The Cross Bearer: An Arnold Landon Mystery - Hardcover

Lewis, Roy

3.86

22 ratings by Goodreads

9780312117658: The Cross Bearer: An Arnold Landon Mystery

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312117655 ISBN 13: 9780312117658

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1995

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When Arnold Landon of the Department of Museums and Antiquities discovers an important forgery, a local politician invites him to join a secret society inspired by the fourteenth-century Knights Templar. Soon after Landon declines the invitation, the politician is found murdered, and Landon is drawn into a web of medieval intrigue and modern corruption.

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From Publishers Weekly:

An excess of pedantry slows down this English author's 30th novel, an uneasy mix of medieval legend and history starring the learned, timid archeologist Arnold Landon, who digs 600 years into the past to unearth the identity and motivation of a present-day murderer. Seen last in Bloodeagle, Landon and bookstore owner/novelist Jane Wilson set out in search of the legendary treasure of the 14th-century Knights Templar in Northumbria, where Landon will escape from someone armed with a pickaxe through a tunnel once used by a contingent of Knights on the run from France's Phillipe IV. Landon once again crosses paths with dyspeptic Detective Chief Inspector John Culpeper, here investigating the murder of a wheeler-dealer politician who, as grand master of the occult Order of Sangreal, had an interest of his own in the Templars. Other players include librarian Con Burnley, deputy grand master and zealous guardian of the order's secrets, and a taciturn former Scots Guard who claims to know the full history of the wealthy, powerful soldier-monks and perhaps the fate of their treasure.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Arnold Landon, of the Department of Museums and Antiquities, and his pal Jane Wilson just can't seem to avoid getting involved in murder. This time out, they investigate a mystery that has its roots in the ancient secret society of the Knights Templar and a long-hidden treasure the Knights supposedly smuggled out of Scotland in the fourteenth century. Arnold's chance meeting with a local authority on secret societies is only the first coincidence in a bizarre plot that involves political intrigue and corruption, a local business scandal, the murder of a leading businessman, and a frustrating search for hidden treasure. The plot premise is original and the conclusion is fascinating, but the often dogmatic way in which the information about the evolution of secret societies is presented--and the surfeit of such information--may induce yawns in many readers. Not quite on a par with Lewis' past fine efforts, the book is still an interesting read for history buffs and fans of the series. Emily Melton

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