365 Days of Books

A Head For Poisoning chronicles the return of Sir Geoffrey Mappestone from the crusades. He is coming home because he received the news that his favorite sister has died. The King has charged him to find a traitor among his family, he finds his family at each others throats, his father is dying of poisoning, and nobody is happy to see him. Not only are things not how he expected them to be, it seems that they were never as he remembered them. Poison, murder, and treason lead Sir Geoffrey on a journey of discovery on which he is loathe to embark.

Detailed, funny, not glossy (rust, drowning, the depression that follows the depredations of the crusades). Simon Beaufort tells a great story.

I've recommended this to several adults who like mysteries, in particular British mysteries like Martha Grimes.