May, 1381. The Great Revolt draws ever nearer. The Upright Men openly roam the streets of London, waiting for the violence to begin. Their mysterious envoy, the Herald of Hell, appears at night all over the city, striking terror into the hearts of those who oppose them. But who is he? When his chancery clerk is found hanged in a notorious Southwark brothel, the ruthless Thibault, John of Gaunt's Master of Secrets, summons Brother Athelstan to investigate....

"October, 1381. Brother Athelstan is summoned to the church of St. Benet's in Queenhithe to investigate the murder of a priest. Parson Reynaud has been found stabbed to death inside his own locked church. Other disturbing discoveries include an empty coffin and a ransacked money chest. Who would commit murder inside a holy church? Who would spirit away a corpse the night before the funeral -- and who would be brave enough to steal treasure belonging...

July, 1381. The Great Revolt has been crushed; the king's peace ruthlessly enforced. Brother Athelstan meanwhile is preparing for a pilgrimage to St Thomas à Becket's shrine in Canterbury to give thanks for the wellbeing of his congregation after the violent rebellion. But preparations are disrupted when Athelstan is summoned to a modest house in Cheapside, scene of a brutal triple murder. One of the victims was the chief clerk of the Secret Chancery...

Past crimes lead to new murder in the latest gripping Brother Athelstan mystery, set in 14th century London. November 1381. London has been rocked by a series of bizarre and brutal murders. The corpses of a number of prostitutes have been discovered, their throats slit, their bodies stripped; in each case, a blood-red wig has been placed on their heads. At the same time, a mysterious explosion rips through a royal war cog bound for Calais, killing...

The only way to win this murderer's deadly game... is to play along. Summer, 1380. Brutal and sudden death is not uncommon in the foul alleys and streets of London. The corpse of a clerk has been pulled from the Thames. They drowned, but not before receiving a vicious blow to the back of the head. Then Bartholomew Drayton, a usurer and money-lender, is found dead in his strong room, a crossbow bolt firmly embedded in his chest: a real mystery because...

Solve the case, or risk London being engulfed in the flames... February, 1381. A ruthless killer known as the Ignifer — Fire Bringer — is rampaging through London, bringing agonising death and destruction in his wake. He appears to be targeting all those involved in the recent trial and conviction of the beautiful Lady Isolda Beaumont, burned at the stake for the murder of her husband. As the late Sir Walter Beaumont was a close friend of the...

Once again Athelstan must enter the murky world of murder, where nothing is as it seems. February, 1381. London lies frozen in the grip of one of the bitterest winters on record. The ever-rising taxes demanded by the Regent, John of Gaunt, are causing increasing resentment among the city's poor. The seething unrest boils over into a bloody massacre at a splendid Southwark tavern, The Candle Flame, in which nine people, including Gaunt's tax collectors,...

A murder close to home leaves Athelstan with his most dangerous case yet... After the discovery of three savagely murdered bodies in his parish, Brother Athelstan finds himself involved in the hunt for a dangerous killer. It is clear that two of the victims, a prostitute and a preacher, surprised an assassin who was then forced to kill them. But who the third victim is, and why someone has gone to so much trouble to kill him, remains a mystery. And...

A set of horrific killings hints at the answer behind a legendary crime... Autumn, 1380. Brother Athelstan is very busy. He and his parish council are preparing for the annual Christmas mystery play when a series of brutal murders occur at a Southwark tavern. Two young whores are found slain but their deaths are only the beginning of a series of gruesome killings which occur around the parish of St Erconwald's. He resolves to solve not only these...