Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries

Gwen must clear her father's name before his music is silenced…forever. As a bard's daughter, Gwen has spent her life traveling from castle to castle and village to village with her family, following the music. In the winter of 1141, Gwen's family is contracted to provide the entertainment for the coming-of-age celebration of a lord's son. But before the celebration can begin, Gwen's father is found over the body of his friend, with a harp string as the murder weapon and blood on his hands. With the lord of the castle uninterested in finding the true killer, it is up to Gwen to clear her father's name before her father's music is silenced...forever.

Five years after Gareth walked away from Gwen in disgrace, she encounters him in the aftermath of an ambush, standing over the body of a murdered king. Although it isn't exactly the reunion Gwen had dreamed of, she and Gareth join forces against the treachery and intrigue rife within the court of Gwynedd. And once blame for the murder falls on Gareth himself, Gwen must continue her search for the truth alone, finding unlikely allies in foreign lands, and ultimately uncovering a conspiracy that will shake the foundations of Wales.

Join Gareth & Gwen for murder, intrigue, and romance in medieval Wales! Gareth has returned from the south, and Gwen is overjoyed to find their bond as strong as ever, but all is not well in the court of Owain, King of north Wales. His future in-laws are untrustworthy, the Norman lords on his eastern border are restless, and among his wedding guests lurks a cold-blooded killer. Gareth and Gwen's wedding plans will have to wait while the pair race to separate truth from lies, friends from foes, and unravel the mystery before King Owain-and his new bride-fall victim to their uninvited guest.

May 1144. Newly wedded, Gareth and Gwen travel across the border into England on a diplomatic mission with Prince Hywel of Wales. Within moments of their arrival, however, the mission goes awry and a murder case drops (literally) at their feet. Hindered at every turn by a climate of civil war and constantly shifting political alliances, Gareth and Gwen race to solve the murder and expose a plot that threatens not only their lives, but the life of the future king of England himself.

Hallowmas 1144. With the harvest festival approaching, Gareth has returned from fighting in the south, hoping for a few months of peace with Gwen before the birth of their first child. But when an innocent foray to the beach turns up the murdered body of Prince Hywel's long lost cousin, a woman thought to have run away with a Dane five years earlier, it is Gareth and Gwen who are charged with discovering her killer. The trail has long since gone cold, or so Gareth and Gwen think, until their investigation threatens to expose dangerous truths that everyone else from king to killer would prefer to keep buried.

August 1146. Prince Hywel has called all the bards of Wales to him for a music festival to mark the third anniversary of his rule over Ceredigion. He has invited all the lords of Wales too, including his father, his uncle, and his neighbor to the south, King Cadell. But with the highborn also come the low: thieves, spies, and other hangers-on. And when a murderer strikes as the festival starts, Gareth and Gwen are charged with discovering his identity - before the death of a peasant shakes the throne of a king.

November 1146. Gwynedd is at war with Ranulf, Earl of Chester, who seeks to gain a foothold in Wales against the day peace finally comes to England. On the eve of King Owain's counter-assault on Mold Castle, the body of a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Gwen is discovered buried in someone else's grave. Even in the midst of war, murder must be investigated, and it falls to Gareth and Gwen to bring the guilty to justice. When their investigation uncovers not only another body, but also treason at the highest levels of King Owain's court, Gareth and Gwen must come to terms with unprecedented treachery-and a villain whose crimes can never be forgiven.

March 1147. Determined to escape the gloom that has descended on Aber, Gareth and Gwen travel to Shrewsbury in an attempt to find answers about Rhun's death, about the whereabouts and plans of Prince Cadwaladr, and about Gwen's family ties to England. But when John Fletcher, now Deputy Sheriff of Shrewsbury, asks Gareth to help him investigate a pool of blood for which he has no body, Gareth can't refuse. And when the investigation points to a conspiracy involving some of the leading citizens of Shrewsbury, Gwynedd's foremost investigators go looking for answers-and find that trouble isn't far behind.

March 1147. Assassination, espionage, betrayal. King Owain has ridden east to confront King Madog of Powys with the attempt on the life of his son. Rhys, now abbot of St. Kentigern's monastery, hopes for peace and calls both Madog and Owain to the negotiating table. Peace, however, is the last thing on Madog's mind. Recalcitrant, self-righteous, and angry, he sees King Owain's recent weakness as his opportunity and knows that Owain's own barons are circling like wolves, waiting for the chance to overthrow him. With the throne of Gwynedd in the balance, Abbot Rhys is desperate to broker a deal. And when the body of a royal spy is found within hours of King Owain's arrival at St. Asaph's, it is up to Gareth and Gwen to find the killer before the wrong man is hanged-and a country lost.

