Owen Archer

10 primary works • 11 total works

The Apothecary Rose

by Candace Robb

Published 11 July 1994

It is the year of our Lord 1363. And in the cathedral city of York people are dying in mysterious circumstances. But there seems to be a common thread - the herbal remedies dispensed by Nicholas Wilton, Master Apothecary. The first victim is an anonymous pilgrim. But when a highborn nobleman dies after taking the same potion the authorities decide to act.

Dispatched to York, in disguise, to unravel the mystery, Owen Archer, former Captain of Archers, apprentices himself to the Apothecary. But it is from Wilton's beautiful wife Lucie that he must learn the arcane secrets of the trade. Slowly but surely Owen begins to uncover the truth. And when the deaths continue he realises to his horror he must count Lucie among the suspects.

The Lady Chapel

by Candace Robb

Published 14 November 1994

High summer in the year of our Lord 1365, and Owen Archer finds himself once again called upon by Archbishop Thoresby to exercise his skills as detective. While York celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi, a man is murdered in the shadow of the Minster, his right hand severed. All the evidence points to a wool merchant last seen quarrelling with the dead man. But a complex web of rivalries surrounds the wool traders, and Owen is unsure where to turn first. His only witness is a young boy, his only suspect a mysterious hooded woman - and neither can be found. With Thoresby preoccupied at Windsor with the King, Owen is under intense pressure to solve the case - but he soon finds himself ensnared in a plot devised by very powerful masters.

The Nun's Tale

by Candace Robb

Published 17 May 1995

When a young nun dies of a fever in the town of Beverley in the summer of 1365, she is buried quickly for fear of the plague. But one year later a woman appears, talking of relic-trading and miracles. She claims to be the dead nun resurrected. Murder follows swiftly in her wake, and the worried Archbishop of York asks Owen Archer to investigate.

Travelling to Leeds and Scarborough to unearth clues, Owen finds only a trail of corpses, until a meeting with Geoffrey Chaucer, spy for King Edward, links the nun with mercenary soldiers and the powerful Percy family. Meanwhile, in York, the apothecary Lucie Wilton has won the mysterious woman's confidence. But the troubled secrets which start to emerge will endanger them all...

King's Bishop

by Candace Robb

Published 15 April 1996

Medieval York is brought to life by Candace Robb in this suspense laden and spellbinding murder mystery. If you like Ellis Peters, S J Parris, Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell, you will love this!

'A superb medieval mystery, thoroughly grounded in historical fact' -- Booklist
'A vivid portrait of 14th-century England which gives us a hero who is cunning and capable, whether navigating the Court of the open moors' -- Time Out
'A complex and ambiguous tale... Robb continues to adeptly blend politics with period detail and three-dimensional characterisation' -- Publishers Weekly
'An exceptional historical medieval murder mystery' -- ***** Reader review
'A good yarn, well crafted and suitably complex' -- ***** Reader review
'Candace Robb thorough research shows in this really gripping tale. I think Owen Archer is the best thing since sliced bread. Gorgeous!!!' -- ***** Reader review
'The complexity of the characters in this book has me hooked. I am so invested in Owen's process. I love the setting, the historic aspect, the religious aspect...it's great. I'm definitely invested.' -- ***** Reader review

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WHO CAN YOU REALLY TRUST?

March 1367: King Edward is impatient. He wants William of Wykeham confirmed as Bishop of Winchester, but Pope Urban V is stalling, deterred by the man's wealth and political ambition.

Thus Owen Archer finds himself heading a deputation from York to Fountains Abbey, to win support for Wykeham from the powerful Cistercian abbots. Ignoring advice, he places his old comrade Ned Townley in charge of the fellow company to Rievaulx, hoping to dispel rumours of Ned's involvement in a mysterious death.

But just days out of York trouble erupts: a friar and Ned both vanish, following news of murder at Windsor. Owen asks John Thoresby, at Court in his role as Lord Chancellor, for help, little knowing it will involve him with the King's mistress, Alice Perrers, ever a dangerous enemy...

Can Archer extricate himself from a web of deceit and mystery in order to reveal the truth?

The Riddle of St. Leonard's

by Candace Robb

Published 12 May 1997

Anno Domini 1369. The much loved Queen Philippa lies dying at Windsor, and the plague has returned to the city of York. In an atmosphere of fear and superstition, rumours spread that a spate of deaths at St Leonard's Hospital in York is no accident. The hospital is in debt and has suffered thefts: Sir Richard de Ravenser, Master of the Hospital, returns from Winchester painfully aware that scandal could ruin his own career. Anxious to avert a crisis, he requests the services of Owen Archer, spy for the Archbishop.

With plague rife and the city's inhabitants besieging his wife, the Apothecary, for new cures, Owen Archer is unwilling to become involved. There is too little to link the victims to each other: the riddle seems unsolvable. But careful enquiries reveal a further riddle, connected to one of the victims. Is this where the truth lies?

