The Lancelot Murders [Paperback]

There is not enough magic to qualify this as fantasy, huge glaring historical inaccuracies and a mystery that a child in diapers could have solved. Justinian was emperor in the fifth-sixth centuries, dying in about 565; Augustine was the first papal emissary to Britain in 597. Corfe Castle dates from about the 11th century-in this novel it is already in ruins. These are just a few of the glaring inaccuracies. If the story had been compelling, it might have made for a good read. Apparently Arthur's guards could be corrupted by a few sweets. If Arthur had been this inept, the legends would have not survived a decade, let alone centuries. There are many other books about mysteries in Arthur's court; any of Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian cycle are much more interesting. Guinevere as described would not have attracted a skunk for long, let alone two husbands. Her scheming and plotting would have had her burned many times over.
This author can't decide what he is trying to accomplish. He has no regard for historical truth and has too heavy a hand for satire.

In the second volume of the Merlin Investigations, King Arthur's most trusted advisor once again finds himself caught up in treason and intrigue, this time on an even broader scale than in the first (The Excalibur Murders: A Merlin Investigation). Queen Guenevere, who has been married to Arthur for a decade but has spent much of that time separated from him and maintaining a court of her own at the port town of Corfe (and living openly with her lover Sir Lancelot), has suddenly announced that she is dissolving her marriage and gone through a formal wedding ceremony with the French knight. This is treason, but Arthur is reluctant to imprison or execute the woman he still considers his wife--even when he comes into possession of documents suggesting that she has entered into a conspiracy with the Byzantine Empire in hopes of gaining ascendancy over him and being sponsored as Queen Regnant. As Merlin observes, she'd end up a puppet ruler of the Emperor Justinian, but she'd still be a ruler, which seems to be what she wants. Arthur is finally convinced to put the plotters under house arrest, take over their castle, and try to control the machinations certain to follow when Justinian's representative, along with a strangely assorted slew of other diplomatic guests, arrive for the observation of Guenevere's 40th birthday. Among them are the queen's parents, King Leodegrance and Queen Leonilla of the tiny French domain of Camelliard. When Leodegrance is found stabbed to death--with Lancelot standing over him--all hell breaks loose. Arthur and Merlin must deal with a flock of nervous and demanding guests trapped in Corfe Castle by a vicious storm, prevent contact between Guenevere and anyone who might help her further her ambitions--and find out if Lancelot is really the murderer: Guenevere insists he isn't, and begs Merlin to learn the truth, offering to do anything--even pledge fealty to Arthur and give up all her ambitions--if he succeeds.

Merlin isn't always a sympathetic detective: though wry and sometimes flippant, he's also inclined to melancholy and a cynical (in the modern sense) view of the world and of human nature; he's beginning to think of leaving England for Egypt, and even invites an old friend, Germanicus Genentius, a Byzantine official posted there, so he'll have someone to travel there with. On the other hand, his gloomy character is probably a necessity to balance Arthur's almost childishly innocent worldview (as he says, "He takes nearly everything and everyone at face value"). It also seems slightly unlikely that a princess (even of a poor domain like Camelliard) in that day wouldn't have been married off till she was 30. Yet, as in the legend, Merlin and Arthur are trying "to build a society based on fairness and justice for everyone, not just a handful of nobles," and treating even accused murderers as innocent till proven guilty is part of that. And, as in most historical mysteries, it's always interesting to see how a crime will be solved without recourse to modern technology. Though perhaps not the best-written example of the genre (it has at least one rather glaring omission of continuity), this remains an intriguing one and not without humor--or perception.

Poor King Arthur. Not only does he have the heavy responsibility of keeping the still loosely-united British kingdom together but now his estranged wife announces she's set him aside and is marrying her long-time lover, Lancelot, with whom she's been openly living at Corfe Castle in Wales. Instead of sending out orders to have the pair arrested and tried for treason, however, Arthur--still ambivalently in love with Guinevere one moment and denouncing her the next--continues to plan a birthday celebration for the queen, to be held at Corfe, to which he's invited representatives of all the present kingdoms in Europe--as well as one from the head of that "new" religious fad, the Pope--in hopes of proving to the other countries that England is an emerging nation cohesive in its desire for unity. At first his plan appears to have backfired when Guenevere's father King Leodegrance is killed. Since the king had hoped to annex England to France through his daughter's marriage, Arthur doesn't consider this such a loss, but the death leads to confusion among his surviving guests, further murders, and mayhem when several more representatives are killed. Ohers are suspected of being spies, specifically the envoy from the Byzantines, and still others may be turncoats or playing both sides of the fence.

Is it any wonder the king spends most of his waking hours with his nose immersed in a wine goblet?

While the body count continues to rise, and one suspect after another proves his innocence by dying, Lancelot repeatedly manages to escape his jailers, only to be recaptured, still protesting his innocence. Surprisingly, no one believes him. Did he really killed Guinevere's father and all the others? If so, why? Granted, the knight isn't the smartest egg in the nest but surely he isn't that stupid. Though it appears an open and shut case, and one Arthur should be eager to close, thus sending Lancelot to his doom and ridding himself of one thorn in his side, the king demands justice and a fair trail for his rival. To this end, he sets Merlin to determine the truth. Key to the plot are a set of gold-handled daggers exchanged by Lancelot and Guinevere at their "wedding," sending Merlin on a quest to France to seek out the man responsible for creation of the deadly knives.

Once again, Merlin saves the day, ferreting out the killer while delivering his usual witticisms and sharp punch lines. The timetable of the story is carefully noted; it takes places a few months after the events in The Excalibur Murders, re-introducing characters who played minor parts in that story but now holding more major ones.

The characters are delineated with care, new ones introduced and made memorable, even those whose stay is short and their departure violent. It's a story with a lot of laughs, in spite of the seriousness of the subject. I look forward to the next installment in the tale of Merlin, Detective, but worry that, at the rate the inhabitants of Camelot and environs are being killed off, there won't be many more crimes to plot or perpetrators to commit them. In the meantime, settled down with The Lancelot Murders and enjoy this tale of Arthur and his knights and the non-wizard wise-cracking Merlin.

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