Medieval Mysteries series 2

Knights Templar Mysteries

Michael Jecks

Michael Jeck

C. L. Grace

The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan by P C Doherty

PC Doherty

London in the late 14th century.

Roger the Chapman Mysteries

Kate Sedley

A peddler of notions and sundries travels about England during Edward IV's reign.  Not always an attractive character, Roger nevertheless solves the mysteries he encounters.

A rich man asks Roger to look for his son who disappeared in London.

Protecting a royal messenger who carries a crucial secret letter, Roger the Chapman begins a two days of dangerous adventure, and realizes that he must learn his companion's past if they are to survive.

BLS BR 09706

When the disreputable brother of a respected nobleman is hanged for murdering a man who later turns up alive, Roger, a fifteenth-century English peddler, senses foul play among the gentry.

Roger stops in a small town to discover who killed two children and why

Summer,1482. An English army invades Scotland in order to put King James the Thirds renegade younger brother, the Duke of Albany, on the Scottish throne. Albany insists his old acquaintance, Roger the Chapman, be a member of his personal bodyguard. But during the march northwards, a series of sinister events, centred around the cult figure of the mythical Green Man, makes Roger question Albanys true motive for requesting his presence .

When the remains of Isabella Linkinhorne, who disappeared twenty years earlier and was known to have had three secret lovers, are discovered on nunnery land, Roger the Chapman is called in. Faced with the task of tracking down three people of whom he knows next to nothing, Roger nicknames them Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior after the Magi the Three Kings of Cologne

The year is 1476, and after a hard winter hawking his wares through the ice and rain, Roger the Chapman is looking forward to spending Christmas in Bristol, enjoying the warm hearth and good food of his mother-in-law Margaret-even if it means the young widower will have to endure her constant matchmaking. However, Margaret has barely introduced him to her cousin Adela when Roger's attentions are demanded elsewhere. The long-lost son of a wealthy Bristol weaver, presumed murdered on a visit to London six years before, has miraculously reappeared, to the delight of the old man and to the indignation of Alison Burnett, who refuses to believe that the bedraggled stranger is her brother Clement-the rightful heir to half her father's fortune. When Alison's violent objections provoke Alderman Weaver into disinheriting her altogether, she appeals to Roger's reputation as a solver of mysteries to prove her growing suspicions right.

1475 when King Edward IV is about to invade France, Roger learns of a plot to kill Richard of Gloucester and tries to discover who is behind it.

Roger's latest journey has taken him toward the coast, in bitter cold weather, picking up gossip as he goes: there's much talk of the fanatical, fire-breathing preacher Father Simeon, and, as it transpires, Roger meets up with him as the Friar travels to Cederwell Manor. He's been sent for by Sir Hugh Cederwell's wife Jeanette, a pious woman with her own chapel at the top of a tower on the Manor grounds. Roger, ever on the hunt for customers, arrives with Father Simeon at the Manor, only to discover Lady Cederwell dead at the foot of the tower.

Roger is summoned by the Duke of Gloucester to assist in the investigation into the murder of the son of a lady-in-waiting to Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, who is on a triumphant return visit to London. It seems Roger has no choice but to return to the dirty, crowded city, where he soon meets a surprising number of people , royalty, servants and workers alike ? who all have a motive for murder.

It is October 1477 and Roger the Chapman, newly married and still enjoying wedded bliss, is surprised to find his old, familiar feeling of restlessness returning. Within a month he is setting off, once again, on the ancient ridge road that dissects Dartmoor and heads for Plymouth, driven by some instinct that he is needed there.

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 and had been seen having an argument with Fairbrother. But when it emerges that the Breton is also a suspected Lancastrian spy, Roger the Chapman wonders if suspicion of murder is merely a convenient pretext for the authorities to hunt down the Breton.

King Edward IV trembles as he decides the fate of his sibling. And Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots, trying to find a way to save George from being put to death by their eldest - and powerful - brother, the King. So when the Duke sees his old and loyal servant, monk-turned-travelling salesman Roger the Chapman, among the crowd at the trial he recognises that he has a chance. If only the chapman-sleuth could prove that the kinswoman of the King's favourite leman hadn't poisoned her taciturn husband. If Isolda Bonifant, the daughter of a well-established London goldsmith, were innocent and her name cleared, then Edward's chief mistress - cousin of the accused Isolda - would be more than willing to do the wily Duke's bidding.

