"Ripper Notes: Madmen, Myths and Magic" is a collection of essays about the notorious Whitechapel serial killer Jack the Ripper and other topics that shed new light on the case. Jan Bondeson discusses "Serial Sadistic Stabbers" throughout history, including the interesting case of the London Monster, a man who stabbed women in London in the 18th ce...more

It's January 1325 and England is a hotbed of paranoia under the reign of the increasingly unpredictable King Edward II and his lover, Sir Hugh le Despenser. When the Queen’s lady-in-waiting is slaughtered and the hideously mutilated body of a man is found behind the throne, Edward demands to be avenged. Despenser appoints experienced investigator...more

Alone in his isolated, windswept chapel on the edge of Dartmoor, his only companions moor men and poverty–stricken serfs, who could blame the young priest, Mark for seeking affection from Jane, the local miller’s daughter? But when Jane’s body is found brutally stabbed, Mark is the obvious suspect—and the discovery that Jane was pregnant se...more

It is 1325 and there is turmoil in England, but the Prophecy of St Thomas's Holy Oil just might save King Edward II. It is believed that the king who is anointed with the oil will be a lion among men: he will conquer France, unite Christendom, and throw the heathens from the Holy Land. Edward’s reputation has been sullied following his rejectio...more

It is February 1355, and Oxford has exploded in one of the most serious riots of its turbulent history. Fearing for their lives, the scholars flee the city, and some choose the University at Cambridge as their refuge. They don’t remain safe for long, however—within hours of their arrival, two people have died. When Bartholomew and Brother Micha...more

Cambridgeshire, 1354, and the Bishop of Ely has been accused of a most terrible murder. Glovere was steward to Lady Blanche de Wake, a close relative of the King. A malicious gossip, his body was discovered days after the Bishop had publicly threatened him. Protesting his innocence, the Bishop summons Cambridge proctor Brother Michael to help clear...more

After the Puritan ban on Christmas festivities, Restoration London is awash with excess between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night, but the two men found in Westminster Hall had not died from a surfeit of gluttony, but from poison. The Lord Chancellor appoints Chaloner as his investigator into the killings, believing them to be of scant importance to ...more