The Tolls of Death

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 Ell... Read more

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, arc on the case again in another compelling, well-crafted tale. After their grueling journeys to Galicia and Scilly, Simon Puttock and Baldwin Furnshill are at last back on the English mainland, dumped unceremoniously when their shipmaster partakes of his intoxicating cargo and almost sinks the ship. Eager to get home, Baldwin and Simon set off on horseback, but they only get as far as Cardinham Castle on Bodmin Moor. Here, they are detained by the "castellan who requires their help in solving two murders on the estate. The first victim is a widow, found dead with her two children. The second is the miller, who has recently been discovered embezzling castle money taken in tolls. As Baldwin and Simon begin a double investigation, they must delve deep into village friendships and family loyalties to find Cardinham's evil killer. "The Tolls of Death is the seventeenth tale in Michael Jecks' superbly plotted mystery series. Less