Medieval Historical Mystery

Medieval Europe, 996 AD. Fifteen-year-old Galen survived a horrendous assault, only to be exiled by his family. Taken in by monks and grateful to be spared as a suspected sinner from the execution block, he ekes out a lonely existence of unrelenting pain. But he gains a chance to prove himself worthy when a famous young illustrator arrives at the abbey and selects him to help with an important manuscript.

King Edward IV trembles as he decides the fate of his sibling. And Richard, Duke of Gloucester tries to find a way to save George from being put to death by their eldest brother, the King. So when the Duke sees his loyal servant Roger the Chapman at his trial, he recognises that he has a chance.

Surrounded once again by harsh men with full knowledge of the shocking event that led to his banishment, Galen has only one person he can depend on. But Alcuin is being pulled away by family duty and a new obsession. Is it time for Galen to stop relying upon others and solve his own problems? Will Galen survive this dangerous new world and forge a safer future for himself and his friend?

Anglo-Saxon England, AD 997. Brother Galen is anxious about leaving the haven of his abbey. Suddenly reconciled with his father after being disowned, he fears he will never again fit in with his estranged family. But when he’s commissioned to produce a manuscript for the king, the shy scribe has the chance to visit his relatives after three years of banishment.

The narrow, stinking streets of medieval London can sometimes be a dark place. Burglary, arson, kidnapping, and murder are everyday events. The streets even echo with rumors of the mysterious art of alchemy being used to make gold for the king. Join Seb, a talented but crippled artist, as he is drawn into a web of lies to save his handsome brother from the hangman's rope. Will he find an inner strength in these, the darkest of times, or will events outside his control overwhelm him? Only one thing is certain - if Seb can't save his brother, nobody can.

Paris, 1393. A masquerade ball at the palace ends in tragedy, with four revelers burned to death. Was it an accident...or did someone deliberately hurl a flaming torch at the dancers? Convinced it was an act of murder and that the king himself was the real target, Queen Isabeau has asked Christine de Pizan to spend time at court in an attempt to uncover the identity of the would-be assassin.

Un thriller médiéval à mi-chemin entre Le Nom de la rose et Les Piliers de la terre, best-seller en Espagne. Et si une jeune scribe tenait entre ses mains le destin de l'Occident ? Franconie, an 799, à la veille du sacre de Charlemagne. Fille d'un célèbre scribe byzantin, Theresa est apprentie parcheminière.

When Martin Kemp joins the English army in order to avoid the hangman, he may just be delaying the inevitable. While he remains hopeful that at least there's the chance for some heroics, the reality is very different. Kemp's war is instead a terrifying odyssey through the panic and confusion of his first battle, the brutal realities of siege warfare, and eventually to the field of Crécy, where he faces the armoured might of the French nobility. But as an elite longbowman, when it comes to winning or losing, he could have a vital - though dangerous - part to play.

Arnau de Vallbona and his fellow Templar Brother Ramon are bound for the Holy Land to take part in the great Crusade when fate intervenes. Delayed in Cyprus, they learn of a growing rift in Christendom: the crusading army has diverted from its course and threatens Rome's allies in the Byzantine Empire. Arnau and Ramon, alongside the irascible Preceptor Bochard, race to Constantinople, encountering a grand and crumbling world of alliances and betrayals, emperors and armies.

The relics of Christendom have been plundered during the long Moorish conquest of the Iberian peninsula. Newly minted Templar Sergeant Arnau de Vallbona must recover one of the most elusive to save his priory at Rourell in Spain. Travelling to Majorca on a stealth mission to retrieve the bones of St Stephen, Arnau soon discovers the raid is more complex than it first appears: the mighty Almohad dynasty has laid claim to the island, and will fight them every step of the way.

In summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen and Empress Maudhave temporarily exhausted each other. Brother Cadfael, herbalist-sleuth of Shrewsbury's Benedictine Abbey, agrees to accompany wise young Brother Mark on Church business in Wales. But the brothers soon find themselves caught up in yet another feud. A Welsh prince has banished his brother, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally, and the country teeters on the brink of civil war. Cadfael has to survive the brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into chaos.

May 1381.The Great Revolt draws ever nearer. The Upright Men openly roam the streets of London, waiting for the violence to begin. Their mysterious envoy, the Herald of Hell, appears at night, terrifying those who oppose them. But who is he? When his chancery clerk is found hanged in a notorious Southwark brothel, Brother Athelstan is summoned to investigate. In the dead man's possession was a manuscript containing a great secret which he had been striving to decipher. Can he crack the code before the Great Revolt begins?

London, 1385: Surrounded by ruthless courtiers - including his powerful uncle, John of Gaunt, and Gaunt's artful mistress, Katherine Swynford - England's young king, Richard II, is in mortal peril. Songs are heard across London - catchy verses said to originate from an ancient book that prophesies the ends of England's kings - and among the book's predictions is Richard's assassination. Only a few powerful men know that the cryptic lines derive from a "burnable book", a seditious work that threatens the stability of the realm.

Bermondsey Priory, 1114. A young chaplain succumbs to the temptations of the flesh - and suffers a gruesome punishment. From that moment, the monastery is cursed and over the next five hundred years murder and treachery abound within its hallowed walls. A beautiful young bride found dead two days before her wedding. A ghostly figure that warns of impending doom. A plot to depose King Edward II.

In the spring of 1348, tales begin of poisonous clouds fast approaching, which have overwhelmed whole cities, with scarcely a human being left. While some pray earnestly, there are those who hope that God's wrath might be averted by pilgrimage. When a group of pilgrims are forced to shelter at an inn, their host encourages them to tell their stories of sin, so that it might emerge which one is the best. And the worst...

Richard has lost everything to Andrew Kineer, even his identity. Whether he will be able to reclaim it remains to be seen. The backdrop to their own struggle is the political tension in England. Mary I, convinced God has given her the task of returning England to the true faith, sends the Protestant reformers a stark and violent message.

Finally, fortune appears to have smiled on the Fitzwarren brothers. Richard and Jack are back in England, and Richard's loyalty to Elizabeth looks like it is about to finally be repaid. Jack is afforded an opportunity to meet with his father on equal terms. Will all go well?

Sword of Shame is the second collaboration by five of the UK's finest historical mystery writers. Each brings their own characters to these interlinked tales, which tell the story of a cursed Norman sword. From its first arrival in Britain, with the Norman forces of William the Conqueror, violence and revenge are the cursed sword's constant companions.

A hidden hoard of Saxon gold. A poisoned priest. A monk skinned alive in Westminster Abbey. Only one thing is certain: whoever comes into possession of the cursed book meets a gruesome and untimely end.

England, 1154. With King Henry II taking the throne, the long civil war that has ravaged England has finally come to an end. But conflict is now coming from overseas. Henry has inherited territories over the English Channel that are being contested by King Louis VII of France. And the new king's marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine is strained—and becomes even more so when he threatens the Church of England and Thomas Beckett.