An Aelf Fen Mystery
7 primary works • 11 total works
Book 1
Book 2
On Ely Island, the Normans are proclaiming their authority with a magnificent cathedral. Its construction means the Saxon chapel dedicated to St Etheldreda must be destroyed and, to those who revere her memory, this amounts to sacrilege.
When Morcar, fishing for eels, is attacked and left for dead, his cousin Lassair is sent to nurse him. He tells a frightening tale of assassins in the dark and a brief vision of horror. Then the killers strike again . . .
Lassair realizes more is involved than random violence against the eel catchers. The secret hidden within the walls of Ely Abbey claims more victims and, as she comes face to face with the brutality of the past, Lassair is forced to face a challenge that she fears is far beyond her . . .
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Apprentice healer Lassair encounters a mysterious veiled noblewoman who brings unexpected peril
When Lassair encounters a veiled noblewoman on the quay at Cambridge one morning, set on by an angry mob, she assumes involvement with her will be brief. She has no idea that the woman, alone but for her infant child, brings both mystery and peril. Then a devastating flood hits the fens, and among the wreckage and debris washed up at Aelf Fen is a body; Lassair, in the company of a sheriff's officer, wonders if she is dealing with murder . . .
Meanwhile, in the south, Lassair's partner Rollo is moving with relief towards the conclusion of his mission for King William in the Holy Land. But then disaster strikes, and, with the mighty forces of an emperor on his heels, abruptly he turns from hunter to hunted. In order to escape alive, he risks help from a stranger, and embarks on a voyage that turns out to be far more dangerous than he could ever have imagined.
Book 6
Apprentice healer Lassair encounters a mysterious veiled noblewoman who brings unexpected peril
When Lassair encounters a veiled noblewoman on the quay at Cambridge one morning, set on by an angry mob, she assumes involvement with her will be brief. She has no idea that the woman, alone but for her infant child, brings both mystery and peril. Then a devastating flood hits the fens, and among the wreckage and debris washed up at Aelf Fen is a body; Lassair, in the company of a sheriff's officer, wonders if she is dealing with murder . . .
Meanwhile, in the south, Lassair's partner Rollo is moving with relief towards the conclusion of his mission for King William in the Holy Land. But then disaster strikes, and, with the mighty forces of an emperor on his heels, abruptly he turns from hunter to hunted. In order to escape alive, he risks help from a stranger, and embarks on a voyage that turns out to be far more dangerous than he could ever have imagined.
Book 7
Called out to attend a body found on a lonely stretch of river bank, its throat torn out, apprentice healer Lassair is sceptical of the sheriff's verdict that this was the result of a wild animal attack. But when a second body is discovered, similarly mutilated, rumours engulf the town that the legendary demon known as the Night Wanderer has returned to wreak havoc.
Determined to stop the fear spreading and prove that the killer is human, Lassair and lawman Jack Chevestrier investigate. If they could only find out what links the victims, they would be one step closer to discovering the Night Wanderer's identity - and what it is he really wants. But when the killer turns his sights on Lassair herself, can she survive long enough to find out?
October, 1093. Two young men have been brutally beaten to death; a third viciously attacked. All three men are of similar appearance. But could there be another connection?
Lassair meanwhile has agreed to accompany her former lover Rollo on a perilous journey north in search of King William. On their trail is a skilled, relentless and ruthless assassin. Who is he - and why has he targeted Rollo? If they are to survive, the hunted must become the hunters: Rollo and Lassair must lure their pursuer to the treacherous fenland terrain Lassair knows so well and turn the tables on their would-be killer.
Apprentice healer Lassair uncovers the secrets of the mysterious City of Pearl in the compelling new Aelf Fen medieval mystery.
October, 1093. At her mentor's urgent request, Lassair is accompanying Gurdyman across the sea to Spain. But why is he so insistent on embarking on this difficult and dangerous journey just as winter approaches? And why does he seem so afraid? Could there be any connection to the vagrant found lying dead outside his home, a single pearl clutched in his outstretched hand?
As the pair reach the remote mountainous regions of northern Spain, Lassair will be tested as never before. Hot on her trail is Jack Chevestrier, the young lawman who loves her. But who is it who's trying to kill him ... and why?
Why did a sweet-natured and loveable little seamstress have to die? Did a lover kill her to keep a dangerous secret? Soon suspicion creeps uncomfortably close to home, pointing at the strange brother of the exotic foreign girl who is about to become Lassair's sister-in-law. Taken to Cambridge to meet an extraordinary man, Lassair learns more about the dead girl's past, and she believes she is beginning to understand.
Then another body is found and Lassair is filled with a dreadful suspicion. And who is responsible for the eerie, unearthly singing that she hears as night falls?
Healer Lassair returns to England and uncovers a secret that puts the lives of everyone she knows in grave danger, in the final Aelf Fen medieval mystery.
It is the summer of 1100, and after seven long years away in Spain, Lassair is finally going home. Back to her beloved mentor Gurdyman. Back to her family. And back to young lawman Jack Chevestrier, who Lassair hopes still carries the same deep feelings for her as she does for him.
Before she can reunite with her loved ones, however, Lassair has a long-overdue task to perform. Old flame - and king's spy - Rollo Guiscard left her a chest before he died, and it is finally time for her to collect it. But the chest contains more than gold, and soon Lassair is caught up in a web of danger and deception that threatens not just her own life, but the lives of everyone she holds dear.
And this is not the only peril Lassair must face. For although she's left the south behind her forever, the south is not done with her yet . . .
Gripping, tense and moving, the last installment of the Aelf Fen series provides both a twisty and compelling historical murder mystery and a hugely satisfying end to Lassair's story, which began over a decade ago with OUT OF THE DAWN LIGHT.