them historical mysteries.

Her novels are set in Scotland. Her love of that nation is traced from to hillwalking through the Cairngorms where the granite hills have a gorgeous red glow under the setting sun and exploring Scotland's hundreds of castles. Her writing was influenced by the work of authors such as Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo, and of course, Sir Walter Scott.

When JR isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time hiking, playing with her Westie, and killing monsters in computer games. In addition to spending time in Scotland, she has traveled in the US, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. She now lives in the US Pacific Northwest.

 

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