King Arthur's Bones (Various)

Great concept, poorly executed.  That's how I'd summarize King Arthur's Bones, a historical mystery penned by "the Medieval Murderers," a group of authors known independently for their historical murder mysteries.  Each author wrote an 'act,' and each act is separated by a significant length of time (sometimes 200 years).  We start in 1191, in Glastonbury Abbey.  The monks there discover a skeleton- with a cross on top saying "here lies King Arthur."  Understanding how significant this find would be, they quickly make plans to display the relics (drawing the devout- and their money).  Before they can, however, the bones are stolen. A group sworn to protect the remains of the King- and hence the legend that he'll one day return- spirit them away to Wales, where they remain for a good while.  Subsequent acts (set in the 1290s, 1300s, 1600s, 1800s, and 2000s) see the bones transported from place to place, for a variety of reasons.  In each case, a number of murders center on the bones, and so each act is really more focused on crime than the relics.

Like I said: great concept, poorly executed.  I wasn't overly impressed with any author here- and some where downright bad.  It's poor historical fiction- there are several cases of medieval people with impressively modern mindsets- and it was often poor crime-writing, too.  The Medieval Murderers have released several books to date- I hope the others are better.

Rating: C-