Michael Jecks

Simon and Baldwin must step into action once more. Devon, 1318. Peter Bruther flees his master Sir William Beauseyr, despite knowing it could earn him a brutal punishment. To escape said punishment, cunning Peter sets up as a tin miner on the moors so he is automatically in the protection of the king. When Simon Puttock informs Sir William that he has no legal claim on his wayward servant, the knight is furious, fearing an uprising amongst his other...

The arrival of the Bishop of Exeter in the small Devonshire town of Crediton makes life difficult for Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford, and former Knight Templar Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, a situation complicated by the appearance of an unsavory band of mercenary soldiers and the discovery of the body of a murdered girl.

"April, 1555. A priest has been stabbed to death in the village of St Botolph, to the east of the City of London, his body left to rot by the roadside - and Jack Blackjack stands accused of his murder. As well as clearing his name, Jack has his own reasons for wanting to find out who really killed the priest - but this is an investigation where nothing is as it seems. Was it a random attack by a desperate outlaw, or do the answers lie in the murdered...

Jack Blackjack is ordered to eliminate a spy in Princess Elizabeth's household in this engaging Tudor mystery. June, 1554. Former cutpurse and now professional assassin Jack Blackjack has deep misgivings about his latest assignment. He has been despatched to the Palace of Woodstock, where Queen Mary's half-sister Princess Elizabeth is being kept under close guard. Jack's employer has reason to believe that a spy has been installed within the princess's...

July, 1556. En route to France and escape from Queen Mary's men, Jack Blackjack decides to spend the night at a Devon tavern, agrees to a game of dice - and ends up accused of murder. To make matters worse, the dead man turns out to have been the leader of the all-powerful miners who rule the surrounding moors - and they have no intention of waiting for the official court verdict to determine Jack's guilt. But who would frame Jack for murder . . ....

August, 1556. Jack Blackjack is in Exeter, trying to make his way to London, when he's faced with a dead priest, ruthless thieves, and a devious Dean. A wealthy merchant offers him passage on one of his ships and Jack gladly leaves town. Unfortunately for Jack, he doesn't leave danger behind.

The threat of war looms over England 1326. In an England riven with conflict, knight and peasant alike find their lives turned upside down by the warring factions of Edward II with his hated favourite, Hugh le Despenser, and Edward's estranged queen Isabella and her lover, Sir Roger Mortimer. Yet even in such times the brutal slaughter of an entire family still has the power to shock. Three further murders follow, and bailiff Simon Puttock is drawn...

The city gates are closed; the killer is within the walls... England, 1327. Sir Baldwin and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock have a major problem. The deposed King Edward II, imprisoned under their guard, has escaped. They must ride hard to Exeter to inform the sheriff. But the sheriff has problems of his own. Overnight, the body of a young maid has been discovered in a dirty alleyway. The city's gates had been shut against the lawlessness outside,...

When a Knight Templar is murdered, things get personal for Baldwin.. On their way to a feast, Sir Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock find the murdered corpse of Sir Gilbert, a Knight Templar and old comrade of Baldwin's. The situation is confounded when a decapitated body is found. Baldwin and Simon's suspicions that the two deaths are linked seem to be justified when Baldwin himself is attacked. Baldwin and Simon find themselves caught up...

January 1554. Light-fingered Jack Blackjack knows he's not going to have a good day when he wakes with a sore head next to a dead body in a tavern's yard. That would be bad enough -- but when he discovers what's in the dead man's purse, the one he'd stolen, his day is set to get much worse. The purse explains why the mysterious man with the broad-brimmed hat wants to catch him. But so does the Lord Chancellor, as does the enigmatic Henry. In fact,...