Bernard Knight Books In Order

Publication Order of Sixties Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Crowner John Mystery Books

Chronological Order of Crowner John Mystery Books

Publication Order of Dr. Richard Pryor Mystery Books

Publication Order of Tom Howden Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Medieval Murderers Books

Professor Bernard Henry Knight, CBE is a British author who has written a number of book series in the murder mystery genre. He was born in 1931 in Cardiff, Wales and has served his country in the military as a medical officer, performing several high-profile autopsies that later on became a basis for his crime mystery fiction books. Bernard Knight began writing in his early years, but it was in 1963 that he made his first breakthrough after publishing his first crime novel. Since then he has written several other fiction and non-fiction books. Bernard Knight published some of his books using the pseudonym, Bernard Picton. He is best known for the Crowner John Mysteries Series that features one of the earliest fictional coroners in Britain. Bernard Knight has also written scripts for radio and TV dramas such as The Expert, a forensic series that featured actor, Marius Goring in the 70s. Knight is also an author of quite a number of documentaries and at one time in his career worked as an editor for several medical journals. He is a founder member of The Medieval Murderers, a group of historical crime writers within the well-known Crime Writers’ association. Bernard Knight was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen in 1993 and has received several other awards as a writer and a as a serviceman to his country.

Books Written by Bernard Knight

Professor Bernard Knight has written bestselling books in the Crowner John Series, Sixties Mystery Series and Dr Richard Pryor Series. He as also published several novels under the pseudonym, Bernard Picton. Some notable novels by Knight include The Lately Deceased (1963), Russian Roulette (1968), The Expert (1976) and Brennan (2003). His most-notable non-fiction book is Murder, Suicide or Accident (1971) published under the pseudonym, Bernard Picton. Knight is best known for the Crowner John Mysteries series that revolve around the fictional life of Sir John de Wolfe. The series take readers deep into the life of Sir John, a former crusading knight appointed as the King’s Coroner or Crowner for the county of Devon. His duty is to investigate all crimes in Devon, including sudden deaths, rapes, murders, arsons, assaults and to collect as much tax as possible to the royal treasury. Here are two of the best books in the Crowner John series.

The Witch Hunter (2004)

The 2004 novel by Bernard Knight, The Witch Hunter is the 8th book in the Crowner John Mysteries Series preceded by Fear in the Forest (2003) and followed by Figure of Hate (2005). The Witch Hunter is set in Exeter in the 12th century. Sir John de Wolfe, Devon County’s first coroner investigates the sudden death of a wealthy guild-master in the area. The victim’s widow believes that her husband was murdered by an evil spell and moves on to rid the area of “witches”. Several women are executed and when the King’s Crowner’s Welsh mistress known as Nesta is accused, Sir John de Wolfe steps up his investigations to catch the witch hunter before his girl is executed. The book successfully utilizes the historical fantasy genre, completely absorbing the readers’ minds into the 12th century Britain during the able reign of Richard the Lionheart. During those days, the King appointed coroners to investigate crimes and enforce tax paying on the subjects. The life of Sir John de Wolfe is based on those early years of the 12th century. In The Witch Hunter, Sir John is highly convinced that the healthy guild-master died a natural death but the widow embarks on a series of persecutions of women to avenge her husband leaving Sir John with no other option but to investigate and hunt the women killer.

Crowner Royal (2009)

Crowner Royal is a novel by Bernard Knight that features as the 13th book in the Crowner John Mysteries series. The year is 1196 and Sir John de Wolfe has just been appointed as the first Coroner of the Verge by King Richard the Lionheart. Sir John embarks on high-level investigations on the British court at the Palace of Westminster and discovers several ills in the hierarchy of the court officials. Greed, petty in-fighting and stinking corruption are some of the evils that Sir John comes across in the courts. One of the palace clerks is brutally murdered and thrown into River Thames; Sir John suspects that there is a conspiracy to overthrow King Richard who is currently held in a costly war overseas against King Philip of France. Sir John works on rooting out the traitors in a series of thrilling moves that also see him risk his life as the perpetrators of the conspiracy fight back. He works hard on proving his initial sentiments that the murder of clerk was not just a normal death, it was something big controlled by the high and mighty at the Palace of Westminster. The Crowner Royal historical mystery absorbs the reader’s mind into the 12th century Britain where the courts were a hotbed of greed and corruption.

Bernard Knight Awards

Knight was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE during the 1993 Queen’s Birthday Honors. Bernard Knight was nominated for the 2010 e-Dunnit Award for the Best Crime Fiction books published in 2009 and rated at crimefest.com. Although the award was eventually won by writer Josh Bazell, the overall feeling by interviewed readers of crime fiction books worldwide was that Knight’s book Crowner Royal deserved more recognition or perhaps winning the award. Josh Bazell’s Beat The Reaper (2009) beat Crowner Royal to scoop the 2009 e-Dunnit award. Other writers nominated for the award during the same year included Carol McCleary and Steve Berry. Knight has however, received several other honorary awards from leading institutions worldwide for his contribution towards writing and humanity at large.

Bernard Knight Books into Movie

Several movies have been made from novels written by Bernard Knight. Most notable TV series adapted from his novels is The Expert. In 1970s, The Expert was featured on televisions starring Marius Goring. The Expert is a classic murder series movie full of suspense featuring fictional pathologist John Hardy (Marius Goring) as he investigates deaths using the latest scientific crime-detection techniques.

One Response to “Bernard Knight”

1. Carol: 3 years ago

   My husband loves Croner John series by Bernard Knight. He cannot read but loves to listen to them on cd’s. I would like to be able to obtain the stories he does not have as his health is deteriorating and this would really give him pleasure. Also the medieval murder series with the Irish female investigator whose author escapes me.
   Can you advise where I can obtain the cd’s from as he likes all the medieval writers group. Thank you.

   Reply