Description

Does an anchorite hear the voice of an angel … or a demon?

1330, Yorkshire, England

Edmund of Woodstock, the Earl of Kent, is executed for High Treason against King Edward III.

At his trial, it is claimed that a demon was conjured up by a monk versed in the Dark Arts, who told him that his brother, King Edward II, still lived.

Keen to quell rumours of sorcery that could do untold damage to the royal house and to the country, Sir Richard Lee, Sergeant-at-Law, is instructed by Sir Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella, the king’s mother, to seek out the monk who delivered the message.

When a minstrel is struck down by a seizure before Sir Richard’s court, many believe the man to be possessed of a demon. Richard’s assistant, Hubert of Loxley, is given the task of riding to Cawthorne Priory to deliver the minstrel into the care of the monastery hospital.

Also at the priory is the anchorite, Sister Odelina, blessed with visions and the power to heal the sick.

But when a number of sinister deaths take place at the priory, blame falls upon the minstrel and the demon inside him.

Are the deaths the work of evil spirits? Or is there a murderer in their midst…?

With panic on the rise, can Sir Richard discover the truth before evil strikes again…?

THE MINSTREL’S MALADY is the fifth book in the Sandal Castle Medieval Thriller series: historical murder mysteries set in Yorkshire.

THE SANDAL CASTLE MEDIEVAL THRILLER SERIES:
Book One: The Pardoner’s Crime
Book Two: The Summoner’s Sins
Book Three: The Franklin’s Felony
Book Four: The Fool’s Folly
Book Five: The Minstrel’s Malady