DEATH AND THE CHAPMAN is the first in the series of Roger the Chapman mysteries – the memoirs of an insatiably curious ex-monk whose new vocation is to seek out justice for the victims of medieval miscreants.

The political situation in 1471 is complex and the war between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions still rages. But for Roger the Chapman, who has recently given up a monk’s cell for the freedom to be found peddling his wares on the open road, life goes on much as normal. Until, that is, he gets caught up in the strange disappearance of Clement Weaver, the only son of a wealthy Bristol alderman. It seems that Clement is not the only one to have vanished without trace from the Crossed Hands inn… Roger’s interest is piqued and at the request of the alderman he sets off for the bustle and excitement of London, to find out just how Clement disappeared. It is a journey that carries him to a confrontation with the highest in the land and puts his very life in jeopardy.

DEATH AND THE CHAPMAN is the first in the series of Roger the Chapman mysteries – the memoirs of an insatiably curious ex-monk whose new vocation is to seek out justice for the victims of medieval miscreants.

The political situation in 1471 is complex and the war between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions still rages. But for Roger the Chapman, who has recently given up a monk’s cell for the freedom to be found peddling his wares on the open road, life goes on much as normal. Until, that is, he gets caught up in the strange disappearance of Clement Weaver, the only son of a wealthy Bristol alderman. It seems that Clement is not the only one to have vanished without trace from the Crossed Hands inn… Roger’s interest is piqued and at the request of the alderman he sets off for the bustle and excitement of London, to find out just how Clement disappeared. It is a journey that carries him to a confrontation with the highest in the land and puts his very life in jeopardy.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #2Find the killer. Solve the case. Save yourself.Roger the Chapman has been royally commanded to escort a King's messenger, Philip Underdown, who is carrying a vital despatch aboard his ship in Plymouth.When the messenger is murdered with Roger's own cudgel – a Plymouth cloak – he is appalled to find himself the chief suspect in a world of double-dealing, sin and political chicanery.Discovering Underdown's shady past of slave dealing, however, Roger quickly learns that the messenger had no shortage of enemies waiting patiently to exact revenge…A truly gripping medieval mystery, with twists and turns to keep you completely hooked, perfect for fans of S. J. Parris, Graham Brack and S. W. Perry.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #3Sometimes dead men tell the most interesting tales…New Year's, 1474, finds Roger the Chapman collapsed with fever after wandering the frozen roads of Western England. Taken in by widow Margaret Walker and her daughter, Lillis, in the ancient trading port of Bristol, he awakens to find himself in the middle of another mystery.The two women seem mistrusted by villagers and uneasy even at home. He learns that Margaret's father vanished last year, presumed dead. A man was hanged for his murder, but not two months later the old man wandered back into town, unable to account for his disappearance.Vowing to root out the evil at work in the Walker home, Roger puts his God-given talent for solving mysteries to good use, once more unravelling the complex web before him: a town plagued by secret allegiances, rivalries and deceit…The third book in the completely gripping Roger the Chapman mysteries, full of suspense and intrigue, perfect for fans of D. V. Bishop, Graham Brack and S. G. MacLean.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #4A town paralysed with fear, two children gone missing. Roger’s most difficult case yet…April, 1475. As Roger approaches the thriving village of Totnes, danger crackles in the air. A pack of cutthroats wanders the forest after a night of pillaging, and Roger barely manages to hide from them in the brush.He soon learns that the marauding band has been terrorizing the countryside for weeks. And worse, they are believed to be responsible for the disappearance of two village children.But how did the children get out of the house unnoticed in broad daylight? And would the outlaws really kill just for the sake of killing? Roger cannot rest – or rule out the possibility of more violence – until he solves the puzzle.Another scintillating medieval mystery from master of the genre Kate Sedley, perfect for fans of Ellis Peters, Paul Doherty and Edward Marston.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #5A nefarious plot will go right to the heart of the most powerful seat in the land…Roger the Chapman returns to London in the summer of 1475 for some badly needed rest and entertainment. But the hand of Fate interrupts his plans once again …King Edward IV is readying his troops to invade France with a great show of strength, and though rumors abound that the king is reluctant, London is teeming with the energy of the march.But as the campaign approaches, a spy infiltrates the household of the Duke of Gloucester, the king’s brother, leaving one dead in their wake. All information indicates that the spy is the tool of a conspiracy to assassinate the duke before the king’s invasion.Motive and method, no one knows – only that the duke’s death is promised by the eve of Saint Hyacinth. Roger, who proved his loyalty to Gloucester in a case a few years ago, is the only one the duke trusts to uncover the traitor and the powers behind him.A gripping political thriller and masterful medieval mystery novel, perfect for fans of D. V. Bishop, C. J. Sansom and Ellis Peters.