The Abbot's Dilemma

In the 1440s, Sherborne has become a place verging on civil disobedience echoing the unrest felt in other parts of the land under the young King Henry VI.

The Abbot of Sherborne has a serious problem which could undermine the very fabric of the Abbey, so reluctantly asks for help.

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Who is the stranger seeking a child adopted by a local seamstress some years ago, and will Matthias be able to protect him from harm?

The penultimate book of the series leads into the coming Wars of the Roses. Which side will they opt for in the gathering storm?

A Tale of Two Abbeys

The building of the Alms house in Sherborne has taken the good people of Sherborne into much thought and energetic fund raising, despite still owing the Abbot money for rebuilding after the fire.

Against this backdrop, Shaftesbury Abbey becomes embroiled in a gruesome happening which involves A Sherborne family close to the young schoolmaster, Matthias Barton.With eighteen miles of hard riding between the two towns, how can this be resolved?

Missal for Murder

Sherborne in 1436 was a quarrelsome town, the townspeople and the Abbot at loggerheads over the narrowing of the entrance to Allhallows, the chapel-of-ease attached to the Abbey, and the positioning of a font in the same chapel.

Against this background, a young man is found murdered in the Lady Chapel of the Abbey, and subsequent strange deaths occur. Matthias Barton feels compelled to investigate and being unused to murder, stumbles along until suddenly things become clearer to him.Will he, together with the local coroner Sir Tobias, unravel the mystery before things become too heated?

Spare the Rod

The fourth in the series sees Matthias as a married man but all is not plain sailing as his young step-son makes waves in the household.

With the school remaining successful, Matthias is forced to make some hard decisions when young Luke runs away and then disappears.

Following ancient  drovers' tracks through Hampshire and Sussex, Matthias is far from home and eventually on the track of a killer.

A Quenchless Fire

When an injured man appears at the home of Sir Tobias, Coroner of Dorset, claiming to have devastating news of his son-in-law, he is compelled to investigate for the sake of his daughter and grandson.

Matthias Barton is drawn into the investigation and travels to Calais to seek answers. Here he and William, squire to Sir Tobias, discover a sinister organisation designed to weaken the English soldiers in their failing battle against the French.

Meanwhile in Sherborne, the unrest grows stronger and the fire in the Abbey reveals a most gruesome discovery. Matthias must gather his wits about him to help unravel this strange affair.