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''My violence, and my villainy, come to shame.''|Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "[[Idylls of the King]]"}}
 
A retelling of chapters 3-8 in book 18 of Malory's ''[[MorteLe DarthurMorte (Literature)d'Arthur|Morte Darthur]]'', written by Phyllis Ann Karr and published in 1982, this book is an example of fantasy and crime fiction at the same time. The crime in question is the poisoning of the apples served at the feast prepared by Queen Guinevere, so, obviously, the Queen is the main suspect. The story is told from the perspective of Sir Kay, who, with the help of Mordred and the Lady of the Lake, tries to acquit the Queen of the accusation. During the investigation dark secrets of noble families are brought to light, religious conflicts reappear, Lancelot occurs to be a jerk, and all the courtly ideals are ridiculed.
 
Every chapter has a direct quotation from Malory at its beginning, and, as a whole, the novel sticks to Malory's version in every detail, including the names of minor knights and ladies and the exact chronology of events (though not the religious position - e.g. in Karr's novel the hermits are crazy old men, very much unlike Malorian majestic and omniscient interpreters of dreams).
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* [[Courtly Love]]: Averted. Those who seem to be most courteous towards the ladies are not the most willing to help the Queen, and Kay himself is ridiculed by the courtiers only because he doesn't beat around the bush.
* [[Death Seeker]]: {{spoiler|Mordred}}, troubled by his past.
* [[Epigraph]]: Each chapter begins with a quotation from a medieval Arthurian romance -- usually Malory, but occasionally some else such as ''[[Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Literature)|Sir Gawain and Thethe Green Knight]]''.
* [[Everyone Is a Suspect]]: Almost everyone has some serious reason to revenge on his fellows...
* [[Excalibur]]: A minor appearance.
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* [[Literary Allusion Title]]: To Tennyson's ''[[Idylls of the King]]''.
* [[Love Ruins the Realm]]: The main danger for the kingdom and court is connected with the poisoning, but the love relation between the Queen and Sir Lancelot causes some further complications.
* [[A Mind Is a Terrible Thing Toto Read]]: Mind reading is a terrible thing for both the reader and the one being read, which is why The Lady of the Lake hates performing this kind of magic.
* [[Murder Byby Mistake]]: Everyone assumes that the murderer meant to poison Gawaine, not Patrise.
* [[Perspective Flip]]: Kay, constantly described as an impolite coward by Malory, here is presented as straightforward and reasonable, while other knights (with possible exception of Mordred) are shown as either dishonest or plainly stupid.
* [[Summation Gathering]]: Kay holds one in the penultimate chapter.
* [[Supernatural Aid]]: Given to Mordred and Kay by Nimue and Morgan. Slightly subverted, as magic appears to be more restricted than non-magicians used to think.
* [[Trial Byby Combat]]: The reason why everyone, except Kay and Mordred, desperately search for Lancelot.
 
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