Welsh Guard Mysteries

Crouchback is a medieval word derived from cross-back and indicates participation in a crusade. April 1284. As a newly widowed lady-in-waiting to the very pregnant Queen Eleanor of England, Catrin never expected to return to Wales again. She was definitely unprepared to be confronted with murder when she got there - or to find herself face-to-face with Rhys, the childhood friend she lost 20 years before. Rhys had never intended to return home either, but a lifetime of war has deposited him right back where he started - impoverished and owing service to Catrin's older brother. With Wales fallen irrevocably to England and not knowing whom else they can trust, Catrin and Rhys join forces against the treachery and intrigue rife within the half-built Caernarfon Castle. And when the killer strikes again, this time within the royal court, the pair race to uncover his identity before he touches the king himself - or his infant son. Crouchback is the first book in The Welsh Guard Mysteries.

Join Catrin and Rhys for more murder and mayhem in medieval Wales ... July 1284. King Edward has invited the nobility of England, Ireland, and Scotland to Nefyn, one of the most remote spots in Wales, for a Round Table-a tournament as in the tales of King Arthur to celebrate Edward's victory over the Welsh and his ascension to Arthur's throne. Not everyone sees the tournament as a friendly competition, however, and in short order, Rhys and Catrin are called to investigate the death of a knight in the retinue of the Earl of Gloucester. But just as in King Arthur's court, malice and treason lurk beneath the surface, so when murder turns to treachery, it is up to Catrin and Rhys to separate fact from fiction in Chevalier, the second book in The Welsh Guard Mysteries.

Catrin and Rhys travel to Windsor Castle for their third medieval mystery together... August 1284. On the heels of King Edward's triumph over Wales, the high point of his reign thus far, he receives the worst news possible: his eldest living son and heir to the throne of England has died. Concerned that his victories in Wales, and even more the means by which he came by them, have brought the wrath of the Almighty down upon his house, King Edward sends Catrin and Rhys to Windsor Castle to investigate. But although they find victims and villains aplenty, their far greater test - of friendship, loyalty, and allegiance - is managing the expectations of a grieving king, who fears his son was murdered - and fears even more that he wasn't. Paladin is the third book in The Welsh Guard Mysteries.

Rhys and Catrin contend with betrayal and insurrection as they resume their duties in the king's court.... September, 1284. Within moments of rejoining the king's company, Rhys and Catrin learn King Edward has not only melted down the silver seal of their murdered prince and turned it into a chalice, but the chalice itself has gone missing a matter of days before its intended consecration at Vale Royal Abbey. Assigned to find the culprit, they discover instead a populace seething over the predations of the abbey and its officers, and an unusual alliance between Norman and Saxon. As the unrest in the countryside grows, Rhys and Catrin's initial apathy turns to urgency, and with Cheshire teetering on the brink of open rebellion, they are not the only ones who have to decide how much they're willing to sacrifice to bring down a king.

Rhys and Catrin become embroiled in murder when King Edward summons all the bards of Wales ... September 1284. Catrin and Rhys travel with the royal court to Overton-on-Dee where King Edward has called a thousand Welsh bards to a royal eisteddfod, a music festival, in honor of his conquest of Wales. Every bardd in Wales has been commanded to attend. But the menacing gaze of the king has tensions running high, since his goal is to uncover dissidence and to rein in the power of the bards. When one of the chief contestants turns up dead with a forbidden song stuffed into his mouth, it's up to Rhys and Catrin to catch his killer-even if it means putting themselves between their people and the wrath of the English king. Bardd is the fifth book in The Welsh Guard Mysteries. Series so far: Crouchback, Chevalier, Paladin, Herald, Bardd

1284 Wales. As a widowed lady-in-waiting to Queen Eleanor of England, Catrin never expected to return to Wales again. She was definitely unprepared to be confronted with murder when she got there-or to find herself face-to-face with Rhys, the childhood friend she lost twenty years before. Rhys had never intended to return home either, but a lifetime of war has deposited him right back where he started-impoverished and owing service to Catrin's older brother. With Wales fallen irrevocably to England and not knowing whom else they can trust, Catrin and Rhys join forces against the treachery and intrigue rife within the royal court in this three book boxed set: Crouchback, Chevalier, Paladin. Series so far: Crouchback, Chevalier, Paladin, Herald