Mercenaries are common in 14th-century Devon, but these ones are particularly troublesome, showing no respect for anyone and seducing the local girls. Then a young girl is discovered murdered and hidden in a chest - the first of the Crediton killings. Can the killer's identity be discovered?

"Nick Morris is your classic struggling artist. He paints pet portraits to pay the bills but is always just one big commission away from a more comfortable life. Which is why he agrees to paint the reluctant, hot-tempered hotelier, Jason Robart. But Nick gets more than he bargained for when he finds Jason dead from a shotgun blast to the head in an apparent suicide. No one seems upset about his death except for his girlfriend Elizabeth, and Nick,...

"Sir Roger Mortimer calls on bailiff Simon Puttock to investigate the murder of Bristol merchant Arthur Capon and his family in the midst of dramatic events swirling around Edward II, his queen, Isabella, and Sir Hugh le Despenser in the tumultuous year 1326."--

London, 1555. Queen Mary is newly married to Philip II of Spain - and not everyone is happy about the alliance. The kingdom is divided between those loyal to Catholic Mary and those who support her half-sister, Lady Elizabeth. Former cutpurse turned paid assassin Jack Blackjack has more immediate matters to worry about. Having been ordered to kill a man, he determines to save him instead. But Jack defies his spymaster at his peril and even the best-laid...

The midwife and healer Agatha Kyteler has only ever helped the locals, but to some superstitious folk her skills seem like witchcraft. Sir Baldwin and his friend Simon must forge a path through the suspicion, jealousy and disloyalty of the little village to find her murderer.

"London. May, 1556. Hal Westmecott, one of the city's most feared executioners, reckons Jack Blackjack owes him a favour - and now he's come to collect his dues. Hal has ordered Jack to track down his long-lost son and, although Jack believes he's been set an impossible task, he's in no position to refuse. But when Jack's search draws him to the attention of a ruthless nobleman, a dead priest's vengeful brother and finally to a bloodstained body in...

April, 1555. A priest has been stabbed to death in the village of St Botolph, to the east of the City of London, his body left to rot by the roadside - and Jack Blackjack stands accused of his murder. As well as clearing his name, Jack has his own reasons for wanting to find out who really killed the priest - but this is an investigation where nothing is as it seems. Was it a random attack by a desperate outlaw, or do the answers lie in the murdered...

When Ralph, a noted philanthropist, is found dead, Exeter's people are baffled, but then a youth is poisoned in the Cathedral and the mystery deepens. Was it suicide, or was he killed by outlaws in revenge for the hanging of their comrade? Hidden by the Christmas celebrations, there is a ruthless murderer who will soon strike again.

1554. Light-fingered Jack Blackjack knows he's not having a good day when he wakes with a sore head next to a dead body in a tavern's yard. But when he discovers what's in the dead man's purse, the one he'd stolen, his day is set to get much worse ...