Traitor's Codex
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
An ancient and mysterious book leads Crispin Guest into a deadly maze in this latest medieval noir mystery.
1394, London. Crispin Guest, Tracker of London, is enjoying his ale in the Boar’s Tusk tavern – until a stranger leaves a mysterious wrapped bundle on his table, telling him, "You'll know what to do." Inside is an ancient leather-bound book written in an unrecognizable language. Accompanied by his apprentice, Jack Tucker, Crispin takes the unknown codex to a hidden rabbi, where they make a shocking discovery: it is the Gospel of Judas from the Holy Land, and its contents challenge the very doctrine of Christianity itself.
Crispin is soon drawn into a deadly maze involving murder, living saints, and lethal henchmen. Why was he given the blasphemous book, and what should he do with it? A series of horrific events confirm his fears that there are powerful men who want it – and who will stop at nothing to see it destroyed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1394 London, Westerson's lively 12th mystery featuring Crispin Guest (after 2018's The Deepest Grave) opens at the Boar's Tusk, Guest's favorite tavern, where the former knight and tracer of lost objects and persons has taken refuge at the beginning of the annual plague season. There he's approached by a mysterious man who thrusts a small rectangular package into his hands, then leaves before Guest can follow him. The package contains a thick leather-bound book, written in an unidentifiable language. The people he approaches in his quest to determine the book's contents and significance are soon murdered. Finally, he asks Master Pardeu, a rabbi who must keep his faith a secret from the authorities, to translate the text. Pardeu identifies it as the apocryphal gospel of Judas, written in Coptic. Guest comes to realize that its heretical notions could undermine the very foundations of the Christian religion. Powerful forces will do everything they can to stop that from happening. Brisk prose and well-drawn characters propel this nimble excursion into religious thriller territory.
