Page Updated: 04/02/2008

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Michael Jecks - Page 4

The Traitor of St.Giles Belladonna at Belstone Squire Throwleigh's Heir The Leper's Return The Abbot's Gibbet

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First British Edition Headline (2000)

The Traitor of St.Giles
It is 1321 and the King's favourite, Hugh Despenser, is corruptly using his position to steal lands and wealth from other lords. His rapacity has divided the nation and civil war looms.
In Tiverton rape and murder have unsettled the folk preparing for St Giles' feast. Philip Dyne has confessed and claimed sanctuary in St Peter's church but he must leave the country. If he doesn't, he'll be declared an outlaw, his life forfeit.
Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, arrive at Lord Hugh de Courtenay's castle at Tiverton for the feast. When a messenger arrives calling for the Coroner, Baldwin and Simon accompany him to view the body of Sir Gilbert of Carlisle, Despenser's ambassador to Lord Hugh. Not far off lies a second corpse: the decapitated figure of Dyne. The Coroner is satisfied that Dyne killed the knight and was then murdered: Dyne was an outlaw, so he doesn't merit the law's attention, but Sir Baldwin feels too many questions are left unanswered. How could a weak, unarmed peasant kill a trained warrior? And if he did, what happened to Sir Gilbert's horse - and money?
When Baldwin and Simon are themselves viciously attacked they know that there must be another explanation. A more sinister enemy is at large, someone with a powerful motive to kin. But there are so many suspects...

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First British Edition Headline (1999)

Paperback - Headline (2000)

Belladonna at Belstone
Moll, a young nun, lies in the infirmary of St Mary's Priory, Belstone, having been bled to cure a migraine. Left to rest, she is just falling into a doze, smiling as she dreams of her beloved Virgin Mary when she suddenly awakes, realising in terror that she can't breathe. But she is too weak to fight for her life...
It's 1321 and Lady Elizabeth of Topsham, prioress of St Mary's, is struggling to retain her position in the face of devastating opposition. Not only is St Mary's in the worst possible state of disrepair due to lack of funds, but Sister Margherita, her treasurer, has accused her of lascivious disregard, claiming that, instead of paying for a new roof, Elizabeth has given money to the new vicar, a man she often sees alone - at night. Many of the nuns are convinced that Margherita would make a better prioress - especially now it has been confirmed that Moll was murdered on her sickbed.
Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, together with his old friend Bailiff Simon Puttock, are summoned immediately by the Bishop of Stapledon's representative to investigate. There is no doubt that the threefold vows of obedience, chastity and poverty are being broken with alarming frequency. When a second nun is murdered they face their most difficult case yet. The path to the truth twists and turns with the sinister forces of primitive passions and secret ambitions, finally leading them to a dangerous wolf in sheep's clothing.

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Paperback - Headline (1999)

First British Edition Headline (1999)

Squire Throwleigh's Heir
It's late spring in 1321 and as Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, prepares for his wedding, he receives the news that one of his guests, Roger, Squire of Throwleigh, has just died.
Roger's death is sad, though not entirely unexpected for a man of his age, and Sir Baldwin - together with his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock - travels to the funeral. The new master of Throwleigh is little Herbert: five years old, and isolated in his grief, for his distraught mother Katharine unfairly blames him for her husband's death. At Lady Katharine's visible rejection of her son, Baldwin feels deeply disturbed about the new heir's apparent lack of protection. For having inherited a large estate and much wealth, the boy will doubtless have made dangerous enemies…
When Herbert is reported dead only a few days later, however, the evidence seems to show that the boy was accidentally run over by a horse and cart. But Baldwin nevertheless suspects foul play. And as he and Simon begin to investigate the facts, they are increasingly convinced that Herbert was murdered.
There is no doubt that there are many in Throwleigh who would have likes to see Herbert dead, but little do Baldwin and Simon realise that their investigation will lead them to the most sinister and shocking murderer they have yet encountered.

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First British Edition Headline (1998)

Paperback - Headline (1999)

The Leper's Return
It is 1320 and civil war is looming as Ralph of Houndeslow rides into Crediton. Ralph faces a daunting task as Master of St Lawrence's, the leper hospital. Not only are his charges grievously ill, they are also outcasts of society, shunned by all healthy folk.
The citizens of Crediton have other concerns. The murder of Godfrey of London and the assault on his daughter Cecily, for instance, crimes all too easily attributed to the conman and womaniser John of Irlaunde. Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, is not convinced that John is the culprit, and soon he is following other leads, assisted by Bailiff Simon Puttock. But only when they discover the identity of the man overheard talking to Cecily before the attack will the astounding truth begin to emerge.
Meanwhile feeling against the lepers is growing, fed by rumours deliberately spread. Unless the burghers of Crediton can be made to see reason, Baldwin and Simon could have full-scale slaughter on their hands...

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Paperback - Headline

First British Edition Headline (1998)

The Abbot's Gibbet
See Review by Phyllis Davis
The year is 1319 and Tavistock's fair has drawn merchants to Devon from all over England and beyond. Keeping the streets clean and the locals in order is no easy task, for the influx of visitors and their money puts temptation in the way of cut-purses and other villains but no one expects a murder, and butcher Will Ruby is stunned to discover a corpse - a headless corpse at that.
Former Knight Templar Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford, have just arrived in Tavistock as guests of Abbot Robert Champeaux when the body is found. The crime falls within the Abbot's jurisdiction, and when he asks Simon and Baldwin to investigate, they can hardly refuse. But with an unidentifiable victim, they're badly hampered in their inquiries.
Nonetheless there's no shortage of suspicious behaviour to spur them on. Elias, the cook near whose shop the gruesome remains were found, clearly has something to hide. A surprisingly aggressive young monk has been behaving in an ungodly fashion. And the town is awash with strangers, any one of whom could be concealing a sinister past.
Can Simon and Baldwin unravel the complex web of intrigue that has brought death to Tavistock, as the undercurrents of anger and violence that lie beneath the bustling activity of the fair grow ever fiercer?
'A goodly helping of period authenticity' Oxford Times
'A medieval mystery to rank with the best' Northern Echo
'Jeck's knowledge of medieval history is impressive and it is used to great effect' Crime Time

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