Medieval Mystery Fiction

Paris, 1393. A masquerade ball at the palace ends in tragedy, with four revelers burned to death. Was it an accident...or did someone deliberately hurl a flaming torch at the dancers? Convinced it was an act of murder and that the king himself was the real target, Queen Isabeau has asked Christine de Pizan to spend time at court in an attempt to uncover the identity of the would-be assassin.

1579, St Andrews. A thirteen-year-old boy meets his death on the streets of the university city of St Andrews, and suspicion falls upon one of the regents at the university, Nicholas Colp. Hew Cullan, a young lawyer recently returned home from Paris, uncovers a complex tale of passion and duplicity, of sexual desire in conflict with the repressive atmosphere of the Protestant Kirk and the austerity of the academic cloister.

1266. Eleanor of Castile, adored wife of the Crown Prince of England, is still only a princess when she is held hostage in the brutal Baron's Rebellion and her baby daughter dies. Scarred by privation, a bitter Eleanor swears revenge on those who would harm her family - and vows never to let herself be vulnerable again. As she rises to become queen, Eleanor keeps Olwen - a trusted herbalist, who tried to save her daughter - by her side. But it is dangerous to be friendless in a royal household.

Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock have been granted leave to go on pilgrimage. Together they travel across Europe to Portugal, but danger seems to follow them, as they are among the first on the scene when a beautiful young girl is found brutally raped and murdered on the hillside of Santiago de Compostela. Baldwin and Simon lend their investigative skills to the ensuing enquiry headed by the local pesquisidore, Munio.

In 1483, Edward and Richard of York—Edward, by law, already King of England—were placed, for their protection before Edward's coronation, in the Tower of London by their uncle Richard. Within months the boys disappeared without a trace, and for the next five hundred years the despised Richard III was suspected of their heartless murders.

In To the Tower Born, Robin Maxwell ingeniously imagines what might have happened to the missing princes.

Welches Geheimnis hütet die Burg in der Eifel? Jerusalem, 1148. Drei Männer teilen nach erfolgreichem Kreuzzug ihre Beute. Im Angesicht eines magischen Kruzifixes schließen sie einen Pakt: sich und die Ihren auf ewig zu schützen. Zweihundert Jahre später: Wegen einer drohenden Fehde wird Elisabeth von Küneburg in die Obhut von Freunden geschickt. Sie genießt das Leben dort – doch dann bricht die Pest aus. Ihr Onkel Dietrich nutzt die Wirren, um die elterliche Burg einzunehmen. Er setzt alles daran, seinen Sohn, den düsteren Albrecht, so schnell wie möglich mit ihr zu vermählen.

In 1066, 16-year-old Saxon Cerdic lives with his elder brother, Unferth, and his father, Rothgar, Earl of Ripon, in Swaledale. As the younger brother, he studies for the priesthood while Unferth trains to take on the mantle of earl one day. When news arrives that the King of Norway, Harald Hardraada, is invading northern England with the treacherous Tostig Godwinson, Earl Rothgar joins the northern nobles to repel them.

Im Frühling des Jahres 1550 kehrt die schwangere "Lebenspflückerin" Hiske an der Seite ihres Mannes, des Arztes Jan Valkensteyn, nach Jever zurück. Ihre alte Freundin, die Duuvke Anneke Hollander, fürchtet um ihr Leben, weil sie Augenzeugin eines Mordes geworden ist. Kurz vor dem Eintreffen der beiden wird noch ein weiterer Mann tot aufgefunden. Besteht am Ende ein Zusammenhang zwischen den Morden und der beständig voranschreitenden Reformation? Das Jeverland ist schließlich dem katholischen Kaiser als burgundisches Lehen verpflichtet.

Der lang erwartete dritte Teil der "Lebenspflückerin"-Trilogie Ostfriesland 1549 - Der harte Winter will kein Ende finden, die Herrlichkeit Gödens ist seit Wochen von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Da taucht vor der Tür der Hebamme Hiske Aalken eine völlig entkräftete Frau auf, die behauptet, Hinrich Krechting, der ehemalige Münsteraner Täuferführer aus Münster, der in Gödens Zuflucht gefunden hat, habe vor Jahren ihren Vater ermordet. Sie bittet Hiske um Hilfe, doch der widerstrebt es, sich gegen ihren Ziehvater zu stellen.

The narrow, stinking streets of medieval London can sometimes be a dark place. Burglary, arson, kidnapping, and murder are everyday events. The streets even echo with rumors of the mysterious art of alchemy being used to make gold for the king. Join Seb, a talented but crippled artist, as he is drawn into a web of lies to save his handsome brother from the hangman's rope. Will he find an inner strength in these, the darkest of times, or will events outside his control overwhelm him? Only one thing is certain - if Seb can't save his brother, nobody can.

