The Mosaic of Shadows

Name: The Mosaic of Shadows
Rating: 3.71 (864 reviews)

by Tom Harper Book 1 in the The First Crusade Trilogy series.

First published 2004

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3.7(864)

Constantinople, 1096. An assassin using a western crossbow attempts to kill Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, and Demetrios Askiates is ordered to identify the attacker before a second strike can destabilise the Byzantine Empire. His investigation leads from palaces and monasteries to markets, military barracks and the competing households of the imperial court.

The danger inside the capital grows as the armies of the First Crusade arrive outside its walls. Alexios needs their military strength against the Turks but fears the ambitions of leaders who regard Byzantium with suspicion. Demetrios must separate political conspiracy from religious zeal while an attempted murder threatens to turn the encounter between empire and crusade into open conflict.