What do You think about The Leper's Return (1999)?
"Ralph of Houndeslow is the new Master of St Lawrence's, the leper hospital at Crediton. He has the daunting task of seeing to the souls of the inmates. Godfrey of London is murdered, his daughter Cecily assaulted, and the crimes are laid at the door of John of Irelaunde, a known womaniser and conman. Meanwhile feelings against Lepers are growing. A few hotheads are prepared to consider killing all of them. Baldwin and Simon must try to prevent a wholesale slaughter."Sounds great doesn't it? The reality is I'm afraid I got bored halfway through. The Baldwin/Jeanne romance is tiresome and Simon's wife Margaret is annoying with her constantly trying to push them together. Personally, I want more on the crimes and less of their private lives.
—Gayle Noble
The Leper's Return gives a shocking view of what a leper's life was like in the Middle Ages. Against this backdrop the Keeper and Bailiff set out to solve a murder. With all witnesses being incredibly tightlipped the murder isn't easy to solve, but of course Baldwin and Simon's teamwork pays off as usual. During their investigation Baldwin is slightly distracted by the lovely visitor he is courting and her odious maid, who is determined her mistress will not accept the knight's offer of marriage. Will love and justice prevail?Another wonderfully entertaining addition to the Knights Templar mysteries. A well-crafted whodunnit which takes place in an intriguing time in history with characters one cannot help but love. This is a journey I am not ready to quit yet. On to Squire Throwleigh's heir!
—Mirjam
This was a pleasant mystery, with fine characterizations. The plot was, perhaps, a bit labored, but the novel is still enjoyable. I appreciated that Jecks makes his characters well-rounded and complex, with lively interior lives, and that he has a cast drawn from all levels of society, not just the elites. (Neither of these things is to be taken for granted in historical fiction set in the Middle Ages, in my experience!) I found the assumption that strict isolation of lepers and loathing towards them were normative to be grating... but this is an interpretative assumption that's been shared by many historians, and Jecks has clearly done his research. Also, the emotional responses of individual characters are very thoughtfully treated. Full disclosure: I'm probably more sensitive to depictions of medieval leprosy than most, because it's what I study... which is why I picked up this novel. I liked it much better than the first in the series (which I read, or at least started, years ago.)
—Lucy Barnhouse
