Tudor Mystery

The Lost Ark of the Covenant is the real-life account of an astounding quest: professor Tudor Parfitt's effort to recover the revered artifact that contained the 10 Commandments, sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Lord Evan Corbyn is responsible for all of the agents of the Crown. It is a job that he takes most seriously, and it occupies nearly every moment of his waking life. When one of his agents is murdered, he is determined to bring the killer to justice. Lady Jane Radcliff tires of her brothers' secrets and is determined to root out the truth. However, it is proving to be a much more difficult task than she had imagined. Thankfully, she is rescued by the dashing Lord Evan, a man whom she has always held in high regard.

When Robert Catesby, the charismatic son of a Catholic gentleman, marries heiress Catherine Leigh and inherits the rich Oxfordshire manor house at Aston from his grandmother, it seems that the future happiness of the couple must be assured. However, Robert’s deep involvement in plots to overthrow the Protestant queen Elizabeth I and his increasingly dangerous behavior threaten the lives of his wife and their young son.

1325: in the gilded cage that is the Palace of Westminster, Isabella, Queen of England, is troubled by court intrigue. Her jealous husband, Edward II, has removed all her privileges, her regal status and even her children. When Isabella is dispatched to France to negotiate peace with the French King, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill travels with her to ensure her safety. But it seems that no one can be trusted, not least the queen’s own retinue.

Privatdetektiv Philip Maloney ermittelt mit Charme, Schalk und unverkennbarer Raubeinigkeit. Seine Fälle werden ihm von seinen Klienten zugetragen und beginnen harmlos, doch stösst Maloney im Laufe der Ermittlungen meistens auf eine Leiche. Widerwillig muss er mit der Polizei zusammenarbeiten. Der zuständige Beamte ist nicht der Hellste und löst lieber Kreuzworträtsel als Kriminalfälle. Am Ende klärt immer Maloney den Fall.

Privatdetektiv Philip Maloney ermittelt mit Charme, Schalk und unverkennbarer Raubeinigkeit. Seine Fälle werden ihm von seinen Klienten zugetragen und beginnen harmlos, doch stösst Maloney im Laufe der Ermittlungen meistens auf eine Leiche. Widerwillig muss er mit der Polizei zusammenarbeiten. Der zuständige Beamte ist nicht der Hellste und löst lieber Kreuzworträtsel als Kriminalfälle. Am Ende klärt immer Maloney den Fall.

Die Hochstaplerin: Maloneys Klient befürchtet, dass er sich in eine Hochstaplerin verliebt hat. Nachdem sie ihn erfolgreich umgarnt hatte, bat sie ihn mehrmals um kleinere Geldbeträge, bis plötzlich von einem Investment in Dubai die Rede ist, für das sie noch 50’000 Dollar benötigt. Die neue Tankstelle: Maloneys Klientin möchte mit einem neuartigen Entspannungssessel die Welt erobern, doch ihr Handwerker und der Sessel sind plötzlich unauffindbar. Maloney erfährt, dass der Lieferwagen des Handwerkers ebenfalls verschwunden ist.

Die Bombendrohung: Maloneys neue Klientin ist Direktorin eines Einkaufszentrums. Innert kurzer Zeit sind mehrere Bombendrohungen eingegangen. Beim ersten Mal wurden die Leute aus dem Gebäude evakuiert. Danach hat man keinen Alarm mehr ausgelöst. Maloney spricht mit einem Tatverdächtigen, der im Zentrum wegen Diebstahls ein Hausverbot hat. Diesen Mann trifft er auch vor einem Bürogebäude an, das wegen eines Bombenalarms ebenfalls geräumt werden musste. Das Jubiläumsgeschenk: Eine Frau kommt zu Maloney und behauptet, ein Jubiläumsgeschenk für ihn zu haben.

Der Sinn des Lebens: Herr Spessa schaut sich während der Fussball-WM gemeinsam mit Freunden Spiele an. Seine Frau fand das bis anhin nicht toll, doch diesmal ist sie regelrecht begeistert. Herr Spessa befürchtet deshalb, dass seine Frau einen Liebhaber hat. Falsche Polizisten: Der Vater von Maloneys Klient wird beinahe das Opfer von Trickbetrügern. Ein falscher Polizist fragte nach Bargeld in der Wohnung und erklärte dem alten Mann, dass das Geld nicht sicher sei. Maloney soll den falschen Polizisten ausfindig machen.

