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Exeter, 1195. Renovations at the new school in Smythen Street are disrupted by the shocking discovery of a partially mummified corpse hidden in the rafters - and Sir John de Wolfe, the county coroner is called to investigate. Richard de Revelle, Sir John's brother-in-law and founder of the school, immediately tries to blame Nicholas de Arundell, a young outlawed knight living rough on Dartmoor. As Sir John discovers, Nicholas has good reason to bear a grudge against the unscrupulous de Revelle. But is he really a killer? With the victim's identity unknown and the motive a mystery, the murder remains unsolved. But then comes news of a second violent death - and Sir John is forced to track down the 'noble outlaw' in order to find the answers.

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 case of death from natural causes. But events take a sinister turn when a straw doll is discovered hidden beneath the man’s saddlebag, a thin metal spike piercing its heart. Convinced that her husband’s death was caused by an evil spell, the victim’s strident widow begins a campaign against witchcraft and the so-called “cunning women” who practice it. Soon Exeter is in turmoil, a hysterical mob is on the loose, and several local women are in danger. Still, the coroner declines to get involved—until his own mistress falls under suspicion. Can Crowner John discover the real cause of the merchant’s death, unearth the culprit, and save his beloved Nesta from the hangman’s noose?

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 hand. On it is written “And Jesus went into the temple and overthrew the tables of the money-changers.” This is just the beginning of a strange series of murders in which an apt biblical text is left at the scene of the crime. Setting out to track down a literate and Bible-learned killer in an age when only one percent of the population can read or write, Sir John deduces that he is looking for a homicidal priest.

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 successful mine owner, Walter Knapman. There seems to be only one possible motive - to sabotage Walter's business. But the tinners have their own laws, and they are none too pleased at Crowner John's interference. Especially as their main experience of officials has been with Sheriff Richard de Revelle, whose notoriously high taxes keep them in a permanent state of fury and near rebellion. And then Walter disappears. Stephen Acland, Walter's business rival wastes no time in comforting Walter's beautiful wife Joan, who appears remarkably unmoved by her husband's disappearance. Meanwhile, Walter's brother is going frantic with worry ... or could it be guilt? A decapitated body, a missing tinner, a disgruntled band of miners and a mad Saxon, intent on the destruction of all things Norman. How on earth can Crowner John sort all this out when his wife hates him, his mistress has spurned him for a younger man, and his clerk is in the grip of a suicidal depression? Only Gwyn, Crowner John's indispensable right-hand man seems to be of any help at all, until he is arrested for murder and put on trial for his life.

How a humble Devon knight became a king’s the thrilling prequel to the perennially popular Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England.

1192. At the end of the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart, King of England, sets sail for home from the Holy Land. Sir John de Wolfe, a Devon knight, is part of the king’s small bodyguard on that ill-fated voyage – and during the journey, Sir John’s loyalty to the monarch is tested to the limit.

On his return, Sir John finds England simmering with rebellion. Richard’s younger brother John has used the king’s absence to plot to seize the throne, and the country is a hotbed of unrest. Discovering a body washed up on the shores of the River Exe, its throat cut, Sir John deduces from the device etched on the victim’s signet ring that he was a king’s courier. Tasked by Sir Hubert Walter, the Chief Justiciar, to find out why the man died and who killed him, de Wolfe finds himself drawn unwillingly into affairs of state. His new career as a king’s coroner is about to begin . . .

With the city of Exeter ravaged by an outbreak of the 'yellow plague', Sir John de Wolfe, the county coroner, must divide his time between visiting his brother Willam who has been struck down by the disease, and dealing with a series of brutal murders which appears to be linked to a revival of heresy in the city. When some of the cathedral canons begin a crusade against this danger to the Church, Sir John is accused of being too sympathetic to the heretics, bringing him into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities. As the situation worsens, the coroner finds himself having to seek sanctuary in order to save his skin. Can he survive long enough to unmask the real killer?

London, 1196. At the command of Richard the Lionheart, Sir John de Wolfe has left his beloved West Country for the Palace of Westminster, where he has been appointed Coroner of the Verge. But with the king overseas, embroiled in a costly war against King Philip of France, Sir John is dismayed to discover that the English court is a hotbed of greed, corruption and petty in-fighting.

When an unidentified body is discovered in the harbor town of Axmouth, the county coroner Sir John de Wolfe is summoned to investigate. The manner of the young man's death is a matter of some dispute, but it was clearly no accident. In the ensuing murder investigation, Sir John is frustrated by what appears to be a conspiracy of silence among the seamen and townsfolk. There are many inhabitants of Axmouth who seem willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that the shocking truth behind the death remains hidden. Sir John will need courage, cunning, and determination if he is to solve the case and escape from the town with his life.

