Medieval Historical Mystery

As the winter of 1323 descends upon a windswept chapel on the edge of Dartmoor, who could blame the young priest, Father Mark, for seeking affection from Mary, the miller's daughter? But when Mary, and her unborn child, are found dead, Mark is the obvious suspect. Called to investigate, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock soon begin to have their doubts. Could one of Mary's many admirers have murdered her in a fit of jealousy? Or might it be someone even closer to home?

It is 1665 and the women of Eyam village keep many secrets. Especially Isabel and Mae. Isabel Frith, the village midwife, walks a dangerous line with her herbs and remedies. There are men in the village who speak of witchcraft, and Isabel has a past to hide. So she tells nobody her fears about the pious, reclusive apothecary, on whom she is keeping a watchful eye. Mae, the apothecary’s youngest daughter, dreads her father’s rage if he discovers what she keeps from him: her feelings for Rafe, Isabel’s ward, or the fact that she studies from her father’s books at night.

There are plots to invade England and Normandy. There are assassination attempts and the only man who can stop all of these is the Earl of Cleveland. Moving from Scotland to Normandy and back again this is a fast moving novel set in the months before the civil war in England and Normandy begins.

Europe, 998 AD. Galen and Alcuin have finally escaped the clutches of the Moors. Now they're adrift in an unsettled continent where invasions, cults, plagues, drought and the looming millennium have upset the world order. Do these two young monks have what it takes to fulfil Alcuin's promise to get to Rome? The journey over the Pyrenees and across the Mediterranean isn't even the greatest challenge. Galen needs to decide whether he's a saint. Can he find the answer amongst the people he meets or will he have to look deeper within himself to find the truth?

In March 1279, Edward I takes a break from hammering the Welsh and bearing down on England's Jews to vacation in Gloucestershire. The royal party breaks the journey at Woodstock Manor. There, one life begins as the queen gives birth to a daughter, and one draws to an end as apoplexy fells Baron Adam Wynethorpe. Hastening to the baron's deathbed is his eldest son, Hugh, a veteran of Edward's Crusades who can't shake off the battle horrors he has witnessed.

May 1283. The roads near Tyndal Priory are filled with happy pilgrims returning from St. Walstan’s feast day, but not all in Tyndal Priory and village are joyful. Signy, the local innkeeper, is quarrelling with her suddenly rebellious foster son. Gytha, Crowner Ralf’s wife, suffers failing health while her husband hunts smugglers on the remote North Sea coast. Brother Thomas remains moody and aloof. But before Prioress Eleanor can offer help and comfort, disaster strikes. A pilgrim is murdered near the priory walls.

For countless centuries, I've been the assassin for the infamous Merlin, even though the woman who birthed me sits at the right hand of our enemy, Morgen le Fey. Now both my mother and Morgen have decided that it's time I take my place on their side of this conflict. Normally, telling them no wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that the good guys I protect think that I'm an even worse demon than the ones we fight.

In 1360 a deputation from Cambridge ventures to the Suffolk town of Clare in the hope that the wealthy Elizabeth de Burgh has left a legacy to Michaelhouse. Yet when they arrive, they discover that the report of her death is false and that the college seems destined for bankruptcy. Determined to see if some of its well-heeled citizens can be persuaded to sponsor Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew, Brother Michael and Master Langelee become enmeshed in the town's politics.

It is the juiciest piece of gossip the citizens of Norwich have heard for a long time. The ruthless Richard de Fontenel is himself the victim of robbery. In addition to two priceless golden elephants that he was using to lure the beautiful lady Adelaide into marriage, his steward Hermer is also missing. Onto the scene arrive soldier Ralph Delchard and lawyer Gervase Bret who are meant to adjudicate on a land dispute, but they also become involved in the hunt for the thief. But is Hermer the steward really missing or has something altogether more sinister happened?

The Dutch Stadhouder, William of Orange, has summoned Master Mercurius—and that is never good news. Mercurius has gained a reputation for himself with William for successfully undertaking diplomatic missions. And William is now paranoid that his own subjects—and the English exiles living in the Netherlands—are plotting against him. Mercurius is sent to gather information, but he soon finds himself caught up in another mystery. Three Jewish boys have vanished, and the local magistrates are doing nothing to investigate their disappearances.

