Falconer's Trial

December 21, 2009
Oxford regent master William Falconer, the hero of Morson's medieval historical series, goes to jail on a murder charge in the well-crafted seventh entry (after 2009's Falconer and the Ritual of Death
). When a witness spots Falconer bending over the corpse of Ann Segrim on a garden path, his hands covered in blood, the authorities soon learn that Falconer provided the victim, who was poisoned, with a potion a few days before, ostensibly to treat an illness. Incarcerated, Falconer must allow others, including the town constable, Peter Bullock, and the academic's Jewish lover, Saphira Le Veske, to gather the clues that will spare him from execution. Among many theories to explain Segrim's murder is one pointing to her husband's half-brother, whose advances she may have rejected. Another involves a Templar plot to kill the royal family. Despite relegating the main character to a supporting role, Morson keeps the action moving briskly.

January 1, 2010
Not even Regent Masters of Oxford are safe from accusations of murder.

William Falconer is a scholar who pursues knowledge in fields considered daring and dangerous in 1272. His long, but chaste, dalliance with Ann Segrim leads to his arrest when she's found murdered. Falconer's brilliance and rapier wit have made him so many enemies that it's no surprise when Chancellor Bek decides to try Falconer before the Black Congregation of college members, before the king's justices can take a hand in the affair. Noting that Falconer seems oddly reluctant to help his cause, his friends, constable Peter Bullock and newly created Master Thomas Symon, join with Falconer's mistress, Saphira Le Veske (Falconer and the Ritual of Death, 2008, etc.), to search for the real murderer. Falconer is afraid that Saphira, a Jew and a student of herbal remedies and poisons, may be accused of the crime, but there are other possibilities. Ann's husband, recently returned from a crusade, is deathly afraid of a bad-tempered knight templar he traveled with. His brother-in-law attempted to seduce Ann while he was gone. And Ann had been involved in investigating a suspicious death at a nearby nunnery. Falconer must rally and use his brilliant mind to defend himself or risk death.

Another intriguing look at medieval Oxford and its mores, wrapped up in a sturdy mystery.

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February 1, 2010
William Falconer, regent master at Oxford University, returns in an all-new medieval murder mystery with a startling twist; this time around, William himself is accused of murder and is hauled off to rot in the local gaol. Since his mentor seems unable or, more accurately, unwilling to defend himself, Thomas Symon, Falconers favorite pupil, takes it upon himself to investigate the poisoning death of Williams long unconsummated love interest, Ann Segrim. Assisted by Falconers new Jewish mistress, who coincidentally is studying the art of herbs and their use in medicines and as poisons, Thomas begins to unravel a labyrinthine plot that smacks of scholarly hubris. As usual, Morson peppers the suspenseful plot with time-sensitive philosophical and theological debates, conjuring up the inbred and contentious medieval university culture with aplomb.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)