Join this accidental sleuth, Nick Morris, in his first mystery in The Art of Murder series...Nick Morris is your classic struggling artist. He paints pet portraits to pay the bills but is always just one big commission away from a more comfortable life. Which is why he agrees to paint the reluctant, hot-tempered hotelier, Jason Robart. But Nick gets more than he bargained for when he finds Jason dead from a shotgun blast to the head in an apparent suicide. No one seems upset about his death except for his girlfriend Elizabeth, and Nick, who has lost the income from the commission. It turns out Jason owed money to everyone - including some unsavoury Russians. When Elizabeth goes missing, Nick is concerned, but so is Jason's unpleasant business partner and those persuasive Russians who threaten Nick to reveal everything he knows . . . or else. Nick is knee deep in trouble and to escape he must find Elizabeth, uncover the truth of Jason's death, and stay...

Jack Blackjack's search for an executioner's son ensnares him in a fiendish mesh of schemes in this lively Tudor mystery. London. May, 1556. Hal Westmecott, one of the city's most feared executioners, reckons Jack Blackjack owes him a favour - and now he's come to collect his dues. Hal has ordered Jack to track down his long-lost son and, although Jack believes he's been set an impossible task, he's in no position to refuse. But when Jack's search draws him to the attention of a ruthless nobleman, a dead priest's vengeful brother and finally to a bloodstained body in a filthy lodging house, he comes to realize he is an unwitting pawn in a mesh of schemes dreamed up by the most powerful people in England. Just who is a friend, who is a foe - and will Jack escape with his life intact? A fast-paced Tudor mystery set during Bloody Mary's reign of terror.

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, so the perpetrator must still be in the town. He tasks Baldwin with uncovering the truth behind this murder. But, with England in tumult, his task will be far from easy... The thirty-first instalment in the Last Templar Mysteries series, perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Philippa Gregory.

When the devil comes calling, all you can do is pray.Amidst the myth and folklore of Tavistock, one tale above all others strikes fear into the hearts of the town's inhabitants - that of the murders on the Abbot's Way. A young acolyte paid the price for stealing his abbot's wine when the devil himself led him to his death on the treacherous Devon moors. Now, in the autumn of 1322, it looks as though history may be repeating itself. Abbot Robert has found his wine barrel empty, and a body has been discovered on the moors. Sir Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock are called upon to investigate but it soon becomes apparent that it's not just wine that's gone missing from the abbey, and the body on the moor isn't the last ... The thirteenth instalment in the gripping Last Templar Mysteries series, perfect for fans of C J Sansom and Susanna Gregory.Praise for Michael Jecks'Michael Jecks is a national treasure' Scotland on...

The seventeenth novel in Michael Jecks's medieval Knights Templar series. Summer 1323: in the Cornish village of Cardinham, a penniless young woman is found hanged alongside the dead bodies of her children. Passing through the village on the final leg of their long journey home, friends Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock are detained and tasked with leading the investigation. Simon and Baldwin quickly discover the young woman's death is not an isolated incident. And as the escape of a traitor threatens to embroil the country in a new civil war, they must look beyond friendships and family loyalties to find an evil killer - and secure the safety of Cardinham, and all who dwell there.

The twenty-fifth novel in Michael Jecks?s medieval Knights Templar series. It?s 1325, and in England turmoil is rife. But could the Prophecy of St Thomas?s Holy Oil be the key to saving the ill-fated reign of King Edward II? It is believed the one anointed with it will be a lion among men: he will conquer France, unite Christendom and throw the heathens from the Holy Land. Meanwhile, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King?s Peace, and his friend Simon Puttock return from France with urgent messages for the King himself. Soon they find themselves at the centre of a deadly court intrigue involving the most powerful and ruthless men in the country, who will stop at nothing, not least murder, to achieve their ambitions...

The twenty-first novel in Michael Jecks?s medieval Knights Templar series, shortlisted for the Teakston?s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, 2007 Autumn, 1324: when a man is found dead in the middle of a Dartmouth road, many assume his demise to be the result of a drunken accident. Meanwhile, a ship is found ravaged by pirates out at sea, the crew killed or captured. Could this be the beginning of a new onslaught, or something even more sinister? Sir Baldwin de Furnshill has been told of spies and messengers being sent to the great traitor Roger Mortimer in France. If this is true, then civil war in England is surely imminent. Together with his friend, Simon Puttock, Baldwin is tasked by the most powerful men in the Kingdom with uncovering the truth. Fail, and they will be executed. Succeed, and others may be ready to silence them for ever.

Lord Hugh de Courtenay's plan to host a tournament in the spring of 1322 is an opportunity the money-lenders of Oakhampton can't afford to miss. When the defeated knights find themselves unable to pay the traditional ransoms to their captors, they will have only one avenue open to them – and will accrue interest by the hour. But for Benjamin Dudenay – to whom most of the knights in Devon are indebted – the tournament will yield no such riches. A month before the festivities, he is found dead in an alleyway – beaten to death in an attack which tells a tale of bitter hatred. For Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, the priority is to complete the preparations for the tournament in time for Lord Hugh's arrival. Not an easy task when Hal Sachevyll and Wymond Carpenter, commissioned to provide the all-important stands, seem more interested in saving on materials than building a safe structure. But when Wymond is found dead, his injuries bearing all the hallmarks of those inflicted by Benjamin's murderer, Sir Baldwin and Simon are faced with an additional problem: whoever killed the money-lender is not simply a debtor desperate to gain financial freedom, but a killer with a far greater and more sinister plan…

The Battle of Crecy, the start of the Hundred Years' Wars. The beginning of a new series for Michael Jecks The year is 1346 and King Edward III is restless. Despite earlier victories his army has still not achieved a major breakthrough and the French crown remains intact. Determined to bring France under English rule and the French army to its knees he has regrouped and planned a new route of attack.And on the beaches of Normandy his men now mass, ready to march through France to victory. But the French are nowhere to be seen. Edward knows that the worst thing he could do would be to take the battle to the French, where they will have the advantage and so he sets up camp near a small hill at Crecy and waits.The Battle of Crecy will be a decisive turning point in the Hundred Years' Wars. This is the story of that battle and the men who won it.Praise for Templar's Acre'A cracking read in the best style of Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell, this will...

As the summer of 1322 brings sun to the Devonshire countryside, it seems that the small village of Sticklepath is destined to remain in darkness. An afternoon of innocent adventure becomes one of gruesome terror when two playmates uncover the body of a young girl up on the moors. As the news spreads through the village, one name is on everyone's lips. The body must be that of Aline, the ten-year-old daughter of Swetricus, who went missing six years ago. Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock are summoned to the scene to investigate, but find their progress blocked at every turn. There seems to be an unspoken agreement amongst the villagers to ensure that the truth behind Aline's death is never discovered. But what reason could they possibly have for shielding a murderer? As the King's men slowly break down the wall of silence they discover that the village has plenty to hide. Aline is not the only young girl to have been found dead in recent years, and it seems that the villagers have been concealing not only a serial killer, but, judging by the state of the girls' bodies, a possible case of cannibalism. Or, if the rumours are to be believed, a vampire! That would certainly explain the haunted looks in the eyes of so many villagers, and the strange voices heard late at night from the Sticklepath cemetery…