The Templar's Penance

In this richly atmospheric series of medieval murder mysteries, Michael Jecks gives us tales steeped in intrigue and historical detail. Skillfully evoking the colorful, but often brutal tableaux of the Middle Ages, Jecks has drawn comparison with Ellis Peters. Now former Knight Templar Sir Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock, his savvy sleuths, are on the case again in another compelling, wellamp;#8211;crafted tale.

Summer, 1323. Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock have been granted leave to go on pilgrimage, each seeking solace after the recent traumatic events in Gidleigh. Together, they travel across Europe to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, but danger is never far away. Foreign travel is perilous—outlaws and robbers threaten at all times, not to mention the risks of political unrest and a recent spate of attacks on pilgrims. But it seems an even greater menace hangs over the city of Santiago. A beautiful young girl is found raped and murdered on the hillside, her broken body leaving no doubt that she is the victim of the most brutal of killers. Among the first to arrive at the scene, Baldwin and Simon lend their investigative skills to the ensuing inquiry headed by the local pesquisidore. With so many keen minds on the case, it can only be a matter of time until the culprit is found. But they are reckoning with the unexpected appearance of a face from Baldwin’s past—a face that looks set to threaten not only the investigation, but Baldwin’s very future.The Templar’s Penance is the fifteenth tale in Michael Jecks’ superbly plotted medieval mystery series.