Roger the Chapman is not a superstitious man. He hears stories of murders and haunted houses around the market town of Bristol, and chooses to believe the more prosaic explanation every time. But when Roger is himself attacked in the very house where a woman murdered her violent husband thirty years previously, he is forced to admit that something strange is going on - particularly when everybody he encounters in the town denies seeing or hearing anything untoward in the notorious house that stormy night. And when his own wife refuses to believe his story, he starts to worry that he is losing his mind. An indignant - and instinctively curious - Roger puts his detective skills into action once again to find out who made the attempt on his life. He soon learns more and more about the strange old house and about the people of the market town of Bristol, some of whom have much more to hide than he would ever have believed.

Two great forces fight for England  and one woman is torn between them. It is 1642, and civil war is beginning to split England in half. The dashing Cavaliers swear loyalty to the Crown; the stern Puritans vow to risk all for liberty and their mighty, wrathful God . The beautiful, fiery Lilias Pride will face the hardest choice of her life. Married to Richard Pride, MP for Bristol, she devotes her loyalty to him and to the Puritan cause. Yet Priam Lithgow, Royalist Earl of Chelwood, stirs her deeply, and when he falls into danger, she risks her life to save his. With the Restoration, Lilias hopes to flee love and peril and find safety in the New World of America.

When Roger the Chapman discovers he has a hitherto unknown half-brother, he has mixed feelings about the matter. But when John Wedmore is accused of being the young page who, six years earlier, robbed his mistress and murdered a fellow servant, and is thrown into prison, Roger feels obliged to investigate the charge.

Roger the traveling chapman should be on his way home to medieval Bristol after a nice summer's peddling. But a request from his duke to escort a bride en route to her betrothed takes him toward Wells, where the groom and his brother have vanished. Roger links the disappearances to the discovery of ancient scrolls written in a strange language. But as he deciphers the archaic tongue, he concludes that a still-greater mystery lies at the heart of the brothers' disappearance.

In the bitter winter of 1478, Roger the Chapman takes to the roads once again to sell his wares. His long-suffering wife Adela is happy to let him go, on condition that he promises to return by the feast of St Patrick in March. Having sold most of his goods, Roger starts on the long road home, keen to surprise Adela by arriving home early for once. However, on the way, he stumbles upon the tiny village of Lower Brockhurst where he is immediately made welcome at the village alehouse. Overhearing conversations regarding the recent disappearance of a local girl, Roger's investigative instincts are instantly aroused, and he determines to stay awhile in order to try and solve the mystery. Had she really just vanished? Or had something much more sinister taken place? But Roger soon realizes that there is more to the girl's story than meets the eye, and that the village harbours dark secrets that some people would do anything to prevent being discovered.

Michael Clynes

Matthew Shardlake

C. J. Sansom

Matthew Shardlake a hunchbacked lawyer who works with Thomas Cromwell
for Henry VIII. 

Elizabeth I Mysteries

Karen Harper

A series of historical mystery novels in which Queen Elizabeth I, aided
by a small band of trusty friends, servants, and advisors, including Sir
William Cecil and Robert Dudley, investigates a series of baffling
murders that punctuate her reign. Most of these are available as hardbacks and mass market paperbacks..

NLS BR 13032

NLS BR 13219

NLS BR 13610

NLS BR 14646

NLS BR 14758

NLS BR 15228

NLS BR 15999

NLS BR 17325

Ursula Blanchard Mystery Series

Fiona Buckley

Blanchard, who acts as a spy and secret agent for Queen Elizabeth I and
Sir William Cecil.

Homesick for England, heartsick at being separated from her young daughter, Ursula Blanchard is struggling to build a new life in France with her husband, Matthew de la Roche. Ursula is devastated when she learns Meg has disappeared from the family that has fostered her since the French civil war forced Ursula to leave her behind. A wanted man in England, Matthew is unable to accompany her as she frantically journeys home.

NLS RC 55400, DB 55400

Ursula and her small daughter, Meg, are at their Sussex manor house, Withysham, when Ursula is summoned to court. The queen will soon set out on a Royal Progress to Cambridge. But Sir William Cecil, the secretary of state, is worried. Some students plan to welcome the queen to Cambridge with a farcical playlet involving kidnapping and swords. Cecil can't stop the playlet but he can send Ursula as a harbinger to find out what's really happening. Her mission: dress as a cookmaid and obtain a job in Roland Jester's pie shop. The pie shop is a meeting place for students, and Roland and his brother, Cambridge tutor Giles Woodforde. may somehow be involved in the playlet. Working in a pie shop is a new experience for Ursula, but it's not the work that's disturbing. She hears students talking. She sees people whispering. Something sinister is indeed going on, and when a young student who is himself worried about the playlet dies in a suspicious fall just before he is to meet with Ursula, she knows that Cecil's fears are justified.

