Jeri Westerson - Free Library Land Online - Fiction

Spiteful Bones

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 15:30:22 +0200

The restoration of a crumbling manor house leaves Crispin Guest grappling with a troubling discovery in this entertaining medieval noir mystery. Restoring his recently inherited family home is a daunting enough task for young lawyer Nigellus Cobmartin without the addition of any unwelcome discoveries. But when workmen turning the crumbling manor house into a grand home for Nigellus and his companion, John Rykener, uncover a skeleton bound, tied and hidden in the wall - and holding the precious relic that went missing from his father's estate nearly twenty years ago - Nigellus immediately calls on London tracker Crispin Guest for help. Whose bones are they, and why was the valuable relic buried with the thief? Crispin and Jack are drawn into a mystery of dark secrets, family scandal and old grudges as they attempt to find the truth behind a load of old bones.

Deadly Rising

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 12:25:12 +0200

Things were quiet in Strange Herbs & Teas. For about a week.
Our crossbow slinging hero and her ragtag gang of Wiccans tuned in to the paranormal have earned some rest. But when Kylie learns that the Booke may have released not one, but two creatures of horror out into the world, it's up to her to save Moody Bog. Again.
Calling upon the devilishly handsome demon Erasmus once more for help, Kylie's determined to handle the mischief of the Booke and go back to a normal life. But when digging through Moody Bog's history leads her to the ghost of her grandfather, the past she once knew is turned upside down.
Can Kylie save the town and her grandfather, or will the horrors of the Booke be too much to handle?

The Darkest Gateway

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 19:30:10 +0200

With Halloween just a week away, tea-shop proprietor Kylie Strange doesn't have much in the way of holiday spirit. She's just learned that the last day of October also heightens the power of magic—which means the potential for a tidal wave of evil creatures to emerge from that supernatural Booke of the Hidden.
Destroying the ancient Booke once and for is the ultimate solution. But the only way to accomplish this task involves a journey to the Netherworld and the help of the only being powerful enough to destroy the Booke: Satan himself. And, though the brooding and elusive Erasmus Dark has captured Kylie's heart against her better judgment, she ignores his repeated warnings that the mission guarantees her doom.
With Kylie in the Netherworld, her coven must stave off the onslaught of deadly creatures that emerge from the Booke—as well as hold back the encroaching destruction of the maniacal god Baphomet. Luckily, they're joined by some unlikely friends in their fight against...

Traitor's Codex

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 16:00:00 +0200

Crispin Guest, Tracker of London, is enjoying his ale in the Boar's Tusk tavern – until a stranger leaves a mysterious wrapped bundle on his table, telling him, "You'll know what to do." Inside is an ancient leather-bound book written in an unrecognizable language. Accompanied by his apprentice, Jack Tucker, Crispin takes the unknown codex to a hidden rabbi, where they make a shocking discovery: it is the Gospel of Judas from the Holy Land, and its contents challenge the very doctrine of Christianity itself. Crispin is soon drawn into a deadly maze involving murder, living saints, and lethal henchmen. Why was he given the blasphemous book, and what should he do with it? A series of horrific events confirm his fears that there are powerful men who want it – and who will stop at nothing to see it destroyed.

Sword of Shadows

Sat, 09 Mar 2019 14:52:57 +0200

A quest to find the ancient sword Excalibur quickly turns into a hunt for a determined killer for Crispin Guest.
London, 1396. A trip to the swordsmith shop for Crispin Guest, Tracker of London, and his apprentice Jack Tucker takes an unexpected turn when Crispin crosses paths with Carantok Teague, a Cornish treasure hunter. Carantok has a map he is convinced will lead him to the sword of Excalibur – a magnificent relic dating back to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table – and he wants Crispin to help him find it.
Travelling to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall with Carantok and Jack, Crispin is soon reunited with an old flame as he attempts to locate the legendary sword. But does Excalibur really exist, or is he on an impossible quest? When a body is discovered, Crispin's search for treasure suddenly turns into a hunt for a dangerous killer.