November 1283. Prioress Eleanor’s cousin, the earl of Ness, visits with his wife, Eda. When his unloved spouse is murdered in the priory chapel with his knife, he becomes the prime suspect. Another murder follows. Eda’s quiet priest is killed in the same chapel. Eda had many enemies, so what connection could there be between a ruthless woman and a pious man who cared nothing of earthy things? Crowner Ralf insists the crimes fall under the king’s law and that Prioress Eleanor lacks objectivity because of her cousin’s involvement.

King Charles of France has announced that he is confiscating Aquitaine, and Prince Edward has sent for knights and men at arms from England to assist him in opposing the French king. Lord Gilbert Talbot is required to provide five knights, 12 squires, and 20 archers and men at arms, and wishes his surgeon - Hugh de Singleton - to travel with the party, while Hugh’s wife Kate oversees the castle. Among the party will be Sir Simon Trillowe, Hugh’s old nemesis and Kate’s former suitor, who had once set fire to Hugh’s house.

It is four years since the death of King Edward I, but his reign of terror has cast long shadows over the kingdom. At Holyrood Abbey, sheltered in the depths of the Welsh march, the old king's former bodyguards protect his secret relics and watch over a mysterious prisoner who is kept in the abbey's dungeon. But their peaceful existence is shattered when Abbot Henry is poisoned. Summoned to Holyrood, Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, finds the fortress in chaos. Brothers Anselm and Richard have been brutally slain by nails driven deep into their skulls.

After enduring years of her nobleman father's cruelty and abuse, Celestina Lunde is ready to take her own life rather than enter into an arranged marriage with an equally brutal man. But just when she is about to leap through the window of her tower bedroom, a brawny Highland warrior arrives at her home and changes everything.

After getting Master Mercurius jailed and nearly put to death with one of his schemes, the Stadhouder, William of Orange, has finally left Mercurius in peace. But Mercurius is not able to remain in Leiden for long. A friendly debate on the sin of witchcraft has been proposed between the University of Leiden and the University of Leuven. And the scholars are to meet part-way in the city of Maastricht.

Meet Richard Fitzwarren - an anti-hero with a dubious past, questionable morals but unswerving loyalties. Richard grinned and grasping his brother's wrist said, “Terrible apart and even worse together - that would make us a fine family moto. Et mirabilia absque peius.” Jack Fitzwarren, Richard’s displaced bastard brother, seeks a place at his brother’s side. Impulsive and hot headed, his attempts to gain his brother’s acceptance and approval often end badly. Finally the brothers are brought head to head when Richard tries to foil a plot against Elizabeth I.

Spring, 1312. Edward II of England is absorbed with his favourite, Peter Gaveston, while his young wife, Isabella, is about to give birth. Isabella's father, the ruthless Philip of France, dreams of a grandson wearing the Crown of the Confessor and starts to meddle—even if that means murder. Amaury de Craon, Philip's Master of Secrets, is despatched to carry out his deadly deeds and Edward II summons Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, to intercept. Both master spies lodge at the Benedictine abbey of St Michael's in the forest of Ashdown.

Alan, the beadle of the manor of Bampton, had gone out at dusk to seek those who might violate curfew. When, the following morning, he had not returned home, his young wife Matilda had sought out Master Hugh de Singleton, surgeon and bailiff of the manor. Two days later Alan’s corpse was discovered in the hedge, at the side of the track to St. Andrew’s Chapel. His throat had been torn out - his head was half severed from his body - and his face, hands, and forearms were lacerated with deep scratches.

Master Hugh is making his way towards Oxford when he discovers the young Benedictine - a fresh body, barefoot - not half a mile from the nearby abbey. The abbey’s novice master confirms the boy’s identity: John, one of three novices. But he had gone missing four days previously, and his corpse is fresh. There has been plague in the area, but this was not the cause of death: The lad has been stabbed in the back. To Hugh’s sinking heart, the abbot has a commission for him....

Ireland. AD 672. The Feast of Beltaine is approaching, and the seven senior princes of the kingdom of Muman are gathering at Cashel to discuss King Colgú's policies. Just days before the council meets, Brother Conchobhar, the keeper of the sacred sword, is found murdered. Sister Fidelma and her brother, Colgú, fear that the killer had been trying to steal the sword that symbolises the king's authority to rule.