In 1195, high-spirited young knights, drunken squires, pickpockets, and horse thieves are pouring into Exeter for a one-day jousting tournament. Not even the discovery of a naked corpse in the River Exe can spoil the excitement. During the tournament, the
In May 1195, Sir John de Wolfe is summoned to inspect a corpse in Exeter’s cathedral precinct. Aaron of Salisbury, a Jewish money-lender, has been found dead, his head enveloped in a brown leather money bag, a scrap of folded parchment clutched in his h
When Crowner John is summoned to the bleak Devonshire moors to investigate the murder of a tin miner, he has little idea how difficult this new investigation will prove to be. The victim is a trusted and well-loved overman of Devon's most powerful and suc
In December of 1194, the well-born ladies of Exeter are not having a good week. First, Christina Rifford, the daughter of a rich merchant, is raped. Then, just months before her marriage, Lady Adele de Courcy is found dead in one of the poorest areas of t
On Christmas Eve in 1194, Sir John de Wolfe gratefully escapes a party being given by his wife to examine the body of a canon who has been found hanged. Suicide is suspected, but it is soon apparent that there is far more to this case than meets the eye.
November, 1194 AD. Apointed by Richard the Lionheart as the first coroner for the county of Devon, Sir John de Wolfe, recently returned from the Crusades, rides out to the lonely moorland village of Widecombe to hold an inquest on an unidentified body.But
Lovingly crafted by a Saxon swordsmith shortly before the Norman invasion, treachery and deceit are the Sword of Shame’s constant companions. From the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the murder of Thomas a Becket, from an attempted coup against Richard the L
It was July, 1100. Jerusalem lies ransacked. Amidst the chaos, an English knight is entrusted with a valuable religious relic: a fragment of the True Cross, allegedly stained with the blood of Christ. The relic is said to be cursed: anyone who touches it
It is 1195, and when a wealthy mill-owner falls dead across his horse, Sir John de Wolfe, the county coroner, declines to hold an inquest. The man was considerably overweight, had been complaining of chest pains, and showed no signs of injury. A clear-cut
