Death of The Official

Book One of the Draychester Chronicles

Available now as a Kindle eBook and in Paperback / Hardback

Summer in late 14th Century England. The weather may be good, but for some, medieval life is cheap, nasty, and short…

In the cathedral city of Draychester, Will Blackburne, adventurer, thief, coin clipper and blasphemer is bound for the gallows. He prays for a reprieve. What little he has to offer is youth, wit, and charm, but will it be enough to sway those who judge him?

On the French coast, Sir Roger Mudstone, a man of few morals and even fewer scruples, awaits a ship to bring him home from exile. His hated older brother Hugh is dead, and an undeserved inheritance is his for the taking. He’ll stop at nothing to get his greedy hands on it, no matter what or who stands in his way.

But Hugh has left an explosive clause in his will, something that bodes ill for whoever is caught in the dangerous chaos sure to result from its disclosure. The Bishop of Draychester needs somebody smart, capable, and charming to handle the murderous fallout. Someone who is, ultimately, expendable… has he found the perfect candidate?

 Death of The Vintner

Book Two of the Draychester Chronicles

Available now as a Kindle eBook and in Paperback / Hardback

Late 14th Century Wales. Trouble is brewing, but isn't it always?

The Bishop of Draychester is missing a very expensive barrel of Gascony wine. A gift for the new king, stolen from the port of Tenby in the English stronghold of South Pembrokeshire. The town is awash with ill feeling and intrigue, the result of a bitter feud between the merchants. It's a dangerous place to be asking the wrong sort of questions. Who better to send to investigate than Will Blackburne, newly appointed bishop's official.

In the north of Wales the Welsh are starting to rise up against their English overlords. For an old mercenary like the outlawed Sir Roger Mudstone its an opportunity too good to be missed. His murderous reputation has earned him the offer of a pardon. The king wants to extract his revenge on the Welsh and someone has to do the dirty work....

 Death of The Anchorite

Book Three of the Draychester Chronicles

Available now as a Kindle eBook and in Paperback / Hardback

A mysterious killer is on the rampage. Make no mistake, the countryside can be a deadly place in late 14th century England, but who would dare target the village anchorite?

After all, wouldn’t it be a deadly sin? Harm those devoutly religious women, walled up for life inside a cell in the village church, and face eternal damnation…only an angry, desperate man could be persuaded to carry out such evil…

The countryside is in an uproar, in the local cathedral city of Draychester, Bishop Gifford is angry and baffled. Events are spiralling out of control. Young Will Blackburne, bishop’s official, and his companions Bernard and Osbert are swiftly dispatched to investigate.

But perhaps all isn’t quite as it seems, a shadowy figure from within the city guides the killer’s actions, bringing events closer to home than anyone can predict …except perhaps the great cathedral’s own anchorite, Dame Dorothy, famous for her visions of the future, who dreams of death and destruction…. the killer must be stopped, his evil master thwarted and Dorothy saved…

 Death of The Wakeman

Book Four of the Draychester Chronicles

Available now as a Kindle eBook and in Paperback / Hardback

Autumn mists cloak the northern town of Ditton in late 14th century England, where local legend speaks of a beast that haunts the lonely countryside paths after dark... 

The town’s Wakeman and a local woman are found dead, their bodies savagely torn in a backstreet slaughter. The frightened townsfolk of Ditton are quick to blame the Shuck—a monstrous black hound of legend with eyes that glow like hellfire.

Bishop Gifford's trusted officials, Bernard, Will, and Osbert, are dispatched north to investigate the brutal killings.

 In a town where fact and folklore intertwine and everyone has something to hide, they must untangle truth from superstition.

Are these deaths truly the work of a legendary beast made flesh, or is someone using an ancient tale to conceal murder?

 Death of The Merchant

Book Five of the Draychester Chronicles

Available now as a Kindle eBook and in Paperback / Hardback

In the grim heart of medieval London, some secrets are best left buried in the Thames mud. But when a German merchant is found chained to a river post, his back carved with arcane symbols, those secrets begin to surface... 

Bishop Gifford's trusted officials, Will, Bernard and Osbert are tasked with finding the truth about the brutal killing. But in London, the truth is a commodity few can afford.

The city's Sheriff dismisses the death as a tragic accident, a story that rings hollow as Will and his companions are pulled into a web of conspiracy stretching from the fortified walls of the Hanseatic Steelyard to the treacherous back-alleys of Southwark.

To save London, they must defy the law, trust no one, and confront an evil far older than the city itself…

 Death of The Executioner

Book Six of the Draychester Chronicles

Available now as a Kindle eBook and in Paperback / Hardback

A botched beheading. A flattened executioner. A stolen holy relic. Sir William FitzMartin was a traitor and a rogue, but he deserved a cleaner end than he got…

When the executioner, ‘Stump Leg’, makes a mess of the job and nearly incites a riot, the city of Draychester is left reeling.
The next morning, Stump Leg is found dead in the Cathedral precinct, crushed beneath a fallen stone gargoyle. It looks like divine retribution, but the Bishop’s Chief Clerk, Scrivener, suspects a far more earthly hand is at work.

Tasked with uncovering the truth, the Bishop’s trusty officials, Will, Osbert, and Bernard discover that the dead man was hiding a priceless golden cross—a relic with a dark history. But before they can secure it, the prize is snatched from under their noses, sparking a deadly chase through the city’s grimiest alleys.

With the Sheriff blustering, the mob baying, and the bodies piling up, the Bishop’s men must navigate the muddy, treacherous streets of Draychester to find the relic before the city tears itself apart...

Death Of The Messenger

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