Canterbury Tales Mysteries
6 primary works
Book 1
As the travellers gather in the Tabard Inn at the start of a pilgrimage to pray before the blessed bones of St Thomas à Becket in Canterbury, they agree eagerly to mine host Harry's suggestion of amusing themselves on each day of their journey with one tale and each evening with another - but the latter to be of mystery, terror and murder.
The Knight begins that evening: his tale opens with the destruction of a sinister cult at its stronghold in the wilds of Oxfordshire by Sir Hugo Mortimer during the reign of William the Conqueror, and then moves to Oxford some two hundred years later where strange crimes and terrible murders are being committed. The authorities seem powerless but Lady Constance, Abbess of the Convent of St Anne's, believes the murders are connected with the legends of the cult and she petitions the King for help.
As the murders continue unabated, special commissioner Sir Godfrey Evesden and royal clerk Alexander McBain uncover clues that lead to a macabre world sect, which worships the dark lord. But they can find no solution to a series of increasingly baffling questions and matters are not helped by the growing rift between Sir Godfrey and McBain for the hand and favour of the fair Lady Emily.
Book 2
Chaucer's pilgrims, quarrelling amongst themselves, are now in open countryside enjoying the fresh spring weather as they progress slowly towards Canterbury. A motley collection of travellers, they each have their dark secrets, hidden passions and complex lives. As they shelter in a tavern from a sudden April shower they choose the Man of Law to narrate the next tale of fear and sinister dealings.
In August 1358, the Dowager Queen Isabella, mother of King Edward III, the 'She Wolf of France', who betrayed and destroyed her husband because of her adulterous infatuation for Roger Mortimer, lies dying of the pestilence in the sombre fortress of Castle Rising, where her 'loving' son has kept her incarcerated. According the Man of Law, Isabella dies and her body is taken along the Mile End Road and laid to rest in Greyfriars next to the mangled remains of her lover, who has paid dearly for his presumption in loving a queen. Nevertheless, as in life so in death Isabella causes intrigue, violence and murder. Nicholas Chirke, an honest young lawyer, is brought in to investigate the strange events following her death - and quickly finds himself at his wits' end trying to resolve the mysteries before a great scandal unfolds.
Book 3
Chaucer's pilgrims are sheltering in a friary as they slowly wind their way towards Canterbury. As they settle for the night, away from the darkness outside and the shadowy figures that haunt the lanes and byways of medieval England, the Franklin narrates a mysterious, bloody tale - a true story, he suggests, which not only affects his own life, but the lives of some of his fellow pilgrims...
In 1356 the Black Prince has won his resounding victory at Poitiers. However, in that bloody fight, the impoverished knight Gilbert Savage received his death wound. As Gilbert lies dying in a ditch he tells his squire, Richard Greenele, that the story of his parents perishing during the plague is untrue. Richard, if he wishes to uncover what really happened, must travel to Colchester and seek out the lawyer Hugo Coticol who holds a sealed letter telling the truth of Richard's parentage and the dreadful secrets surrounding his father's disgraceful death.
This document contains a most macabre confession and Richard finds himself a small step closer to discovering the truth, and compelled to avenge his father's name.
Book 4
To escape an evil curse, a terrible price must be paid...
Paul Doherty relates the Priest's tale in Ghostly Murders - a tale of mystery and murder as he goes on pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and Susanna Gregory.
As Chaucer's pilgrims shelter in the ruins of a church, the poor Priest narrates his mysterious tale.
Young Philip Trumpington, the new Scawsby parish priest, finds that the old church harbours shocking secrets. Years earlier, some Templars were massacred on the marshes, their attackers led by Romenal, a former Scawsby vicar. Philip discovers the old church is haunted by 'The Watchers' and the villagers are scarred by a terrible curse. An ancient evil must be resolved and reparation made. But the price will be great...
What readers are saying about Canterbury Tales Mysteries:
'I found it a brilliant, mystifying tale and was hooked from beginning to end'
'Mr Doherty excels himself with this spine chilling medieval ghost story'
'Spellbinding'
Book 5
Even death itself cannot keep three witches at bay...
Paul Doherty relates the Carpenter's tale in The Hangman's Hymn - a tale of mystery and murder as he goes on pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and Susanna Gregory.
Stumbling upon an execution, Chaucer's pilgrims witness a hanging that leaves the carpenter in a dead faint. That evening, he narrates the tale of a Gloucester hangman whose involvement in the secretive punishment of three witches unleashes a vicious spate of revenge killings.
When homeless and jobless, Simon Cotterill joins a hangman's crew replacing a man who was himself sent to the gibbet, he feels rejected even by the desperate men he now works with. Until he learns the secret of how a hanged man can walk away from his own grave...
Meanwhile from the forest paths around Gloucester, young women are disappearing. When a disfigured corpse is found, the mayor suspects a coven of witches is preying on vulnerable souls, and arrests three hideous hags. Afraid the town's prosperity could suffer from a reputation for witchcraft, he holds a midnight trial that condemns the women. They are taken to be hanged. But the unearthly sounds of the forest at night frighten even the hangmen, and a violent storm drives them to seek shelter, leaving the witches swinging from the gibbet tree. The next morning their bodies are gone. Then, one by one, every person who took part in the trial is found dead, and Simon is forced into hiding to save his own life...
What readers are saying about Canterbury Tales Mysteries:
'Never fails to have me sitting up until way past my bed time wanting to know what happens next'
'You can almost feel yourself there'
'Spellbinding'
Book 6
