The Templar's Penance

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.

Michael Jecks gave up a career in the computer industry to concentrate on writing and the study of medieval history, especially that of Devon and Cornwall. He lives with his family in northern Dartmoor.