A Fair Knight Slain

The bloody murder of one of the knights at a Renaissance fair threatens the future of the host city. Nine days before the fair closes, detectives Sara and Ryker must find the killer to aid the police chief's race for mayor against a known drug lord with nefarious plans. They question myriad suspects whose lives are interwoven with hidden truths-knights, a crazed Viking, unfaithful queen, and belly dancer's lover. The music, costuming, and colorful rennie artisans and performers as well as the climatic perils of the Okefenokee Swamp are key elements of the story. Childhood demons haunt Sara and Ryker. A shocking plot twist forces her to confront her past and make a painful decision.

Reviews:

Linda LeBlanc's lively murder mystery, A Fair Knight Slain, is set in a Renaissance Fair. Gunnar the Undefeated, one of the knights who perform daily, is found dead. Sara Lansing, the police detective assigned to the case, is working with Ryker Harris, a new partner from New York who is also on the trail of a big-city drug lord slippery enough to evade arrest so far. The drug lord is running for mayor of Reunion Heights, the Florida town hosting the festival. His opponent for city hall is the police chief, whose mayoral campaign hinges on solving this high-profile murder before the fair closes.

The book is a police procedural with a fresh viewpoint, since the crime and suspects are on festival grounds. LeBlanc, who once worked at a Renaissance fair, clearly knows the territory. Her descriptions of the fair grounds are spot on and often amusing: for example, at the Executioners stage show, one actor greets the audience with: "Welcome to the Renaissance where passions are high and penicillin's unavailable."

What seems like a pro-forma investigation gets deliciously complicated by the multiple layers of soap-opera-like drama among the "rennies," with the added emotional angst of both Sara's and Ryker's past histories and turbulent family backgrounds. As the story unfolds, LeBlanc delivers a surprise plot twist that keeps readers hooked.

Ultimately, A Fair Knight Slain makes the most of its setting, drawing readers in for an entertaining mystery with medieval-style mayhem.

--BLUE INK REVIEW

In Linda LeBlanc's A Fair Knight Slain, a brutal death exposes political intrigue and romantic rivalries at the Renaissance fair. When one of its knights is killed and their body found on the fairgrounds, it is up to Sara and Ryker, police detectives with differing investigative styles, to sort through the colorful suspects. Their discoveries include a connection between the fair and an unscrupulous mayoral candidate as well as disturbing secrets about the murder victim. In the process of investigating, they also infiltrate dangerous settings and confront uncomfortable truths about themselves.

The book's setting is a stimulating one, forcing detectives to navigate changing locations and a variety of events. The fair's imminent end means Sara and Ryker have to work a compressed timeline. Their suspects-among them proud knights, a savage Viking, and an unfaithful queen-are a motley crew of dangerous and evasive individuals with their own reasons for shielding the truth.

Ryker is out to restore his tarnished professional reputation; Sara's past haunts her; both struggle with the specter of abusive pasts and family problems. Later, a small detail leads to a shocking revelation that forces Sara to make the most difficult decisions of her career.

--FORWARD REVIEWS