The King's Justice

A Stanton and Barling Mystery, Book 1

By: E. M. Powell

Narrated by: James Langton

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

A murder that defies logic - and a killer on the loose.

England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York.

The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt - and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.

Facing growing unrest in the village and the fury of the lord of the manor, Stanton and Barling find themselves drawn into a mystery that defies logic, pursuing a killer who evades capture at every turn.

Can they solve the riddle of who is preying upon the villagers? And can they do it without becoming prey themselves?

©2018 E. M. Powell (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Loved it!

This is a mystery book set in the time where the King's Law used the ridiculous concept of testing if one was guilty or innocent based on whether you drown or not if dropped into water. The idea being that if you died, you were innocent.
If you lived, you were be guilty and therefore hanged or otherwise dispatched. Stanton and Barling are two men that end up being sent off to determine the innocence or guilt of a beggar accused of a vicious murder; one being the representative of the King as a judge and the other as his steward.

The mystery is well written. The pieces are given as Stanton and Barling would discover them. I felt the ending was well summed up and satisfying. The characters are consistent in behavior, wording, and are smart. At least they are smart of enough to be disturbed by some of the punishments. The judge looks for ways to determine the truth using the Laws of the King without necessarily putting the into action these questionable methods of finding out innocence. On the other hand, the steward questions his intelligence as his rank in life is so beaten into him that coming to conclusions is actually concerning to him. The narration is excellent and brings the book to life. Definitely a fan and happy to discover a future series to enjoy.

Great character acting by the narrator

My dad recommended these books because I liked the Cadfael mysteries I really enjoyed it.

good book

great story . Hard to put down. cant waite for the next book in the series

Narrator the Best Thing About the Book

Average story. Some details seemed wrong for time period, e.g., keys and locks in these peasants' doors? Or maybe just not clear how poor or well off the peasants were. But narrator James Langton is great.

Ok. But hard to invest in.

It was an odd choice to choose for the main protagonist to be an insecure, cowardly alcoholic. Stanton’s only redeeming quality seems to be that he occasionally happens to “notice” something. There are no characters who the reader really likes or gets invested in.

Medieval England and Barbaric Justice

The King's Justice begins with prisoners being tossed into water with crazed on lookers jeering and cheering. If the prisoner floated, he was guilty and would be hanged. If he sunk, he was innocent . . . but dead . . . in the water . . . all twelve feet of it. It took me a while to get in to the story, but once I did, I really liked it. The two kings men, Stanton and Barling, are sent out to find a murderer . . . and it is quite the adventure, in a crude and raucous England of the late 1100s . . . I would think I had it figured out and then another twist or turn, and nope, I didn't . . . the book picked up speed in the second half and I found myself anxious to know what would happen next . . . I was totally surprised with the outcome . . . great resolution to the crime . . . never saw it coming . . .

Good story, fun read

I enjoyed this book and I liked the characters. the story moves along well. for those of you who liked the Name of the Rose, it reminded me of this book. i will read the next one and look forward to future stories.

classic tale of good and evil loved it

good characters that were excellently developed. A who did it take for history lovers. recommend

Excellent narration wasted on poor story

A long worded mystery which, at the “reveal” toward the very end, requires lengthy explanation from the guilt party, is a reflection of poor plotting and disappointing writing.

just didn't care for it

I couldn't bring myself to finish the book. unable to isolate a reason, just didn't care for it.