Ian Morson
First British Edition Simon & Schuster (2005) |
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The Tainted Relic
Writing with the Medieval Murderers
Five enthralling interlinked mysteries from Bernard Knight,
Ian Morson, Michael Jecks, Susanna Gregory and Philip Gooden, with a prologue by Simon Beaufort.
July, 1100. Jerusalem has fallen to the Crusader armies; the Holy City lies ransacked. Amidst the chaos, an English knight named Geoffrey Mappestone 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 will meet an untimely and gruesome end as soon as it leaves their possession.
Several decades later, the Cross turns up in the possession of a dealer - robbed and murdered en route to Glastonbury. Investigating the death, Bernard Knight’s protagonist Crowner John learns of its dark history.
In Oxford in 1269, the discovery of a decapitated monk leads Ian Morson’s academic sleuth William Falconer to uncover a link to the relic. In 1323, in Exeter, Michael Jecks’ Sir Baldwin has reason to suspect its involvement in at least five violent deaths.
Thirty years later, several suspicious deaths occur in Cambridge during a contentious debate about Holy Blood relics. Once more, as Susanna Gregory's Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael are to discover, the tainted relic has a crucial part to play.
Finally, it’s despatched to London, where it falls into the hands of an unscrupulous bookdealer and where Philip Gooden’s Nick Revill will determine its ultimate fate.
The Medieval Murderers is a group of crime writers whose novels span some of the most exciting periods of English history. The five members, Bernard Knight, Ian Morson, Michael Jecks, Susanna Gregory and Philip Gooden, are in constant demand to give talks and sit as panels for libraries, bookshops, clubs and associations throughout the UK.
| Paperback - Vista (1999) |
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Falconer and the Great Beast
Shortlisted for the inaugural Ellis Peters Historical Crime Dagger, awarded by the CWA, in 1999.
The trickiest mystery yet for the thirteenth-century Morse
It is 1268. Oxford is forced to play host to the Tartars, a tribe from the East whose fierceness is legendary, and whose deeds have wreaked havoc in France and Germany. This time they claim their mission is of peace - they merely wish to claim an audience with King Henry. But are they to be trusted?
Their arrival creates a sense of foreboding: whilst the Tartars stage a banquet outside the city walls, the town is unusually silent. No one, however, expects the Tartar ambassador himself to fall victim to evil. When he is found dead it looks like murder, but since there is no evidence how could it have been done, except by magic?
Falconer is on the case once more, but even he, a committed scientist, has cause to question the validity of his methods. And even when he thinks he's solved the case , he still has to trick the murderer into giving himself away.
| Paperback - Gollancz (1998) |
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First British Edition Gollancz (1997) |
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A Psalm for Falconer
Falconer strays from Oxford - with dramatic results.
A hunt for some rare texts from the library of a rogue bishop has taken Master William Falconer far from Oxford to the remote Conishead Priory. While crossing the treacherous shifting sands of Lancaster Bay witnesses the recovery of a body from the sandbanks marking the changing course of the River Kent.
Back at the priory. the body is identified as that of a monk who disappeared fifteen years earlier. But his death may not have been an accident - the dead man was to have been the new abbot, and the current abbot. who took his place exactly fifteen years ago. is the monks' prime suspect.
Beneath the calm surface of devotion and psalm singing. Falconer begins to uncover more than one secret that could be the reason for murder. His investigations lead him across the remote fastnesses of the lakes and mountains north of Conishead Priory and back. But it is only when Falconer is visited by the wraith of an ancient hermit that he discovers a treachery kept hidden for fifteen years.
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First British Edition Gollancz (1996) |
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| Paperback - Vista (1997) |
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Falconer and the Face of God
It is Christmas in Oxford, and Stefano de Askeles has brought his troop of jongleurs to town. Things have not been going well for him - poor Gyles de Multon was killed on stage in Winchester, and Stefano's pawing of Margaret the tumbler has her husband wild with jealousy. But Oxford is full of students, and the joy of the season may loosen their purse-strings.
Master William Falconer, meanwhile, has been scouring the back alleys of the town in search of an alchemist who can help his exiled mentor, Roger Bacon, in his researches. Thus it is that he witnesses the final rehearsal of de Askeles' play - and the death of an unfortunate stand-in. someone, it seems, wants de Askeles dead…
Falconer and the Face of God is Master William Falconer's third case, and another intriguing and atmospheric novel in this classic series of medieval murder mysteries.
| Paperback - Vista (1996) |
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Falconer's Judgement
blurb
About The Author
In his own words…
Born in 1947 in the Midlands town of Derby into a working class family whose members either worked for Rolls-Royce or on the railways. Educated at the local grammar school with high academic standards. The school was one of the first to start teaching Russian. Won a scholarship to Oxford University in 1965, and studied Russian. At Oxford, developed a love of folk music, and regularly performed at clubs and pubs. Was president of the Heritage Society. Almost met Bill Clinton (same college, wrong year). Fell in love with Oxford.
Obtained a grant to research into Folk-life studies at Leeds University for a year in 1968/69. Wrote a thesis on Folk and Music-hall songs. Had to look for a real job at the end of it.
Started work in London as a library assistant in Harrow, and progressed to a senior post in public libraries over the next twenty years. Got married (twice) and now lives in Mevagissey, Cornwall. Became interested in conservation, and spends a lot of time doing voluntary work for the National Trust. Also directs and performs for St Austell Players - local am-dram group.
Started writing for real at the age of 42, after having dabbled in (unperformed) radio plays and (unpublished) poetry. First Falconer novel published at the age of 47.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
The Tainted Relic
(Simon & Schuster,
2005)
May 05
Falconer and the Great Beast
(Gollancz,
1998)
Gollancz Mar 98
Vista Pbk May 99
(William Falconer)
A Psalm for Falconer
(Gollancz,
1997)
Gollancz Apr 97
Gollancz Pbk 1998
(William Falconer)
Falconer and the Face of God
(Gollancz,
1996)
Vista Pbk 1997
(William Falconer)
Falconer's Judgement
(Gollancz,
1995)
Vista Pbk 1996
(William Falconer)
Falconer's Crusade
(Gollancz,
1994)
Vista Pbk 1995
(William Falconer)
The Tainted Relic
WebPage: 
by Ian Morson
