Bernard Knight

Ian Morson

Simon Beaufort

The anthology centres around a piece of the True Cross, allegedly stained with the blood of Christ, which falls into the hands of Geoffrey Mappestone in 1100, at the end of the First Crusade. The relic is said to be cursed and, after three inexplicable deaths, it finds its way to England in the hands of a thief. After several decades, the relic appears in Devon, where it becomes part of a story by Bernard Knight, set in the 12th century and involving his protagonist, Crowner John. Next, it appears in a story by Ian Morson, solved by his character, the Oxford academic Falconer, and then it migrates back to Devon to encounter Sir Baldwin (Michael Jecks). Eventually, it arrives in Cambridge, in the middle of a contentious debate about Holy Blood relics that really did rage in the 1350s, where it meets Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael (Susanna Gregory). Finally, it's despatched to London, where it falls into the hands of Elizabethan players and where Philip Gooden's Nick Revill will determine its ultimate fate.

An Historical Mystery

The Tainted Relic

In 13th century Oxford, Regent Master William Falconer witnesses the recovery of a body from a sandbank--a body that is soon identified as that of a monk who disappeared over fifteen years ago.

A Psalm for Falconer

Master William Falconer returns in this chilling and atmospheric medieval murder mystery. - Oxford, January 1273. When Regent Master William Falconer receives a cryptic message from Friar Roger, an old friend whose experimental scientific ideas the church consider heretical, he travels to Paris to find him. On arrival, he discovers his friend has been incarcerated in a friary, and he must work to ensure that his scientific theories are not lost forever. But, unbeknownst to Falconer, King Edward has a task for him – one that will test even the Regent Master’s legendary powers of deduction.

Falconer and the Death of Kings

Master William Falconer returns in this chilling and atmospheric medieval murder mystery. - Oxford, April 1272. The Lady Ann Segrim has been murdered, and a Regent Master has been taken at the scene of the crime, red-handed. The suspect is William Falconer, but, strangely, he doesn’t deny the charges. Using Falconer’s own logical methods to solve the crime, Symon, along with Saphira Le Veske, Falconer’s new lover, sets out to clear his name, uncovering an extraordinary plot in the process.

Falconer's Trial

When the body of a dead abbot is found fifteen years after his disappearance, the current abbot becomes the prime murder suspect, but Falconer is visited by the wraith of an ancient hermit who reveals the true treachery behind the crime.

Philip Gooden

Michael Jecks

Medieval Murderers

Susanna Gregory

After an ancient leaden cross and skeletal remains are found in Glastonbury Abbey, the monks believe they are the remains of the legendary King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, but after the bones disappear at the hands of the mysterious Guardians, the monks are determined to retrieve the bones and return them to their final resting place.

Ian Morson

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