Abbess of Assisi's Secret

This 2010 Czech Republic best selling historical novel is set in Europe during the second half of the 13th Century. It is filled with criminal intrigue and suspense. Abbess Agnes, the aunt of Ottokar, the King of Bohemia, leads an expedition of pilgrims to the Spanish city of Compostela. Before they even set off from Prague, the pilgrims receive unwanted company from the Templars, a secret papal legate and an envoy from the King of France. There is inherent danger in every medieval pilgrimage, but this holy journey is also about a secret of the Catholic Church that is so terrifying, it will make the flesh crawl off every single Christian. It does not take long for the first pilgrim to be murdered, and it will not be the last. It soon becomes clear to Agnes of Bohemia that the only hope to save her pilgrimage party is the royal procurator, Oldrich of Chlum.