Emerald Silk
Janet Lane
Five Star, Apr 2008, $25.95
ISBN: 978159416824
In 1448 Father Robert, the Abbot of Cerne Monastery is upset because two gypsies, Erol and Teraf stole a chalice given to his abbey by the Bishop of Winchester who is coming to visit in two weeks. He sends loyal monastic knights led by John Wynter to retrieve the object and arrest the two thieves.
At the Applewood Horse fair, John captures Teraf, but fails to find the chalice. Teraf’s mixed blooded fiancée Kadriya protests, but John shows his disdain towards the gypsies and leaves with his prisoner. Kadriya leads a bold rescue, but one of John’s men and a gypsy die. She captures John, but Teraf remains prisoner of the knights who take him to Cerne while she takes her “guest” to her home Tabor barony. As John gets to know Kadriya he realizes she is honest, loyal and the woman he loves; likewise Kadriya sees the same traits in John. However, a traitor with a taboo sexual secret in the abbey is blackmailed to work with Teraf to help him escape while others want to either kill John or Kadriya depending on whose side you are on.
Almost two decades have past since the first Coin Forest medieval romance (see TABOR'S TRINKET), EMERALD SILK is a refreshing historical due to the blatant prejudice of the hero which makes him a unique protagonist. it is not the attraction and love between Kadriya and John that make this book so special but his need to overcome a lifetime of belief by accepting what he sees and what his heart tells him. The intrigue, betrayal, and sexual blackmail at the Abbey enhance a strong tale in which bias may blind the monastic knight from understanding the truth.
Harriet Klausner
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