Medieval Mysteries (Royal)

"Imagine an Agatha Christie mystery set in the late thirteenth century, and you'll have a pretty good picture of this very well executed mystery."-Booklist It is Spring 1282. England is at war again with Wales. As Baron Hugh of Wynethorpe, a veteran of fighting in Outremer, prepares to join his King's army, he begs his sister, Prioress Eleanor, a favor. On her journey home to Tyndal Prior in Norfolk, she is to carry a gift of rents from the Wynethorpe estates to Mynchen Buckland Priory. The charter for the grant and a private letter are to be given to the Hospitaller nuns' Prioress Amicia, and none other. Eleanor agrees - if Hugh is heading into the Welsh wilderness, then she, Eleanor, will do him this service as well as pray for his protection. When she and her party of Brother Thomas and Sister Anne arrive in cold and rain-sodden Somerset, they receive a chilly welcome. Then the new Prioress at Mynchen Buckland delivers shocking news: Amicia has been imprisoned, convicted of murdering a widow from the village in the priory's cloister, and awaits sentencing by the Prior of England, the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem's regional head in London. Eleanor gives Hugh's grant to newly elected Prioress Emelyne, but insists she must obey her brother's wishes by having an audience with Amicia in her cell. Eleanor is resolute in wishing to fulfill her promise by delivering Hugh's letter into Amicia's hands. Permission is granted. Eleanor is unprepared for Amicia's terribly frail condition. And more so when Amicia reads the Baron's letter, then tearfully begs Tyndal's prioress to prove her innocence, claiming she did not commit the crime. Eleanor believes her. In an unfamiliar place, the murder victim buried, and nothing left at the crime site, what can the Tyndal trio unearth? And how can they prolong their visit? Eleanor has it - she fakes a fall and injury to her ankle which requires nursing. Thomas and Anne will have to be her investigators, though they are closely chaperoned by members of the Mynchen Buckland community. Still, they learn the dead woman's unsavory behavior had made her well hated. Will anyone help uncover the real killer when so many welcomed the victim's death? A medieval historical mystery perfect for readers of Denise Domning and Sharon Kay Penman! Additional Praise for Wild Justice: "...a good read for fans of medieval history and anyone interested in problems surprisingly relevant to modern life."-Kirkus Reviews "Royal shows once again why she stands in the front rank of medieval mystery authors." -Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

"The plotting and the mechanics of the solution are in the best traditions of the classic British mystery...Try not to miss this one." -New York Times Life in a dismal bureaucratic cul-de-sac is not what Robert Amiss expects when the British civil service lends him for a year to the British Conservation Corporation. In fact, he finds himself condemned to a non-job in a backwater, managing disgruntled and demoralized timeservers who deeply resent him. Morale is not improved by the arrival of Melissa, a radical feminist lesbian separatist. Only Amiss's sense of humour and the joys of visiting Rachel, his new love in Paris, keep him sane. The malice, envy and anger that burgeons among the filing cabinets is first expressed in pettiness and then in unpleasant practical jokes. Then it escalates and finally culminates in callous murder by means of boxes of poisoned chocolates sent to the bureaucrats' wives. With the help of Ellis Pooley, a young detective obsessed with fictional sleuths, Amiss and his friend, Superintendent Milton, search for motives in an office where marital discord and broken dreams might drive anyone to murder.

"{This is a} novel that's both a rock-solid mystery and comments incisively about so many issues besetting Europe and the world today." -Huffington Post When a young demonstrator is publicly singled out and assassinated by highly trained killers in the heart of protest-charged Athens, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis is convinced the killing was meant not to take out a target, but as a message. A message from whom? To whom? And why? Kaldis' search for answers leads him and his team to the breathtakingly beautiful island of Santorini, heralded in legend as the lost island of Atlantis, and to eavesdrop on a hush-hush gathering of Greece's top military leaders looking to come up with their own response to the overwhelming crises and uncertainties their country faces. Is it a coup d'état, or something else? Greece is no stranger to violence upending duly elected governments and memories of the nation's last junta dictatorship years still burn in the minds of all who lived through the Regime of the Colonels. The answer is by no means clear, but as suspects emerge and international intrigues evolve, the threat of another, far more dramatic assassination grows ever more likely-as does the realization that only Kaldis can stop it. But at what price? Greece's government is in chaos, its goals and leadership are suspect, and Kaldis is forever at odds with its methods. Life is not the same, nor is it likely to return to better days any time soon. With a new child on the way, and their young son coming face-to-face with the harsh nature of the world around him, Kaldis and his wife wonder if carrying on the fight matters anymore. It is a time for testing character, commitment, and the common good. And for saving the nation from chaos.