May 1147. Gareth and Gwen have traveled to Deheubarth in the retinue of Prince Hywel. The Prince of Gwynedd has temporarily allied himself with King Cadell and his Norman relations in order to finally evict the hated Flemings from south Wales. But while the battle goes well, the celebratory feast afterwards does not, leaving Gareth and Gwen among the few left standing. And it is to them, as always, that the investigation falls and on whom peace in Wales may well depend. The Worthy Soldier is the ninth Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery.

November 1147. Gareth and Gwen have again been called to a castle belonging to Robert, Earl of Gloucester, this time by Prince Henry, who insists his uncle was murdered. Allying with Normans doesn't come easily to Gareth and Gwen, but initial doubts are swept aside as more losses come to light. Because Robert's death has upended the balance of power in England, friends and foes alike have a vested interest in keeping the truth from coming out, and it is up to Gareth and Gwen to stop the killer before he claims another victim-and maybe a country.

May 1148. All Dublin is shocked by the murder of a prominent merchant, but only Prince Godfrid knows that the dead man was also a co-conspirator in his brother's plan to take the throne of Dublin. With death stalking his every move, Godfrid must call upon new friends and old to find the killer-and with their help uncover a conspiracy stretching beyond Dublin's walls to every kingdom in Ireland.

August 1148. The wedding of Godfrid and Cait promises to be the event of the year, and even Gwen has made the journey across the Irish Sea to celebrate. Weddings can be moments around which tensions and resentments pivot, however, so when a monk turns up dead within moments of Gareth and Gwen's arrival in Ireland, the pair put on their sleuthing hats and get to work, racing to solve the mystery before it ruins Godfrid's big day.

In the aftermath of Prince Rhun's death, King Owain and King Madog agreed their children should marry as a way to seal the peace between them. Two years later, the wedding date has finally arrived, though relations between the two kingdoms have improved only to the extent that they aren't actually at war. So when an innocent falls victim to a poisoned dish, even Queen Cristina is so desperate for the event to take place that she begs Gareth and Gwen to head off another round of murder-and wedding mayhem-in medieval Wales. The Prince's Man is the thirteenth Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries.

May 1149. Unexplained death follows Gareth and Gwen wherever they go, as does their reputation for solving murders. So when a man turns up dead at Carlisle Castle, where the pair have traveled as representatives of Gwynedd, King David of Scotland naturally turns to them for answers. But as the investigation unravels, fractures begin to appear within Gwynedd's proposed alliance. Once again, Gareth and Gwen find themselves at the center of a conspiracy with the throne of England on the line. The Faithless Fool is the 14th Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery.

Gareth and Gwen investigate murder amongst the Hospitallers in The Admirable Physician, the sixteenth Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery! April 1150. War has come yet again to Ceredigion, and Prince Hywel marches south alongside his wily uncle, preparing to battle his own cousins. Meanwhile, Gareth and Gwen learn of murder and treachery among the Hospitallers, who are succoring the ill and wounded within the army. As they investigate, even in the midst of war, they uncover not only murder, but treason and betrayal as well-and inadvertently set the stage for that long-awaited final reckoning within King Owain's court. Complete Series reading order: The Good Knight, The Uninvited Guest, The Fourth Horseman, The Fallen Princess, The Unlikely Spy, The Lost Brother, The Renegade Merchant, The Unexpected Ally, The Worthy Soldier, The Favored Son, The Viking Prince, The Irish Bride, The Prince's Man, The Faithless Fool, The Honorable Traitor, The Admirable Physician. Also The Bard's Daughter (prequel novella).

Join Gareth & Gwen in their first adventures together... murder, intrigue, and romance in medieval Wales! The Good Knight: Five years after Gareth walked away from Gwen in disgrace, she encounters him in the aftermath of an ambush, standing over the body of a murdered king. Although it isn't exactly the reunion she'd hoped for, by necessity the pair join forces against the treachery and intrigue rife within the court of Gwynedd. And once blame for the murder falls on Gareth himself, Gwen must continue her search for the truth alone, finding unlikely allies in foreign lands, and ultimately uncovering a conspiracy that will shake the political foundations of Wales. The Uninvited Guest: Gareth has returned from the south, and Gwen is overjoyed to find their bond as strong as ever, but all is not well in the court of Owain, King of north Wales. His future in-laws are untrustworthy, the Norman lords on his eastern border are restless, and among his wedding guests lurks a cold-blooded killer. Gareth and Gwen's wedding plans will have to wait while the pair race to separate truth from lies, friends from foes, and unravel the mystery before King Owain--and his new bride--fall victim to their uninvited guest. The Fourth Horseman: May 1144. Newly wedded, Gareth and Gwen travel across the border into England on a diplomatic mission with Prince Hywel of Wales. Within moments of their arrival, however, the mission goes awry and a murder case drops (literally) at their feet. Hindered at every turn by a climate of civil war and constantly shifting political alliances, Gareth and Gwen race to solve the murder and expose a plot that threatens not only their lives, but the life of the future King of England himself. Murder, intrigue, and treachery take center stage in The Fourth Horseman, the third Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery.