The Devil Is Loose — Graham Shelby

  In this twelfth-century medieval historical adventure, Richard the Lionhearted attempts to reclaim the throne of England.
 
It is winter in England, 1192. Richard Coeur de Lion, the battle-hardened warrior-king, has been captured and imprisoned returning from the Crusades--after spending only a few months in the land he is supposed to rule.
 
As the winter snow melts, England pays the price of being a kingdom without a king. For Richard's jealous and spiteful brother John, not content with robbing his brother's subjects of all they have, plans insurrection to wrest the throne itself . . .
 
But then a second message comes, one which chills even John's thin blood: “Le diable étoit déchaîné,” -- “The devil is loose!” The game is on, and the kingdom is at a stake.
 
Praise for The Crusader Knights series:
 
“History with a dramatist's eye for a fine setting and a novelist's insight into human minds and motives” -- The Times Literary Supplement
 
“Vivid visual moments and all the technology of medieval warfare.” -- The Observer
 
“Highly enjoyable. . . . Exciting as well as psychologically convincing and thought-provoking.” -- Financial Times