Mystery author Jeri Westerson Comes to Your Neighborhood

The San Bernardino Public Library will host a return visit from Inland Empire award-winning author Jeri Westerson on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Feldheym Central Library at 555 W. 6th Street, San Bernardino. Westerson’s newest book, Cup of Blood, is a prequel to the Crispin Guest series. London 1384--When a corpse turns up at his favorite tavern, Crispin begins an inquiry, but the dead man turns out to be a Knight Templar, an order thought to be extinct for 75 years, charged with protecting a certain religious relic which is now missing. Before he can begin to investigate, Crispin is abducted by shadowy men who are said to be the minions of the French anti-pope. Further complicating matters are two women: one from court with an enticing proposition, and another from Crispin’s past, dredging up long-forgotten emotions he would rather have left behind. And as if all that weren’t bad enough, a cunning young cutpurse by the name of Jack Tucker has insinuated himself into Crispin’s already difficult life. The deeper Crispin probes into the murder, the more it looks like the handiwork of an old friend turned adversary. With enemies from all sides, Crispin has his hands full in more than murder. Jeri’s Crispin Guest series has been nominated for a variety of industry awards, from the Agatha to the Shamus. She is president of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America and former VP for Sisters in Crime Los Angeles. Jeri speaks all over the southland about medieval history, including as a guest lecturer at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA. L.A. native Jeri Westerson has been a journalist, a theology teacher, and graphic artist, among other things. As a novelist, she combined the medieval with the hard-boiled and came up with her own brand of medieval mystery she calls Medieval Noir. Her brooding protagonist, Crispin Guest, is a disgraced knight turned detective on the mean streets of fourteenth century London. Her sixth book in the series, Shadow Of The Alchemist, was named the Best of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. Cup Of Blood; a Medieval Noir Prequel, was released in July to critical acclaim, including these words from Booklist: “Westerson paints a murky portrait of a medieval world suitably full of shadowy characters and unexpected twists and turns.” Critical acclaim for Cup of Blood: “Steeped in vivid historical detail, focused on a heroic protagonist and structured toward a shocking and shattering climax, Cup of Blood cements Westerson’s bona fides as a master of medieval murder.” – Richmond Times-Dispatch “Cup Of Blood starts like a clap of thunder… Crispin maintains his standing as one of today’s (and yesterday’s) most engaging private eyes. I loved it!” – bestselling author Timothy Hallinan “The complex, swift-moving plot unfolds against a realistically detailed atmosphere of 14th-century London…It would be hard to improve on this exceptional historical mystery.” — Sarah Johnson, Reading the Past blog