A Gift of Sanctuary

by Candace Robb

Published 5 November 1998

Through the wet spring of 1369 a pilgrimage wends its way to the sacred city of St David's. Owen Archer, ex-soldier and sometime spy, accompanies the party to recruit archers for the Duke of Lancaster, who prepares to fight the French. But he and Geoffrey Chaucer have another, covert, mission: to ascertain whether the Duke's steward at Cydweli is betraying him to Welsh rebels.

Trouble precedes them: a body in the Duke's livery is left at the city gates. And when Owen rides on to Cydweli he finds the household of the steward and his beautiful young wife rocked by the theft of money from the exchequer and riven by tension, culminating in another violent attack. He must work fast to investigate charges of treachery, infidelity and murder if he is to prevent further deaths.

Political skullduggery, passion and ambition clash in this intriguing, evocative and compelling novel which vividly conjures up the medieval world.

A Spy for the Redeemer

by Candace Robb

Published 4 November 1999

Early summer 1371, and Owen Archer, originally in Wales on political duties, has been unable to leave, delayed by the death of his father-in-law. While trying to arrange safe passage to York, he learns of the death of a stonemason working for him. The shadow of suspicion falls on the family he was to sail with and his hopes of departure fade. He encounters an old acquaintance, Martin Wirthir, a mercenary. Wirthir wants Owen to work for the infamous Owain Lawgoch, would-be Redeemer of Wales, and to bring his family to Wales, escaping from the control of the Archbishop of York. Meanwhile, Owen's wife Lucie, York's Apothecary, is disheartened by her husband's long absence and distraught to learn of her father's death. When her father's manor is brutally attacked, Lucie hires an unknown stranger as steward. But is he trustworthy? Or is he part of the political struggle unfolding in York's midst?

The Cross-legged Knight

by Candace Robb

Published 7 March 2002

England 1371. A solemn procession winds out of York Minster, after the funeral of Sir Ranulf Pagnell, patriarch of a powerful Yorkshire family, William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, escorted the knight's remains north after his death in France, but he is shunned by the family. They hold him responsible for failing to negotiate the Sir Ranulf's ransom. Only a few days later, Wykeham's townhouse is found ablaze. The bishop has been staying with John Thoresby, Archbishop of York and is safe. But when the body of a young woman is discovered in the undercroft, scandal threatens. Owen Archer is troubled. Was the fire an accident or arson? Was the woman left there to die or the fire intended to conceal her body? Stationing guards in front of the smouldering remains, he starts asking questions. When the dead woman is identified as a midwife known to many of the city's women, there is a flurry of panic. Owen has much to do if he is to discover who killed her - and why.

The Guilt of Innocents

by Candace Robb

Published 4 January 2007

It is winter 1372, York. A man has drowned in the River Ouse after a skirmish with boys from St Peter's School. It soon becomes clear that his death was not an accident - but why would a humble pilot on the river be killed for possessing a young boy's purse? Suspicion falls on Father Nicholas Ferriby - Vicar of Weston and master of a small grammar school - who has already offended many with his unpopular beliefs. But is he really a murderer? One-eyed spy, Owen Archer, Captain of Archbishop Thoresby's guard and noted for solving many crimes, is quickly brought to the scene by his adoptive son, Jasper. Clear that the pilot has been killed for more than a purse, an increasingly cantankerous Thoresby reluctantly agrees to let Owen investigate the man's murder. Torn between solving the crime and looking after his wife, Lucie, who is expecting their long-awaited third child, Owen is soon taken away from home. When another body is found in the river and Owen and Jasper get nearer to the truth, they find their own lives in jeopardy...

A Vigil of Spies

by Candace Robb

Published 3 January 2008

At Bishopthorpe Palace, York, in September 1373, John Thoresby, the Archbishop of York, lies dying. One of the most powerful men in the country, his imminent demise has the influential families of the north vying to influence his succession. Owen Archer, Thoresby's master of the guards, is one of the few men Thoresby trusts. He is determined to ensure that his lord's last days are as peaceful as possible, but his plans are thrown into disarray when Thoresby agrees to a visit from Joan, Princess of Wales, wife of the Black Prince and mother of the young heir to the throne of England. She has come to seek the great man's advice before it is too late. Owen resolves to do his duty, but within minutes of Joan's arrival things go disastrously wrong when a member of the royal party is murdered.Then, only days later, a messenger carrying urgent letters for Thoresby is found hanging in the woods. Soon, the shadow of suspicion falls on the whole household. And as Owen races against time to find the murderer amongst them, he starts to realise that not only has one of his own men been compromised but all their lives are now in danger.

The Bone Jar

by Candace Robb

Published 3 April 2016