The Queen's Man

"Penman is a superb storyteller."
--he Miami-Herald

"Once you enter Penman's world, you're hooked."
--Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Nominated for an Edgar Award for best first mystery novel

Epiphany, 1193: The road out of Winchester was hidden by snow, and Justin de Quincy was making slow progress when he heard the first faint shout. It came again, louder and clearer, a cry for help. Spurring his stallion, de Quincy raced toward the source. But he was already too late. As the two assailants fled, de Quincy cradled the dying man, trying to make out his whispered words, "They did not get it," he rasped. "Promise me. You must deliver this letter to her. To the queen."

Eleanor of Aquitaine sits upon England's throne. At seventy, she has outlived the husband who once imprisoned her. But has she also outlived her much-loved eldest son, Richard Lionheart, England's king -- missing these past two months? Only Eleanor's fierce will can keep her youngest son, John, from seizing the crown. Only a letter, spattered with the blood of a dying man murdered on the Winchester road, can tell her if Richard still lives.

"Energetic and adroitly plotted . . . Justin is so beguiling, and the action so lively and unpredictable, that readers will cheer Justin's return in further adventures." --Publisher's Weekly

"Well researched, credibly plotted, realistically detailed, and undeniably entertaining." --Library Journal

Original hardcover release: November 1996
Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 0-8050-3885-X