I always look forward to a new novel from Justin Cartwright, I think he is one of Britain's best novelists, but is rather overlooked here. Perhaps he needs to win the Booker or something, to be fully recognised. Anyway, this new book sits well alongside his recent fiction, and won't disappoint fans or new readers. Richard Cathar's father, a rather deluded hippy who thought of himself as a radical intellectual, was obsessed with Richard The Lionheart, and believed he had found, and then lost, evidence that would rewrite Britain's history. Following his death, Richard sets out to prove, or disprove, his father's theories. He travels to the Middle East where he both falls in love and becomes entangled in a series of extraordinary events and revelations. Cartwright here touches on themes from Umberto Eco and Dan Brown, but at heart this is a very human story of a man struggling with the legacy of his father, and events beyond his control. Well written, intriguing and exciting, this is perhaps a more commercial novel than his recent books, and perhaps not quite as strong as a result, but is still definitely worth reading.