Knaves Templar

In another suspenseful, nicely researched story set in Elizabethan England by the author of Old Saxon Blood , Matthew Stock, clothier and constable of Chelmsford, Essex, and his wife, Joan, are guests of Londoner Thomas Cooke, member of the Inns of Court, when three sudden deaths occur. Matthew agrees to move onto the all-male campus in one of the dead students' rooms to help determine whether the deaths resulted from misadventure, suicide or murder. Although the Middle Temple of the Inns of Court was founded by the illustrious Knights Templar, the current students are aptly called Knaves Templar since they revel in drinking, wenching and otherwise squandering their time and their parents' money while they should be studying. Intending to interrogate a student who was wounded in a duel, Matthew enters his room just as the murderer is fleeing; he is stabbed. Joan dons men's clothing and rushes to her husband's aid; eventually, the two face death from the twin perils of freezing cold and starvation. Adding piquancy to this intelligent tale, Tourney skillfully interjects observations that have contemporary relevance, about the morality of lawyers and the souls of women. (Feb.)