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In 1204 A.D., Theophilos, jester and agent for the Fools’ Guild, is sent to Toulouse with his jester wife, infant daughter and young apprentice with one simple mission – get the current Bishop to quietly retire so that the position can be filled with one more sympathetic to the Guild's goals. Arriving just before Christmas, they quickly learn that the Bishop is in some hot water with a man widely known as the local money lender. A man who, a day after pressing the Bishop particularly hard, is found floating face down in a tanner’s vat.   Now, with time running out for him to accomplish their mission and thus protect the Guild, Theophilos has but one option left: find out what actually happened the night that the Moneylender of Toulouse ended up so spectacularly dead. ** ### From Publishers Weekly A wicked sense of humor lifts Gordon's seventh Fools' Guild mystery (after 2007's *The Lark's Lament*). The Fools' Guild, under threat by those in the church who oppose the organization, hopes to manipulate events so that one of its own can replace the bishop of Toulouse. Soon after Theophilos, one of the guild's most trusted agents, and his family arrive in Toulouse in 1204 on this delicate but vital mission, the body of local moneylender Milon Borsella turns up in a tanner's pit, the day after Borsella argued violently with Bishop Raimon de Rabastens, the man Theophilos is plotting against. When another murder occurs, Jordan, a local fool, is arrested. Convinced that the crimes are connected to his mission in Toulouse, Theophilos and his capable, independent wife, Claudia, follow the clues to a logical and satisfying conclusion. Fans of Sharon Kay Penman's Justin de Quincy series will enjoy Gordon's blend of action, detection and convincing historical detail. *(May)* Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### From Booklist The seventh in the splendid Fools’ Guild series finds Theophilos, court jester and secret agent, traveling to the French city of Toulouse in the year 1204. His assignment: convince the bishop to retire so the guild can put in his place someone more sympathetic to the increasingly embattled organization. The complication: when Theophilos arrives on the scene, he discovers that the bishop has been having some trouble with a local moneylender, who soon turns up dead. Now, in order to save the guild, Theophilos must solve the murder. The Fools’ Guild mysteries are charming and well researched with a hugely appealing premise—that the guild of professional fools isn’t just an entertainers’ union but is also a spy organization whose members, in their guise as performers, carry out top-secret missions. The premise alone is enough to keep us reading, but Gordon doesn’t stop there. He also delivers engaging stories, snappy characters, and enough period detail to make us feel right at home (but not too much to feel showy). Another winning installment in a delightful series. --David Pitt