Knights Templar Mysteries (Avon)
5 total works
It is 1319. Tavistock's fair has drawn merchants to Devon from all over England and beyond. Although the influx of visitors and their money puts temptation in the way of cut-purses and other villains, no one expects a murder. So butcher Will Ruby is shocked to discover a headless corpse. Former Knight Templar Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and Simon Puttock, Bailiff of Lydford, have just arrived in Tavistock as guests of Abbot Robert Champeaux when the body is found. When the Abbot asks Simon and Baldwin to investigate, they can hardly refuse. But with an unidentifiable victim, they're badly hampered in their inquiries. Can Simon and Baldwin unravel the complex web of intrigue that has brought death to Tavistock, as the undercurrent of anger and violence that lies beneath the bustling activity of the fair grows ever fiercer?
It is 1320 and civil war is looming as Ralph of Houndeslow rides into Crediton. Ralph faces a daunting task as Master of St Lawrence's, the leper hospital. Not only are his charges grievously ill, they are also outcasts of society, shunned by all healthy folk. The citizens of Crediton have other concerns. The murder of Godfrey of London and the assault on his daughter Cecily, for instance, crimes all to easily attributed to the conman and womaniser John of Irlaunde. Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, is not convinced that John is the culprit, and soon his is following other leads, assisted by Bailiff Simon Puttock. But only when they discover the identity of the man overheard talking to Cecily before the attack will the astounding truth begin to emerge. Meanwhile, feeling against the lepers is growing, fed by rumours deliberately spread. Unless the burghers of Crediton can be made to see reason, Baldwin and Simon could have full-scale slaughter on their hands.
In fourteenth-century Devon, runaway villeins were brutally punished if apprehended by their masters. But when Peter Bruther flees the home of Sir William Beauscyr, he puts himself in the protection of the king by setting up as a tin miner on the moors. And the bailiff of Lydford, Simon Puttock, has to inform an irate Sir William that he has no legal claim on his wayward servant. When Bruther's body is found hanging from a tree, Simon, assisted by the former Knight Templar Sir Baldwin Furnshill, finds himself investigating cold-blooded murder. And there's no shortage of suspects, from Sir William himself, to his feuding sons, to Thomas Smyth, a wealthy tinner who runs a ruthlessly enforced protection racket funded by landowners. The pressure is on Simon and Baldwin to unravel the truth before further violence ensues.
Midwife and healer Agatha Kyteler is regarded as a witch by the superstitious villagers of Wefford, yet she has no shortage of callers, from the humblest villein to the most elegant and wealthy in the area. But when Agatha's body is found frozen and mutilated in a hedge one wintry morning, there seems to be no clues as to who could be responsible. Not until a local youth runs away and a hue and cry is raised. Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, is not convinced of the youth's guilt and soon manages to persuade his close friend Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford Castle, to help him continue with the investigation. As they endeavour to find the true culprit, the darker side of the village, with its suspicion and jealousy, emerges. And what is driving the young foreigner, son of a nobleman, to disappear down towards the moors?
The Devonshire town of Crediton is awaiting an important guest, the Bishop of Exeter. But a band of mercenary soldiers is already in residence, and though mercenaries are a common sight in the fourteenth century, these men are bent on havoc. They terrify travellers, show no respect to anyone and there's a rumour a local girl has been seduced by their leader. The bishop's visit could be ruined...Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford, and Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, reluctantly attend the bishop's welcome dinner and are relieved when a disturbance interrupts the meal. They are less pleased, though, when they discover there's been a robbery amongst the mercenaries. And then a young girl is discovered murdered, hidden in a chest. The Crediton killings have begun...