A Crowner John Mystery Series

Coroner Sir John chases down a serial killer with a taste for Biblical justice in this suspenseful instalment in the Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. 1195. County coroner Sir John de Wolfe is summoned to inspect a corpse in Exeter’s cathedral precinct. Money-lender Aaron of Salisbury has been found dead, his head enveloped in a brown leather money-bag, a scrap of folded parchment clutched in his hand. On it is written: ‘And Jesus went into the temple and overthrew the tables of the money-changers.’ This is just the beginning of a strange series of murders in which an apt biblical text is left at the scene of the crime. Setting out to track down a literate and Bible-learned killer in an age when only one percent of the population can read or write, Sir John quickly deduces that he is looking for a priest. But with over twenty-five parish churches in Exeter, the pool of suspects includes more than a hundred clerics – and if Sir John doesn’t act fast, the homicidal clergyman may soon strike again . . .

Who would dare kill one of the king’s foresters? Coroner Sir John investigates in this characterful instalment in the Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. Devon, 1195. A tall, brown mare gallops into the sleepy village of Sigford, its rider dragged by the stirrup, the broken shaft of an arrow protruding from his back. The embroidered badge on the dead man’s tunic identifies him as a senior officer of the Royal Forest – a team of men tasked with upholding the harsh laws that prevent everyone but the king from hunting in England’s forests. The punishment for killing a deer on the king’s land is mutilation . . . or death. With plenty of money still in the victim’s purse, it’s clear that robbery isn’t the motive. But what is? When a second forest officer is violently attacked, county coroner Sir John de Wolfe begins to uncover evidence of a sinister conspiracy. And to his deep suspicion, his unscrupulous brother-in-law, the sheriff Sir Richard de Revelle, seems to be taking an unusual interest in the case . . .

Coroner Sir John investigates an alleged murder by witchcraft in this page-turning instalment in the Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. Exeter, 1195. When a prominent guild-master falls dead across his horse, county coroner Sir John de Wolfe declines to hold an inquest. The man had been complaining of chest pains, and Sir John believes it a clear-cut case of death from natural causes. But events take a sinister turn when a straw doll is discovered hidden under the dead man’s saddle, a thin metal spike piercing its heart. Convinced her husband’s death was caused by an evil spell, the victim’s strident widow begins a campaign against witchcraft and the so-called ‘cunning women’ who practise it. Soon Exeter is in turmoil, a hysterical mob has formed and several local women are in danger. Still the coroner refuses to get involved – until his mistress is accused of witchcraft. If Crowner John can’t discover the real cause of the merchant’s death and unearth the culprit quickly, his beloved Nesta may soon swing from the hangman’s noose . . .

Coroner Sir John gets mixed up in alchemy in this twisty instalment in the Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. 1195. Prince John plots to seize the throne from his brother, Richard the Lionheart – and he is supported in his wicked schemes by King Philip of France, who offers to help John financially by sending him a mysterious alchemist, a Mohammedan named Nizam, who claims to be able to transmute base metals into gold. But Nizam never makes it England alive. The ship transporting him and his retainers to the Devon tin mines is found wrecked off the south Devon coast, its crew savagely slaughtered. And shortly afterwards, Sir Peter le Calve, a Norman knight living near Exeter, is also found foully murdered, his head stuck on the rood screen of the cathedral. It's up to Sir John de Wolfe, the county coroner, to find a motive and connection between the killings – and it’s clear that his unscrupulous brother-in-law, the disgraced ex-sheriff and known Prince John-sympathiser, Richard de Revelle, has something to hide . . .

Coroner Sir John investigates the murder of a man with too many enemies to count in this pacey, twisty instalment in the Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. Exeter, 1195. High-spirited young knights, drunken squires, pickpockets and horse thieves are pouring into the city for an exciting one-day jousting tournament. Not even a serious altercation between Sir Hugo Peverel, a manor lord from nearby Tiverton, and a mysterious Frenchman, Reginald de Charterai, can spoil the fun. Two days later, however, Sir Hugo’s body is found in a barn, stabbed in the back. De Charterai seems the obvious culprit, but the county coroner, Sir John de Wolfe, soon discovers there’s no shortage of people who wished the almost universally hated Hugo dead. All three of his brothers have a motive: two for his title, and one for Hugo’s attractive young wife, Beatrice. Mistreated Beatrice had good reason herself to despatch her cheating husband – as did several prominent villagers whose lives Hugo ruined. With so many suspects to choose from, Sir John is confronted with one of the most difficult cases of his distinguished career.

Coroner Sir John is caught up in a seafaring conspiracy in this entertaining instalment in the Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. 1196. When an unidentified body is discovered in the harbour town of Axmouth, twenty miles from Exeter, Sir John de Wolfe, the county coroner, is summoned to investigate. The manner of the young man's death is a matter of some dispute – but, as Sir John soon discovers, it was no accident. The victim did not drown, as the manor reeve alleges, but was strangled to death. In the ensuing murder investigation, Sir John is frustrated by what appears to be a conspiracy of silence among the seamen and townsfolk. Just what is the local population trying to hide? It soon becomes clear that some of Axmouth’s inhabitants will go to any lengths to ensure the shocking truth behind the death remains hidden. Sir John will need to muster all his courage, cunning and determination if he is to escape from the town alive . . .

Coroner Sir John investigates a returning crusader forced to live as an outlaw in this engaging instalment in the Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. Exeter, 1195. Renovations at a school in Smythen Street are disrupted by the shocking discovery of a partially mummified corpse hidden in the rafters, and county coroner Sir John de Wolfe is called in to investigate. Richard de Revelle, the school’s owner – and Sir John’s much-disliked brother-in-law – immediately points the finger at Nicholas de Arundell, an outlawed Cornish knight who now lives rough in the wilds of Dartmoor. As Sir John discovers, Nicholas has a good reason to bear a grudge against his unscrupulous brother-in-law, but is he really a killer? And if so, who exactly is it that he’s killed? The coroner begins to investigate, but then comes news of a second violent death. All signs point to the ‘noble outlaw’ as the culprit – but if Sir John’s to solve the case, he’ll need to find him first . . .

How a humble Devon knight became a king’s coroner: the thrilling prequel to the perennially popular Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. 1192. At the end of the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart, King of England, sets sail for home from the Holy Land. Sir John de Wolfe, a Devon knight, is part of the king’s small bodyguard on that ill-fated voyage – and during the journey, Sir John’s loyalty to the monarch is tested to the limit. On his return, Sir John finds England simmering with rebellion. Richard’s younger brother John has used the king’s absence to plot to seize the throne, and the country is a hotbed of unrest. Discovering a body washed up on the shores of the River Exe, its throat cut, Sir John deduces from the device etched on the victim’s signet ring that he was a king’s courier. Tasked by Sir Hubert Walter, the Chief Justiciar, to find out why the man died and who killed him, de Wolfe finds himself drawn unwillingly into affairs of state. His new career as a king’s coroner is about to begin . . .