Sarah Hawkswood

August 1144. Osbern de Lench is known far and wide as a hard master, whose temper is perpetually frayed. After his daily ride to survey his land, his horse returns to the hall riderless, and the lifeless body of the lord is found soon after. Was it the work of thieves, or something closer to home?

With an heir who is cast in the same hot-tempered mould, sworn enemies for neighbours and something amiss in the relationship between Osbern and his wife, undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, the wily Serjeant Catchpoll and his apprentice Walkelin have suspects aplenty.

Book 8 in the Bradecote & Catchpoll mystery series.

The much hated Eudo - the Lord Bishop of Winchester's clerk - is bludgeoned to death in Pershore Abbey and laid before the altar in the attitude of a penitent. Everyone had reason to dislike him, but who had reason to kill him? The Sheriff of Worcestershire's thief taker, wily Serjeant Catchpoll, and his new and unwanted superior, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, have to find the answer. And as the claustrophobic walls of the Abbey close in on the suspects, the killer strikes again...

Worcester, January 1145. Poison strikes down bow maker Godfrey Bowyer and his wife Blanche after their evening meal. While she survives, he dies an agonising death. Few could have administered the poison, which should mean a very short investigation for the Sheriff’s men, Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin. But perhaps someone was pulling the strings, and that widens the net considerably.

With an unpopular victim, the suspects are many and varied.

Book 10 in the Bradecote & Catchpoll mystery series.

April, 1145. Thorgar the Ploughman is found by the bloodied body of Father Edmund, a village priest in Ripple, and is summarily hanged for being caught at the scene of the crime, despite his pleas of innocence.

When his sister goes to Worcester to seek justice for Thorgar, the lord Sheriff sends Hugh Bradecote, with Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin, to discover the truth.

They soon expose strong motives for placing the blame on the ploughman’s shoulders, some unpleasant secrets festering among the villagers, and the whisper of a treasure long lost and now rediscovered. The noose casts a long shadow, but the Sheriff’s men will need to plumb the darkness to uncover the true killer.

Book 11 in the Bradecote & Catchpoll mystery series.

All Hallows’ Eve, 1144. The savaged body of Durand Wuduweard, the solitary and unpopular keeper of the King’s Forest of Feckenham, is discovered beside his hearth, his corpse rendered barely identifiable by sharp teeth.

Whispers of a wolf on the prowl grow louder and Sheriff William de Beauchamp’s men, Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and young Walkelin, are tasked with cutting through the clamour. They must uncover who killed Durand and why, while beset by superstitious villagers, raids upon manors and further grim deaths. Out of the shadows of the forest, where will the wolf’s fangs strike next?

Book 9 in the Bradecote & Catchpoll mystery series.