Book description
1098. The armies of the First Crusade race across Asia minor, routing
the Turks and reclaiming the land for Christendom. But on the Syrian
border, their advance is halted before the impregnable walls of Antioch.
As winter draws on, they are forced to suffer a fruitless,
interminable siege, gnawed by famine and tormented by the Turkish
defenders. The entire crusade is on the verge of collapse. His lord,
the ruthlessly ambitious Bohemond charges Demetrios Askiates to find
the killer. But as Demetrios investigates, the trail seems to lead
ever deeper into the vipers' nest of jealousy, betrayal and fanaticism
which lies at the heart of the crusade.
Tom Harper (real name Edwin Thomas) won the CWA debut award in
2001 for The Blighted Cliffs. He also wrote The Mosaic of Shadows.
