Plunging into the icy black waters of the Thames, Chrispin Guest thought he could still save the man who had fallen from the window high on London Bridge. Despite his bravery, it was too late and the man was already dead. Neighbours whispered conflicting tales and some felt it was suicide. Despite shivering from for the icy river and from his own head cold and tiredness, Chrispin is not the kind of man who would let things rest, especially when he intuits that something is just not right in all the swirling gossip. He is The Tracker! Despite having been disgraced as a knight, Chrispin firmly abides by his knightly vows, but has had to find other means to feed himself and his young and intelligent apprentice, Jack Tucker. He now makes his living by finding things or investigating certain situations.

Fortunately or not, many in London have heard of his fame or infamy and, despite some bother from the Sheriffs, he is able to secure a small contact with the family next door to the now decreased armourer to investigate what had happened. The daughter of the neighbour, Anabel Coterel, indicated that she was Master Grey's betrothed, but her behaviour seems at odds at times to that situation

While investigating what he and Jack have now determined to be a murder, Chispin is happy to meet up with an old friend of his, Sir Thomas Saunfayl, who he admires for his strong standing in the battlefield. Now, Sir Thomas indicates that he fears the bloodiness and dreams from the wars and is in desperate search of something the armourer had promised him. He makes Crispin vow to find it, but relentless refuses to describe it. What can it be? Even his old friend and sometimes nemesis, Geoffery Chaucer has arrived and wants to help him search. What is so valuable that people will commit murder for it and why is Sir Thomas and others so desperate to find it?

Already well known for her historical accuracy and action orient fast moving plots, Jeri Westerson has penned another winner with BLOOD LANCE -- the fifth book in her amazing Medieval Noir Series. From the first sentence to the last, you are pulled into the backstreets of 1386 London, feeling the chill of the night air, the stench of the streets, the fumes from the ale and bodies in the Old Boar Inn and the welcoming taste of food after long days searching with Crispin and Jack. Westerson has an amazing ability to set authentic medieval settings that are so integrated into the storyline, they become, not description, but part of the plot. Jack is a terrific foil to Chrispin and their interactions are terrific, especially as they discuss clues to the investigation and things that happened in the past.

Jack is a little older and more experienced now and more determined to speak his mind, yet still has much to learn about the ways of the world and especially in how his better perceive how they want to be treated. Westerson also skillfully introduces the concept of post-traumatic stress (a new label, but not a new reaction) as a key part of the story. New historical characters, such as Lancaster's son, are also introduced, along with some knightly activities, such as the rousing and thundering action of jousting great which history fans are sure to appreciate. BLOOD LANCE is a adventure and mystery story that can stand on its own, but fans are sure to crave reading the other adventures in the series! Now, I can't wait for the next one to be out!