Michael Jecks

The knights templar They were warrior monks, dedicated to the protection of pilgrims in the Holy Land -- until an avaricious king savagely destroyed the order. One knight, however, escaped the stake, vowing justice for his murdered brothers. A gathering of evilWith scores of merchants streaming into Devon to participate in the Tavistock fair of 1319, a goodly amount of unlawful activity is expected. No one, however, anticipates a murder. The guests...

Simon and Baldwin must step into action once more. Devon, 1318. Peter Bruther flees his master Sir William Beauseyr, despite knowing it could earn him a brutal punishment. To escape said punishment, cunning Peter sets up as a tin miner on the moors so he is automatically in the protection of the king. When Simon Puttock informs Sir William that he has no legal claim on his wayward servant, the knight is furious, fearing an uprising amongst his other...

The town is a powder keg ready to explode... All it needs is a match. England, 1320. The threat of civil war lies heavily on the kingdom. The monk Ralph of Houndeslow is new to Crediton's leper hospital. He finds that not only are his charges appallingly ill, but bigotry means that they are all shunned by the people of the town. The citizens of Crediton are appalled when the goldsmith is found murdered, and his daughter assaulted. Sir Baldwin Furnshill...

Jack Blackjack is ordered to eliminate a spy in Princess Elizabeth's household in this engaging Tudor mystery. June, 1554. Former cutpurse and now professional assassin Jack Blackjack has deep misgivings about his latest assignment. He has been dispatched to the Palace of Woodstock, where Queen Mary's half-sister Princess Elizabeth is being kept under close guard. Jack's employer has reason to believe that a spy has been installed within the princess's...

Join this accidental sleuth, Nick Morris, in his first mystery in The Art of Murder series... Nick Morris is your classic struggling artist. He paints pet portraits to pay the bills but is always just one big commission away from a more comfortable life. Which is why he agrees to paint the reluctant, hot-tempered hotelier, Jason Robart. But Nick gets more than he bargained for when he finds Jason dead from a shotgun blast to the head in an apparent...

The tale of a journey that will shape the world for centuries to come... France, 1096. Crowds gather in Sens to hear the man known as the Hermit speak. He talks of a great pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a quest filled with promise for those Christian soldiers who march with him. Sybille knows the perils of the road ahead, but follow it she must. Her husband is a reckless gambler, easily swayed by the Hermit's words. For Odo, the pilgrimage provides the...

The discovery of a young girl's skeleton leads to Simon and Baldwin's darkest investigation yet... As the summer of 1322 brings sun to the Devonshire countryside, it seems that the small village of Sticklepath is destined to remain in gloom. Two playmates uncover the body of a young girl up on the moors. The body is that of Aline, the ten-year-old daughter of Swetricus, who went missing six years ago. Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace,...

When the devil comes calling, all you can do is pray. Amidst the myth and folklore of Tavistock, one tale above all others strikes fear into the hearts of the town's inhabitants - that of the murders on the Abbot's Way. A young acolyte paid the price for stealing his abbot's wine when the devil himself led him to his death on the treacherous Devon moors. Now, in the autumn of 1322, it looks as though history may be repeating itself. Abbot Robert...

When a Knight Templar is murdered, things get personal for Baldwin.. On their way to a feast, Sir Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock find the murdered corpse of Sir Gilbert, a Knight Templar and old comrade of Baldwin's. The situation is confounded when a decapitated body is found. Baldwin and Simon's suspicions that the two deaths are linked seem to be justified when Baldwin himself is attacked. Baldwin and Simon find themselves caught up...

Londoner Jack Blackjack finds himself a stranger in a strange land when he's accused of murder in rural Devon in this eventful Tudor mystery. July, 1556. En route to France and escape from Queen Mary's men, Jack Blackjack decides to spend the night at a Devon tavern, agrees to a game of dice – and ends up accused of murder. To make matters worse, the dead man turns out to have been the leader of the all-powerful miners who rule the surrounding...