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #6Despite the wintry weather, Roger, the traveling Chapman, is once again relishing the freedom of his calling. As he journeys west, he finds himself following in the footsteps of an itinerant preacher, Brother Simeon, whose fiery sermons are the talk of the countryside. Roger, who has met the Dominican friar before, and finds his zeal wearying, is less than enthused when they meet at Cederwell Manor, where Simeon has come to pray with Lady Cederwell and Roger to sell her his wares.But scarcely have the two men arrived when Lady Cederwell is found dead, sprawled on the frozen earth beneath the ancient tower she had converted into her private chapel, the circumstances strangely fulfilling the prophecy of a babbling hermit Roger had met on the road. Suddenly the friar and the Chapman are united by their aim – to discover the truth behind the death at Cederwell Manor.In this, the sixth in her atmospheric and thoughtful detective series, Kate Sedley confirms her place in the world of medieval crime fiction.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #7Roger the traveling chapman should be on his way home to medieval Bristol after a nice summer's peddling. But a request from his duke to escort a bride en route to her betrothed takes him toward Wells, where the groom and his brother have vanished.Roger links the disappearances to the discovery of ancient scrolls written in a strange language. But as he deciphers the archaic tongue, he concludes that a still-greater mystery lies at the heart of the brothers’ disappearance.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #7Roger the traveling chapman should be on his way home to medieval Bristol after a nice summer's peddling. But a request from his duke to escort a bride en route to her betrothed takes him toward Wells, where the groom and his brother have vanished.Roger links the disappearances to the discovery of ancient scrolls written in a strange language. But as he deciphers the archaic tongue, he concludes that a still-greater mystery lies at the heart of the brothers’ disappearance.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #8The year is 1476, and after a hard winter hawking his wares through the ice and rain, Roger the Chapman is looking forward to spending Christmas in Bristol, enjoying the warm hearth and good food of his mother-in-law Margaret – even if it means the young widower will have to endure her constant matchmaking.However, Margaret has barely introduced him to her cousin Adela when Roger’s attentions are demanded elsewhere. The long-lost son of a wealthy Bristol weaver, presumed murdered on a visit to London six years before, has miraculously reappeared, to the delight of the old man and to the indignation of Alison Burnett, who refuses to believe that the bedraggled stranger is her brother Clement – the rightful heir to half her father’s fortune. When Alison’s violent objections provoke Alderman Weaver into disinheriting her altogether, she appeals to Roger’s reputation as a solver of mysteries to prove her growing suspicions right.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #8The year is 1476, and after a hard winter hawking his wares through the ice and rain, Roger the Chapman is looking forward to spending Christmas in Bristol, enjoying the warm hearth and good food of his mother-in-law Margaret – even if it means the young widower will have to endure her constant matchmaking.However, Margaret has barely introduced him to her cousin Adela when Roger’s attentions are demanded elsewhere. The long-lost son of a wealthy Bristol weaver, presumed murdered on a visit to London six years before, has miraculously reappeared, to the delight of the old man and to the indignation of Alison Burnett, who refuses to believe that the bedraggled stranger is her brother Clement – the rightful heir to half her father’s fortune. When Alison’s violent objections provoke Alderman Weaver into disinheriting her altogether, she appeals to Roger’s reputation as a solver of mysteries to prove her growing suspicions right.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #9It is October 1477 and Roger the Chapman, newly married and still enjoying wedded bliss, is surprised to find his old, familiar feeling of restlessness returning. Within a month he is setting off, once again, on the ancient ridge road that dissects Dartmoor and heads for Plymouth, driven by some instinct that he is needed there.Roger accepts a lift from a carter who is going to visit his daughter, Joanna, in the oldest part of the city. Roger’s instinct is soon proven correct when Joanna tells the story of her neighbor, Master Capstick, who was brutally beaten to death. The chief suspect is Capstick’s great-nephew, Beric. Master Capstick’s housekeeper saw Beric leaving the house that morning, his tunic stained with blood, and many more people saw the young man’s wild ride for home on his great black horse. When the King’s men arrived at Beric’s manor house, though, the horse was already in the stables – and Beric had somehow managed to vanish completely.The local people, quick to fall back on the witchcraft of their ancestors, blame the Saint John’s fern, which if eaten can make a man invisible. Roger, already responsible for solving many difficult mysteries, suspects that there is a more obvious answer and begins his own inquiries. Roger notices that he is not the first to approach witnesses, and when an attempt is made on his life, Roger knows he must be close to a truth that is even more extraordinary than the superstition – if only he can live to tell it.

Roger the Chapman Mystery #10

King Edward IV trembles as he decides the fate of his sibling. And Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots, trying to find a way to save George from being put to death by their eldest – and powerful – brother, the King.

So when the Duke sees his old and loyal servant, monk-turned-travelling salesman Roger the Chapman, among the crowd at the trial he recognises that he has a chance. If only the chapman-sleuth could prove that the kinswoman of the King’s favorite leman hadn’t poisoned her taciturn husband. If Isolda Bonifant, the daughter of a well-established London goldsmith, were innocent and her name cleared, then Edward’s chief mistress – cousin of the accused Isolda – would be more than willing to do the wily Duke’s bidding.

But Roger the Chapman must act fast and, in a complex case like this one and with the pressure of Richard of Gloucester upon him, he can’t simply rely on his intuition…