The Daemon Device

Sat, 05 Jan 2019 17:45:56 +0200

London, 1891. Dirigibles, like dark leviathans, surge through the sooty skies of London. Steam powers the engines that supply electricity to the new lights along the Thames. And strange murder appears on the seamy streets.

Someone is killing women and gutting them for their body parts. Is it Jack the Ripper returned, or a far more sinister plot afoot than murder?

Magician Leopold Kazsmer, the Great Enchanter, ashamed of his Jewish-Gypsy blood, has fashioned himself into a proper English gentleman, though he harbors a carefully guarded secret; he has learned the dangerous art of summoning daemons and through it, performs real magic.

With the help of Raj, a tarot-reading automated man, and Eurynomos, a shrewd Jewish daemon, Leopold must discover what is behind the revolting murders that suddenly seem to involve tight-lipped German scientists, Golems in a plot of world domination, ghosts, demons, and the beautiful Scotland Yard Special Inspector, Mingli...

Shadows in the Mist

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 15:59:59 +0200

Small town tea shop proprietor Kylie Strange already has a lot on her plate. The last thing she needs is more trouble to spring up from the mystical Booke of the Hidden.
Keeping one step ahead of a scheming demon, supernatural assassins, and Baphomet—an angry god hellbent on stealing the Booke—it's all more than enough for one person to handle. And that's without mentioning her competing affections for the demon Erasmus Dark and the handsome, human Sheriff Ed.
But soon enough, Kylie and her coven hear whispers of new disturbances in Moody Bog. Strange creatures have been stalking the townsfolk and rumors of violent encounters confirm their deadly intent. Worst of all, the Booke of the Hidden is not to blame, and no one is sure what is.
Kylie and her coven of Wiccans need to prioritize. Which is worse? The mysterious and lethal creatures or Baphomet, who—if he gets his way—will unleash Hell upon Moody Bog...and beyond.

Courting Dragons

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 14:11:18 +0200

Introducing Will Somers, the king's jester but nobody's fool in this exuberant, intriguing and thoroughly entertaining mystery set in Tudor England – the first in a new series from the author of the critically acclaimed Crispin Guest Medieval Noir series.

1529, London. Jester Will Somers enjoys an enviable position at the court of Henry VIII. As the king's entertainer, chief gossip-monger, spy and loyal adviser, he knows all of the king's secrets – and almost everyone else's within the walls of Greenwich Palace.
But when Will discovers the body of Spanish count Don Gonzalo while walking his trusted sidekick Nosewise in the courtyard gardens, and a blackmail note arrives soon after demanding information about the king, is one of his own closely guarded secrets about to be exposed? Trouble is afoot at the palace. Are the king's enemies plotting a move against him? Will must draw on all his wit and ingenuity to get to the bottom of the...

Serpent in the Thorns cg-2

Tue, 15 Nov 2016 17:04:39 +0200

Convicted of treason, Crispin Guest was stripped of his title, his land, his money and his friends. Now with only his considerable wits to sustain him, Guest works the mean streets of 14th century London, building a small reputation for his skill. In 1383, a simple-minded tavern girl comes to his door—a body was found where she works and she’s the only person who could have killed him. Except for the fact that the man was killed in place by a precisely aimed crossbow bolt. Making matters worse, the murdered man was one of three couriers from the French king, transporting a relic intended to smooth the troubled relations between France and England. Events quickly spin out of control and Guest now finds himself the prime suspect in the murder, one with terrible diplomatic implications. As the drumbeat of war between the two countries grow, Guest must unravel the conspiracy behind the murder to save not only his country, but himself as well. From Publishers Weekly Westerson's second medieval mystery to feature former English knight Crispin Guest (after 2008's Veil of Lies ) works better as a suspense novel than as a whodunit. Implicated in a plot against Richard II, the disgraced Guest (aka the Tracker) has reinvented himself as an investigator for hire, with both private and public clients. One day in 1384, Grayce, a simpleminded scullion, seeks Guest's help because there's a dead man in her room at the King's Head Inn in Southwark. Grayce claims she killed the man, who turns out to have been a French courier bearing a gift for the English king—the legendary Crown of Thorns, rumored to have been worn by Jesus and to have the ability to confer special powers on its wearer. The Tracker soon finds himself in a political tempest. Westerson's mix of period terms and American tough-guy prose—at one point an archer asks the detective, Didn't you use to be somebody?—may grate on the ears of some historical fans.

