Medieval Mystery Fiction

Under the harsh hand of its newly elected prioress, St. Frideswide's has become a place of deadly sin. The corruption has grown subtly and slowly, but it has found fertile soil in the rage and greed of Domina Alys, who has turned the priory into a boarding house for her relatives, the Godfreys. Dame Frevisse is horrified to discover that the modest stores of the priory—desperately needed if the nuns are to survive the coming winter—are being completely consumed by the rapacious Godfrey clan.

Master Hugh is asked to provide a sleeping potion for Sir Henry Burley, a friend and guest of Lord Gilbert who has outstayed his welcome at Bampton Castle. The next morning after Master Hugh provides the potion, Sir Henry is found dead, eyes open, in his bed. Master Hugh, the target of the wife’s wrath, is asked by Lord Gilbert to determine the cause of death....

Eager to return to his native Norway, Thorgrim agrees to participate in one last raid under the command of a man he does not trust. But the Northmen, he finds, are no longer simply invaders on foreign soil. They have become a part of the Irish kings' ongoing struggle for power, and, far from securing a means to return home, Thorgrim and his men are plunged into a battle for the throne of Tara - a battle that will test their strength and loyalty as none has before.

A few days before Christmas, a young woman was found wandering the streets of Upper Manhattan wearing only a New York Giants jersey. The young woman was sent to the local hospital, where she died. The doctors ruled the death a homicide. Detective Iris Williams and her partner Detective Annette Toni are assigned to the case. Soon after, the body of a young man is found murdered in the most macabre way, then another, and another.... Detectives Williams and Toni soon realize that the murders are like nothing they’ve ever seen before.

National best-selling author Ariana Franklin resumes her Mistress of the Art of Death series with A Murderous Procession. In 1176, King Henry II’s daughter is set to marry the king of Sicily. But when several wedding guests are murdered during the procession, Adelia must uncover who is behind the killings and who is the killer’s real target.

London, 1471. The War of the Roses rages on. Edward of York has claimed the English throne, and his Yorkist supporters gleefully slaughter their adversaries; there's no mercy for anyone who supported the Lancastrian cause. Margaret Beaufort - mother of Henry Tudor, the only hope for the House of Lancaster - knows her enemies are closing in. Desperate for help, she turns to Christopher Urswicke for protection. But when ruthless scheming and pitiless killings are the only routes to survival, Urswicke will have to choose where his loyalties truly lie.

Al-Andalus 998 AD. Galen and Alcuin have been taken prisoner by the Moors. Galen is a Moorish doctor’s latest project. Alcuin languishes in the dungeons, watching over the bishop, who is slowly being tortured to death for a treasure. Galen and Alcuin must learn how to survive in a strange new kingdom which is rapidly turning hostile towards Christians. Martyrdom, a life of slavery, or escape are their only options. But how can they escape when they have been separated?

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?

Since losing his knighthood, Crispin Guest has crafted a new reputation for himself. From the shadowy corners of London to the halls of the royal court he is known as the Tracker, an investigator for hire who can find anyone or anything. But when the Archbishop of Canterbury hires him to expose the culprit threatening the sacred relics of a holy martyr, Crispin finds himself a stranger in an unfamiliar land.

Anglo-Saxon England, 997 AD. Sixteen-year-old scribe, Galen, and his friend Alcuin the illuminator, are running late. Galen's frailty has delayed their mission–to produce the most glorious book in honor of the king. They are crossing the treacherous marshes of eastern England when vikings attack.

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.

Since losing his knighthood, Crispin Guest has reinvented himself as an investigator for hire known as the Tracker. But his reputation will once again be put to the test with his latest case. Jacob of Provençal, a Jewish physician at the king's court, is missing a set of documents that he claims contain the power to bring forth a dangerous demon. Meanwhile, it seems a monster has already been unleashed on the city. Vulnerable street children are being abducted and murdered, their mutilated bodies the only clues left behind.

Politics, religion, and international intrigue paint a gripping portrait of England in the months prior to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, but in a book where there are no pure ideals, perfect heroes, or irredeemable villains, history becomes personal. Schism splits the Catholic Church, a teenaged king sits on England’s throne, John Wycliffe protests, Piers Plowman complains, Geoffrey Chaucer tells tales.

Former knight Crispin Guest is now known in the streets of medieval London as the Tracker—an investigator who can find anything and anyone. What begins as a straightforward case of murder turns complicated when Crispin realizes that the victim was an important courier in possession of a holy artifact—an object so valuable that its absence could start a war between France and England. Surrounded by possible suspects, Guest will have to use his wiles to navigate both the exclusive halls of King Richard's court and the hardscrabble streets of fourteenth-century London.

It’s July 1478, and business is good for Bristol’s bakers during the lead up to Lammastide – “Loaf-mass”, the ancient harvest festival. But the shady Jasper Fairbrother’s baking days are over when he’s found face down with a knife in his back. Suspicion immediately falls on the mysterious Breton who’d arrived that day....

Medieval England Spring, 998 AD. Brother Galen of Yarmwick is desperate to return to friend and family. So after the triumphal unveiling of the king’s gem encrusted Book of Hours, he’s ready to rush home. But just as he thinks life will go back to normal, the Bishop of Crowland orders Galen to accompany him to Rome. Galen thought the journey to Lundenburh was gruelling. How will he face an epic voyage of thousands of miles?

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.

February 1381. A ruthless killer known as the Ignifer - Fire Bringer - is rampaging through London. He appears to be targeting all those involved in the recent trial and conviction of the beautiful Lady Isolda Beaumont, burned at the stake for the murder of her husband. As the late Sir Walter Beaumont was a close friend of the Regent, John of Gaunt orders Sir John Cranston and Brother Athelstan to investigate. In the dead man’s possession was a copy of the mysterious Book of Fires, containing the secret formula of a devastating weapon....

Will Britain take him in... or mark him as its enemy? Faustus Valerianus is the son of a Roman father and a British mother, a captive sold among the spoils after Claudius’ invasion. When both parents die within a month of each other, he sells the family farm and enlists, joining legendary general Agricola’s campaign to conquer the entirety of the British Isles. But Faustus will have to contend with more than ferocious British warriors and whip-cracking elements. For the bonds of blood can weigh heavy on one’s soul. The call of his mother’s true people.

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.