NLS RC 55853, DB 55853

It's 1568, and Mary, Queen of Scots, is Queen Elizabeth's captive. Forced to flee Scotland after her husband, Lord Darnley, dies mysteriously, Mary is now a "guest" at Bolton Castle in northern England, where she plots her escape and covertly pursues her claim to her cousin's crown.  Now, Elizabeth once again sends Ursula on a perilous and secret mission. She must carry a confidential message from Elizabeth to Mary, who is a woman of legendary charm and charisma. Will Ursula, too, fall under Mary's spell? Can Ursula trust Mary's promises? Did Mary have her husband killed? Ursula travels north with her young daughter, Meg, and her ward, Penelope Mason. Penelope has disgraced herself at Elizabeth's court, making advances to a married man, and now Ursula must take her young charge to the girl's Yorkshire estate  located conveniently close to Bolton Castle and Mary , and help her find a husband. Surrounded by possible traitors, Ursula must make difficult and poignant choices to serve her Queen and to save herself and those she loves.

NLS RC 59847, DB 59847

The Siren Queen
Author: Fiona Buckley Buy New: $25.0

Happily married and enjoying the life domestic, Ursula has her mind on family matters, not court treachery, as she begins to plan a betrothal for her young daughter Meg. When the powerful Duke of Norfolk extends an invitation for Ursula and her family to travel to London to meet Edmund Dean, a potential suitor, Ursula's hopes are quickly dashed: there is something in Dean's eyes that Ursula distrusts. Furthermore, she has also stumbled upon a rapidly accelerating plot closing in on her dear half-sister, Queen Elizabeth I, whom she is sworn to protect. When murder strikes the Duke's household, and a ciphered correspondence hints at the return of the deposed Mary, Queen of Scots, it's up to Ursula to keep the intrigue under wraps while racing to preserve the Queen's life.

NLS RC 61524, DB 61524

Elizabethan Theater Mysteries

Now cpmpllete and in order.

1587, and Mary, Queen of Scots, dies by the executioner's axe, her head, shorn of its auburn wig, rolling across the platform. Will her death end the ceaseless plotting against Mary's red-haired cousin, Elizabeth? 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, is a time of more terror and triumph, not just for queen and court but for the whole of England. The turmoil is reflected in its theatres and under the galleries of inns like London's The Queen's Head where Lord Westfield's Men perform. The scene there on grows even more tumultuous when one of the actors is murdered by a mysterious stranger during a brawl.
Nicholas Bracewell, the company's bookholder, a role far wider than mere producer, faces two immediate repercussions. The first is to secure a replacement acceptable to its temperamental star -- and chief shareholder -- Lawrence Firethorn. The second is to keep his promise to the dying Will Fowler and catch his killer.

A playwright dabbling in sorcery appears to have brought demonic visitations on the players.

Read review at That's All She Wrote

London is under siege by the Black Plague, closing its theaters and losing its frightened citizens to the countryside. Lord Westfield’s Men decide upon the relative safety of the road and a tour of the North. Before they can pack up and depart, one player in the troupe is murdered.

The celebrated Elizabethan theatre company known as Lord Westfield's Men is being scared nearly to death. Then when stage manager Nicolas Bracewell pulls a naked, mutilated corpse from the icy depths of the river Thames, he perceives the hand of a deadly enemy, and the terrifying shape of the future.

Owen Elias is a surly, envious Welshman, while Sebastian Carrick is an amiable and attractive gentleman. Their onstage duels become ever more realistic, but it is an axe that splits open Sebastian’s head one night in a Clerkenwell alley. Company book holder Nicholas Bracewell, used to damage control, begins to investigate the victim’s death and learns that in life, he was prone to make enemies from his weakness for women and his willingness to welch on debts.

When fire destroys their London theater, Lord Westfield's players must seek out humbler venues in the countryside. But company manager Nicholas Bracewell is distracted by a shocking tragedy: a mysterious messenger from his native Devon is murdered by poison.

One member of the popular London acting troupe has died. Their present production is a failure. Then an anonymous playwright hands company mainstay Nicholas Bracewell a chance for salvation: a new script that exposes a tragic miscarriage of justice in a murder case.

Jonas Applegarth is a brilliant but belligerent playwright. When his play, The Misfortunes of Marriage, is performed by Westfield’s Men, it causes an uproar. All of Applegarth’s enemies attack the company. Nicholas Bracewell defends the playwright loyally but Applegarth is then found hanged by the neck.