It is 1665 and the women of Eyam village keep many secrets. Especially Isabel and Mae. Isabel Frith, the village midwife, walks a dangerous line with her herbs and remedies. There are men in the village who speak of witchcraft, and Isabel has a past to hide. So she tells nobody her fears about the pious, reclusive apothecary, on whom she is keeping a watchful eye. Mae, the apothecary’s youngest daughter, dreads her father’s rage if he discovers what she keeps from him: her feelings for Rafe, Isabel’s ward, or the fact that she studies from her father’s books at night.

Året är 1346 och Sveriges kung Magnus Eriksson reser mot Skåne för ett betydelsefullt bröllop som ska stärka freden mellan Sverige och Danmark. Kungen är ovetande om att en grupp svenska adelsmän planerar ett blodigt uppror. Kvar på Stockholms slott är drottning Blanche och de två prinsarna. Adelsman Lars Karlsson slits mellan sina lojaliteter - ska han följa sina vänner i förräderiet, eller ska han värna den oskyldiga drottningens och barnens liv? "Blodbokens tid" är en trilogi fylld av spänning, maktkamp och het romantik.

Nella notte del 10/11/1075 D.C., alle Laudi l'Abate Desiderio viene svegliato dalle grida del suo pupillo, Oderisio. Precipitatosi in Biblioteca, davanti ai suoi occhi si presenta la macabra scena di un Frate assassinato in maniera spietata. Ma quel tragico avvenimento sarà solo l'inizio della fine. Il giorno dopo un altro Frate viene barbaramente ucciso, mentre un misterioso forestiero trovato in fin di vita davanti all'Abbazia. I delitti sembrano ruotare attorno a delle frasi di Platone; fino a quando non entra in scena, una ragazza. L'Abbazia piomba nello sconforto e nelle tenebre.

Köln, 1423. Aleydis de Bruinker ist noch nicht lange mit dem lombardischen Geldverleiher Nicolai Golatti verheiratet, als dieser unter mysteriösen Umständen zu Tode kommt. Man findet ihn erhängt - hat er sich das Leben genommen? Aleydis will das nicht glauben. Und tatsächlich: Sie entdeckt Male, die auf einen Mord hinweisen. Potentielle Täter gibt es genug, Golatti hatte viele Feinde. Die junge Witwe stellt Nachforschungen an. Zu Hilfe kommt ihr dabei ausgerechnet Gewaltrichter Vinzenz van Cleve, dessen Vater der größte Konkurrent Golattis war.

Oswald de Lacy, Lord of Somershill, sits at his mother's deathbed. Before she dies, he must make a confession. He needs to tell of the days when he was 18 years old, the third, disregarded son of the family, sent off to become a monk, working in the infirmary while plague raged outside the monastery. Of how he was sent to a nearby village and witnessed the death of a local girl, and how he swore to investigate...and how he was drawn into a crime so dark and terrifying, it haunts him - and his family - still.

Medieval England Spring, 998 AD. Brother Galen of Yarmwick is desperate to return to friend and family. So after the triumphal unveiling of the king’s gem encrusted Book of Hours, he’s ready to rush home. But just as he thinks life will go back to normal, the Bishop of Crowland orders Galen to accompany him to Rome. Galen thought the journey to Lundenburh was gruelling. How will he face an epic voyage of thousands of miles?

Virginia Henley's historical romances have won praise for their ability to "illuminate and entertain" ( Publishers Weekly). It is 1322, and the Marcher lords are rebelling against King Edward II. Lady Brianna de Beauchamp, daughter of a powerful Marcher, knows she should not involve herself in the battle. But when she meets dangerously handsome Wolf Mortimer, who has the gift of second sight, she cannot deny her passions.

When Valeria Karjan's hand was given in marriage to the handsome and powerful Count Vlad Dracula, she dreamed of happiness but, instead, her life was filled with longing for her absent husband, their country ravaged by war. When Vlad a last returned from the battlefield, he was a changed man, an alluring and dangerous creature with a thirst for her blood...and more wives.

London, 1471. The War of the Roses rages on. Edward of York has claimed the English throne, and his Yorkist supporters gleefully slaughter their adversaries; there's no mercy for anyone who supported the Lancastrian cause. Margaret Beaufort - mother of Henry Tudor, the only hope for the House of Lancaster - knows her enemies are closing in. Desperate for help, she turns to Christopher Urswicke for protection. But when ruthless scheming and pitiless killings are the only routes to survival, Urswicke will have to choose where his loyalties truly lie.

Ein Serienmörder treibt sich im München des Jahres 1319 herum. Die Angst vor dem unsichtbaren Feind veranlasst die Bürger der Stadt dazu, einen Sündenbock ausfindig zu machen: Die Juden und ihre vermeintlichen "bösen Zauber" werden für das Unheil verantwortlich gemacht, und finden sich nun einer gefährlichen Pogromstimmung gegenüber. Zwei junge Isarflößer beschließen etwas zu unternehmen und gehen der Spur des Mörders nach. Dabei stoßen sie auf vielerlei dunkle Geheimnisse und Mysterien.