Medieval Mystery Fiction

Private investigator and former knight Crispin Guest faces his most complicated case yet when he witnesses a body fall from London bridge into the frigid River Thames. Though the man's death is declared a suicide, Guest sees evidence of foul play. His investigation leads him to Sir Thomas Saunfayl, an old acquaintance from his knighthood days. It seems the dead man was bargaining with Sir Thomas for the Spear of Longinus, the weapon used to pierce the side of Christ on the Cross, which grants invincibility to its owner.

After losing his knighthood, Crispin Guest has found a new calling as the Tracker, a private investigator who can locate anything—or anyone. Now famed French alchemist Nicholas Flamel needs Crispin to locate his wife, Perenelle, and his apprentice, Thomas Cornhill. But the case takes a sinister turn when Flamel's apprentice is found murdered. The kidnapper promises that Flamel's wife will be next...unless he hands over his precious Philosopher's Stone, a magical object that can turn lead into gold.

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.

When a corpse turns up at his favorite tavern, Crispin Guest-disgraced knight turned detective - begins an inquiry, but the dead man turns out to be a Templar knight, an order thought to be extinct for 75 years, charged with protecting a certain religious relic which is now missing. Before he can begin to investigate, Crispin is abducted by shadowy men who are said to be minions of the French anti-pope.

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.

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.

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.

January, 1145. Godfrey Bowyer, the best but least likeable bow maker in Worcester, dies an agonising death by poisoning. Although similarly struck down after the same meal, his wife, Blanche, survives. The number of people who could have administered the poison should mean a very short investigation for the sheriff’s men, Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin, but perhaps someone was pulling the strings, and that widens the net considerably.

Late December, 1389. Ordered to undertake a grueling three-day journey to bleak Whitby Abbey in the Far North of England in a bid to purchase the Abbey's priceless holy relic - a lock of St. Hild's hair, said to be 700 years old - Hildegard of Meaux and her three companion monks arrive to find the abbey a decidedly unwelcoming place, a place of strange customs and practices very different from their modest lifestyle at Meaux. Nor, as Hildegard discovers, is she the only visitor intent on acquiring the relic.

April, 1145. Thorgar the Ploughman is found by the bloodied body of Father Edmund, a village priest in Ripple, and is summarily hanged for being caught in the act, despite his pleas of innocence. When his sister goes to Worcester to seek justice for Thorgar, the lord Sheriff sends Hugh Bradecote, with Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin, to discover the truth. They soon expose strong motives for placing the blame on the ploughman’s shoulders, some unpleasant secrets festering among the villagers, as well as the whisper of a treasure long lost and now rediscovered.

Winter 1264. England is in turmoil. King Henry III's reign is under threat. In Oxford the barons prepare to challenge his rule. Searching for his lodgings down a dark alley, young student Thomas Symon hears a scream. It's a young girl, her throat slit. Mistaken for the fleeing killer, Thomas is saved from a vengeful town mob by a stranger pulling him into a dark passageway. The man is his new university tutor, renowned academic Regent Master William Falconer.

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.

Richard Fitzwarren is a Tudor nobleman with a dubious past who takes risks for a living. His close friendship with Princess Elizabeth leads to his banishment to France, but when he returns, he remains loyal to her. At his side is Jack, his bastard sibling, and their relationship is a troubled one due to a family secret and their opposite personalities. Will he keep the future queen safe?

England, 1487—Ludovic Sumerford knows he'll never see a penny from his father's estate. His three older brothers will make sure of that. Fortunately, his smuggling venture brings in more than a few sovereigns. But when he tells a local woman about the sudden death of her brother, money is the least of his worries. Meanwhile, King Henry's insecurity is testing the country to breaking point. He quietly seethes and plots, while rumors of a man claiming to be the rightful heir to the throne of England cause poor decisions.

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.

Ireland. AD 672. The abbey of Muman at Imleach Iubhair is being renovated when its guests’ hostel burns to the ground. There is one fatality: Bishop Brodulf of Luxovium, a distinguished visitor and cousin to the King of Franks. Sister Fidelma is asked by Abbot Cuán to investigate the unfortunate incident and soon finds that the bishop had been stabbed to death before the fire had even started.

Sir Robert of Offord dies mysteriously just after accusing his new wife of adultery and his son-by-marriage wants the shire's new Crowner to prove the knight was murdered. Instead, Sir Faucon de Ramis discovers that a bell owned by the dead man is missing. But who could have taken it - the daughter who loved it as a child, the knight who wants it as collateral, or the prior who wishes to restore it to its holy purpose of calling the angels? Follow Warwickshire's new Servant of the Crown as Sir Faucon embarks on his most unusual and convoluted hunt yet.

A leper's daughter is found in the well of a dying hamlet, and the only suspect has fled into Feckenham Forest. But the sun is setting, and Warwickshire's sheriff is hunting his new crowner. That sends Sir Faucon de Ramis and Brother Edmund, his prickly clerk, racing for a nearby abbey only to meet the man he least wishes to see at the abbey gates. Before long, Faucon finds himself riding into the dark at Sir Alain's side as they hunt for yet another lost innocent.

In the depths of winter at an ancient German castle, high up in the mountains, a noble is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Back at Rourell, Arnau is taking on the responsibilities of a full Templar Knight. But when he is tasked with returning Brother LUtolf's papers to settle a legal dispute between his family and the Order, Arnau is unexpectedly drawn into the killing at the castle. Here he enters a dark game of knives and double-crosses.

England, 1120. When Henry I dies with no legitimate male heir, the nation is thrown into chaos. The two rivals for the crown are Henry's daughter Matilda and his nephew Stephen of Blois, both of whom are determined to emerge victorious. A bitter struggle ensues which threatens to reduce England to a barren wasteland and many ordinary people find themselves torn apart from each other in the confusion of deciding which side to fight for.