John is a prince without prospect of a crown. As the youngest son of Henry II, he has long borne the hated nickname ‘Lackland’. When warring tribes and an ambitious Anglo-Norman lord threaten Henry’s reign in Ireland, John believes his time has finally come. Henry is dispatching him there with a mighty force to impose order.

Yet it is a thwarted young man who arrives on the troubled isle. John has not been granted its kingship—he is merely the Lord of Ireland, destined never to escape his father’s shadow. Unknown to John, Henry has also sent his right-hand man, Sir Benedict Palmer, to root out the traitors he fears are working to steal the land from him.

But Palmer is horrified when John disregards Henry’s orders and embarks on a campaign of bloodshed that could destroy the kingdom. Now Palmer has to battle the increasingly powerful Lord of Ireland. Power, in John’s hands, is a murderous force—and he is only just beginning to wield it.

England, 1176. King Henry II has imprisoned his rebellious Queen for attempting to overthrow him. But with her conspirators still at large and a failed assassination attempt on his beautiful mistress, Rosamund Clifford, the King must take action to preserve his reign.

Desperate, Henry turns to the only man he trusts: a man whose skills have saved him once before. Sir Benedict Palmer answers the call, mistakenly believing that his family will remain safe while he attends to his King.

As Palmer races to secure the throne for the King, neither man senses the hand of a brilliant schemer, a mystery figure loyal to Henry’s traitorous Queen who will stop at nothing to see the King defeated.

The Blood of the Fifth Knight is an intricate medieval murder mystery and a worthy sequel to E.M. Powell’s acclaimed historical thriller The Fifth Knight.

A murder that defies logic—and a killer on the loose.

England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York.

The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt—and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.

Facing growing unrest in the village and the fury of the lord of the manor, Stanton and Barling find themselves drawn into a mystery that defies logic, pursuing a killer who evades capture at every turn.

Can they solve the riddle of who is preying upon the villagers? And can they do it without becoming prey themselves?

Their lives are ones of quiet contemplation—and brutal murder.

Christmas Eve, 1176. Brother Maurice, monk of Fairmore Abbey, awaits the night prayer bell. But there is only silence. Cursing his fellow brother Cuthbert’s idleness, he seeks him out—and in the darkness, finds him brutally murdered.

Summoned from London to the isolated monastery on the Yorkshire Moors, Aelred Barling, clerk to the King’s justices, and his messenger Hugo Stanton, set about investigating the horrific crime. They quickly discover that this is far from a quiet monastic house. Instead, it seethes with bitter feuds, rivalries and resentments. But no sooner do they arrive than the killer strikes again—and again.

When Barling discovers a pattern to these atrocities, it becomes apparent that the murderer’s rampage is far from over. With everyone, including the investigators, now fearing for their lives, can Barling and Stanton unmask the culprit before more blood is spilled?

»Das Blut des fünften Ritters« ist ein packender historischer Roman und ein gelungener Nachfolger von E. M. Powells erfolgreichem Debut »Der fünfte Ritter«.

England, 1176. König Heinrich II. hat seine rebellische Königin wegen ihres Versuchs, ihn vom Thron zu stürzen, in Haft setzen lassen. Doch ihre Mitverschwörer sind noch auf freiem Fuß, und nach einem gescheiterten Mordanschlag auf seine wunderschöne Mätresse Rosamund Clifford ist der König unter Zugzwang. Verzweifelt wendet sich Heinrich an den Einzigen, dem er vertraut: Sir Benedict Palmer, der Mann, dessen Fähigkeiten den Herrscher schon einmal gerettet haben. Doch weder er noch der König ahnen, dass sie es mit einem hinterlistigen Widersacher zu tun haben, der loyal zu Heinrichs verräterischer Königin steht und vor nichts zurückschreckt. Während Sir Benedict dem Ruf seines Königs folgt, gerät seine Familie in größte Gefahr.

Um einem Leben in Armut zu entkommen, nimmt der Söldner Sir Benedict Palmer einen letzten lukrativen Auftrag an: Er soll den Rittern König Heinrichs II. helfen, den Verräter Erzbischof Thomas Becket in der Kathedrale von Canterbury zu verhaften. Aber was als heimliche Festnahme beginnt, endet als kaltblütiger Mord. Und als Fitzurse, der Anführer der Ritter, Theodosia, eine schöne junge Nonne und Zeugin des Verbrechens, entführt, kann Palmer nicht länger stillschweigend zusehen. Denn nicht nur Theodosias Tugend steht auf dem Spiel, sondern auch das Geheimnis, das sie unwissentlich hütet – ein Geheimnis, das Fitzurse ihr mit allen Mitteln entreißen will. Jetzt befinden sich Palmer und Theodosia auf der Flucht, Fremde aus verschiedenen Welten, die nun aufeinander angewiesen sind, während sie sich gemeinsam daranmachen, das verborgene Motiv hinter Beckets grausiger Ermordung aufzudecken – und die schockierende Wahrheit, die ein Königreich zerstören könnte.