See review at That's All She Read

When plague strikes London, Lord Westfield's Men count themselves fortunate they've been invited to perform as part of the wedding celebrations for Sophia Magdalena, the fair maid of Bohemia. The long journey across Europe is a daunting prospect but stage manger Nicholas Bracewell is confident they will arrive safely, and confident the mission Lord Westfield sets them to deliver secret documents to Talbot Roydon, an English alchemist at the Imperial Court, will go without a hitch. En route, murder strikes one of the actors during their first performance at Flushing.

When the Privy Council decrees that all innyard theaters must close their doors, and only two playhouses may continue to give performances, Nicholas Bracewell and the theater company he manages face certain unemployment. Soon, however, an anonymous, powerful benefactress emerges to protect the vulnerable company. Revealing herself only to Bracewell, she promises to finance a new theater for his group. But soon after the foundations for the theater are laid, the enthusiasm of Lord Westfield's Men is destroyed when one of the troupe's rising stars is found murdered at the building site.

London is in the grip of an icy winter and Westfield's Men are out of work. Invited to perform at a manor house in Essex, they accept willingly even though the offer comes with two conditions: they must perform an entirely new play and agree to take a new apprentice, Davy Stratton, into the company. At first it seems as though Davy is a talented and eager addition to the theater troupe. However, he soon disrupts the group's camaraderie when he quarrels with the other apprentices and runs away on a reconnaissance trip to Essex.

Moll Comfrey is a bawdy basket, which means the comely young woman has something more illicit to sell than the small items she ferries. She’s also mixed up in murder.

When unexpected disaster strikes Lord Westfield's Men during a packed performance, Nicholas Bracewell, the theater company's stage manager and all around performer of miracles, must save the day once again. A melee caused by disguised men is brought under control, but before the troupe can lament their destroyed set Nick discovers a body in the stands with a knife sticking out of it's back.

Nicholas Bracewell, the book holder for the London theater troupe Westfield's Men, has a few problems on his hands. The troupe's playwright is ill, a gambler is making short work of many of the actors' salaries, and their costumes have gone missing. When Nicholas meets a pair of troubled con artists, steering them clear of murder is almost more than he can handle.

Westfield's Men are plagued by a series of practical jokes but, when one of their actors is murdered, the humor turns sour. Lawrence Firethorn, actor-manager, is stalked by a mysterious lady; the sole copy of The Malevolent Comedy, their new play, is stolen; a leading apprentice is abducted; and there is an attempt on the life of patron Lord Westfield.

Winter approaches and Westfield’s Men are out of work. When their widowed patron decides to marry again, he chooses a Danish bride with vague associations to the royal family. Since the wedding will take place in Elsinore, the troupe is invited to perform as guests of King Christian IV. One of the plays they select is The Princess of Denmark and it will prove a disastrous choice.

Simon Hawke

Two travelers, Will Shakespeare-a fledgling dramatist, and Symington Smythe, an ostler and aspiring thespian, meet at a roadside inn and decide to cast their lot together for fame and fortune in the cutthroat world of the London theater in Elizabethan England.

Will Shakespeare, Symington "Tuck" Smythe, and their band of thespian associates are contracted to provide entertainment at a rural estate as part of a large wedding pageant.  When the headstrong bride turns up dead, and overheard conversations contain conspiratorial plots against the families involved, Will and Tuck must once again pull double duty as thespians and sleuths.

Fledgling playwright Will Shakespeare and Symington Smythe, ostler and would-be thespian, are firmly ensconced in their theater company. But due to the plague, all of London’s theaters have been closed. The players are broke, and our intrepid duo must seek employment in other lines of work Smythe smithing and Will poeting. Then a murder rocks all of London. A handsome young craftsman kills a wealthy merchant trader in what was apparently an argument over the reputation of the traders daughter, a beautiful, dark lady to whom the craftsman was engaged.

Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta is all the rage on the London stage, and the young bard wishes to rise to the competition. With companion Tuck at his side, Will makes a sojourn for research purposes into the Elizabethan underworld, where contracts are blood bonds and the quality of mercy is stretched to its very limits. He becomes embroiled in a tangle of unlucky young lovers, anti-Semitism, and rogue justice.

In Elizabethan England, the time of Shakespeare, Marlowe and flourishing theatre culture, Nicholas Revill, actor in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and author Philip Gooden solve crimes.

Sleuth Sir Robert Carey, illegitimate grandson of Henry VIII, nephew of Elizabeth I.