Falconer And The Face Of God
If you'd like to sample Ian Morson's excellent historical series about William Falconer, a 13th-century professor and astute crime solver, try this beautifully detailed story. Someone is trying to kill off the head actor, the supremely nasty Stefano de Askeles, in a traveling morality play that arrives in Oxford just as Falconer is doing some down-and-dirty research for his mentor, Roger Bacon. De Askeles survives a fatal blow, but his unlucky stand-in doesn't, which makes Falconer the actor's reluctant protector. As always, Morson captures the feel of the period, and avoids adding modern touches that would jar readers out of their hard-earned propinquity.