Молодой капеллан лондонского аббатства Бермондси нарушил обет безбрачия, вступив в преступную связь с благородной девицей. Когда его любовница забеременела, над монастырем нависла угроза королевского гнева. Однако и капеллан, и девушка бесследно исчезли... Так начинается история таинственного "проклятия смерти" нависшего над аббатством Бермондси. История пяти загадочных убийств, произошедших под его кровлей. Сотни лет проклятие настигает тех, кто обитает в стенах Бермондси. Века идут - но преступлениям нет числа. И смерть становится равно уделом виновных и невинных!

Некогда знаменитый саксонский оружейник начертал на стальном клинке слова странного заклятия. Так начался путь Проклятого меча - оружия необыкновенной красоты, приносящего позор и погибель всякому, кто рискнет завладеть им. Шли века, но меч снова и снова становился орудием ужасных, предательских убийств. Он имел отношение к мученической кончине епископа Томаса Беккета - и к тщательно спланированному покушению на короля Ричарда Львиное Сердце. Он появлялся в роскошной и жестокой Венеции - и на поле кровавой битвы при Пуатье. Времена меняются, но Проклятый меч снова и снова разит наповал...

County Coroner Sir John de Wolfe investigates a series of brutal murders in 12th-century England. The discovery of the murdered crew from a shipwreck…is just the first in a string of atrocities. The captain was the husband of Sir John's former mistress, Hilda, and his investigation troubles both his shrewish wife Matilda and his current mistress…After a series of horrific murders, all related by the use of an unusual knife and crossbows with Arabic lettering, Sir John realizes that all the victims were connected to a disastrous crusade. Meanwhile, Sir John's disgraced brother-in-law Richard de Revelle is involved in a scheme to make money for Prince John, who's trying to seize his brother's throne. The King of France has sent a Mohammedan alchemist to work with a Scot to turn base metal to gold, and Richard is providing them supplies and a secret place to work. When Hilda goes on her own crusade to track down her husband's killers, she's made a prisoner, along with Matilda and Richard…Knight's tenth populates a detailed study of the period with well-drawn characters

Год 1100-й. Иерусалим пал под натиском воинов Христовых. Во время пожара и хаоса, охвативших город, крестоносец Джеффри Мэппстоун спас бесценную реликвию - частицу Истинного Креста с оставшимися на ней каплями крови Христа. Однако над реликвией, согласно легенде, довлеет проклятие - любой, кто коснется ее, погибнет ужасной смертью. Так начинается история пяти загадочных убийств - и каждое связано с таинственной реликвией. Сотни лет проклятие настигает тех, кому удается завладеть бесценной святыней. Святыней, которая несет смерть. Читайте книгу мастеров исторического детектива - группы писателей "Средневековые убийцы"!…

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, there is a serious altercation between Hugo Peverel, a manor lord from Tiverton, and a Frenchman by the name of Reginald de Charterai. When, two days later, Sir Hugo’s blood-soaked body is found in a barn on his estate, de Charterai would seem the obvious culprit. But there’s no shortage of people who wished the despised Hugo dead. All three of his brothers have a motive, as do his stepmother and his attractive young widow. And just what is the connection between Sir Hugo’s murder and the battered body in the River Exe? With so many suspects from which to choose, Sir John is confronted with one of the most difficult cases of his distinguished career.

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. As always, his investigations are hampered by his brother-in-law, the sheriff Sir Richard de Revelle. But John must tread carefully, for it is not merely petty revenge that Richard has in mind this time—he is plotting treason and John is getting far too close to the truth for comfort.

Коронер Джон де Вулф, уже знакомый читателям по роману "Ищущий убежища", вновь сталкивается с загадочным убийством. Расследуя его, Джон невольно оказывается посвященным в некую страшную тайну, хранимую на протяжении многих веков Орденом рыцарей-тамплиеров. Что это за тайна, и почему все, прикоснувшиеся к ней, заканчивают свои жизни трагически? Это, в конце концов, и предстоит выяснить де Вулфу, пройдя вместе со своими помощниками через множество опасностей и приключений.

C12th Devon. Much of the country lies under the iron rule of the Royal Forest laws, with all hunting reserved to the King. The penalty for killing a deer on the King's land is mutilation or death. These harsh laws are rigorously upheld by the King's foresters, notorious for their greed and corruption. June 1195. A tall, brown mare gallops into the sleepy village of Sigford, its rider dragged by the stirrup, the broken shaft of an arrow protruding from his back. The embroidered badge on the dead man's tunic identifies him as a senior officer of the Royal Forest. But, with plenty of money still in the victim's purse, the motive is a mystery. When a second forest officer is violently attacked, Sir John de Wolfe begins to uncover evidence of a sinister conspiracy. And why is his unscrupulous brother-in-law, the sheriff Sir Richard de Revelle, taking such an interest in the case?