Ein einsames Dorf in der Wildnis Alaskas, ein ermordeter Junge, und die Frage: War der Täter Mensch oder Vampir? In einer Kleinstadt in Alaska wird ein Junge tot aufgefunden. Seine Kehle ist zerfetzt, seinem Körper alles Blut entwichen. Die Brutalität des Mordes erinnert an eine Tat, die 25 Jahre zurück liegt. Detective Barbara Atkins wird zur Unterstützung von Sheriff Jensen Tucker hinzugezogen, der den ursprünglichen Fall untersucht hatte. Die Einwohner von Deadhart glauben jedoch zu wissen, wer der Schuldige ist.

Bailiff Simon Puttoc’s servant, Hugh, has been granted leave to look after his wife, Constance, and her son. But their happy time is to be short-lived, for a gang of men break into their home and attack Hugh’s family. When Simon and Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King’s Peace, arrive on the scene the cottage is burnt to the ground, the bodies from within already buried. It seems that Hugh must have perished in a dreadful accident - but appearances can be deceptive.

Elizabeth of York, her life already tainted by dishonour and tragedy, now queen to the first Tudor king, Henry the VII. Joan Vaux, servant of the court, straining against marriage and motherhood and privy to the deepest and darkest secrets of her queen. Like the ravens, Joan must use her eyes and her senses, as conspiracy whispers through the dark corridors of the Tower.

1324: a disastrous autumn looms large. As the leaves begin to fall there are those who wish to bring the kingdom down as well. In Dartmouth, a man is found lying dead in the road. Dismissing his death as a drunken accident, the locals turn their attentions to more worrying matters - piracy. Rumours abound that spies are being sent to the great traitor Roger Mortimer. If this is true, civil war in England is inevitable. The kingdom’s most powerful and ruthless men demand that Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock uncover the truth, and quickly.

Peter Diamond, head of Bath CID, takes a city break in Vienna, but everything goes wrong and his companion, Paloma, calls a halt to their relationship. Meanwhile, strange things are happening to jobbing musician Mel Farran, who finds himself scouted by methods closer to the spy world than the concert platform. The chance of joining a once-famous string quartet in a residency at Bath Spa University is too tempting for Mel to refuse. Then a body is found in the city canal, and the only clue to the dead woman's identity is the tattoo of a music note on one of her teeth.

1325: Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend Simon Puttock are sent to France to guard the King’s son. The King’s son must pay homage to the French King if he is to enable the English to keep hold of vital territory, but they are unaware that King Edward’s wife, Isabella, has grown so disaffected that she has begun to plot her revenge.

1325: King Edward II’s reign seems cursed. Although he has rejected his wife, Queen Isabella, he still relies on her. Even now, she is in France to negotiate peace with her brother, King Charles IV of France - but he fears for the outcome. Meanwhile, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock return from France with an urgent instruction for the King. It is to be their last mission.

1325: England is a hotbed of paranoia under the reign of the unpredictable Edward II and his lover, Sir Hugh le Despenser. When the queen’s lady-in-waiting is slaughtered and a man’s body, hideously mutilated, is discovered behind the throne, the king demands to be avenged. Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, an experienced investigator of murders, is appointed to track down the killer, aided by his friend, Simon Puttock. In an age of corruption, when the king’s friends can use torture, blackmail and murder to promote their ends, a rural knight and bailiff must fight to stay alive.

Exeter, 1323. A strange man is entering people’s houses at night, causing panic amongst householders. Although many had thought him harmless, now he seems to have committed murder. A man lies dead in his own home, slaughtered merely for trying to protect his children, and the folk of Exeter want this menace caught and hanged. Sir Baldwin de Furnshill suspects that the solution isn’t that simple.

Battle and burial are built into the history of Lansdown Hill, so it is no great shock when part of a skeleton is unearthed there. But Peter Diamond, Bath's Head of CID, can't ignore the fresh corpse found close to the folly known as Beckford's Tower. The hill becomes the setting for one of the most puzzling cases he has investigated, involving golf, horseracing, Civil War re-enactment and the Cyrillic alphabet.

In the dark days of King James I, a man must know his enemies to survive. To Henry Gresham, gentleman, scholar, courtier, and spy, William Shadwell is invaluable. A thief, informer, double-dealer, and pimp, he may not be the most moral of men, but he is one of Gresham's best sources. When Shadwell is murdered, Gresham's enquiries uncover a plot so audacious it is scarcely believable.