The Deepest Grave

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 11:57:45 +0200

London, 1392. Strange mischief is afoot at St Modwen's Church. Are corpses stalking the graveyard at night, disturbing graves, and dragging coffins? When a fearful Father Bulthius begs Crispin Guest for his help, he agrees to investigate with his apprentice, Jack Tucker, intrigued by the horrific tales.
Meanwhile, an urgent summons arrives from Crispin's former love, Philippa Walcote. Her seven-year-old son, Christopher, has been accused of murder and of attempting to steal a family relic – the missing relic of St Modwen. Who is behind the gruesome occurrences in the graveyard? Is Christopher guilty of murder? Crispin faces a desperate race against time to solve the strange goings-on at St Modwen's and prove a child's innocence.

Veil of Lies

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:57:45 +0200

Booke of the Hidden

Sat, 11 Nov 2017 15:02:16 +0200

"Westerson creates an utterly believable history of witches, demons, and magic for her claustrophobic New England village including a heroine with enough spark, smarts, and stubbornness to keep both the bad guys and the deliciously dangerous love-interest on their toes." —Kat Richardson, author of the Greywalker seriesTo get a fresh start away from a bad relationship, Kylie Strange moves across the country to open a shop in a seemingly quiet town in rural Maine. During renovations on Strange Herbs & Teas, she discovers a peculiar and ancient codex, The Booke of the Hidden, bricked into the wall. Every small town has its legends and unusual histories, and this artifact sends Kylie right into the center of Moody Bog's biggest secret.While puzzling over the tome's oddly blank pages, Kylie gets an unexpected visitor—Erasmus Dark, an inscrutable stranger who claims to be a demon, knows she has the book, and warns her that she has opened a portal to...

Season of Blood

Sun, 19 Nov 2017 10:17:23 +0200

A missing Holy Relic. A mysterious and beautiful woman. Two murdered monks: Crispin Guest tackles his most intriguing investigation to date.
1390. Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire, England. Two monks lie murdered, their Holy Blood relic stolen: a relic that is said to run liquid for the sinless and remain stubbornly dry for the sinner. Unwilling to become involved in a bitter dispute between a country monastery and Westminster Abbey, the disgraced former knight Crispin Guest attempts to return the relic to Hailes where it belongs, but somehow it keeps returning to his hands no matter what.
As he tries to shield a former nemesis from a charge of murder while becoming entangled with a mysterious and beautiful woman caught between Church politics and the dangerous intrigues of King Richard?s court, Crispin begins to suspect that someone at Westminster is conspiring with the assassins. Can the Blood of Christ point to the killer?

A Maiden Weeping

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 10:17:24 +0200

When Crispin Guest finds himself trapped in circumstances outside his control, he must rely on the wits of his young apprentice, Jack Tucker, to do the rescuing.

Crispin awakens in a strange bed after a night of passion when he finds a woman dead, murdered. Drunk, Crispin scarcely remembers the night before. Did he kill her? But when other young women turn up dead under similar circumstances, he knows there is a deadly stalker loose in London. Could it have to do with the mysterious Tears of the Virgin Mary kept under lock and key by a close-lipped widow, a relic that a rival family would kill to get their hands on? What does this relic, that forces empathy on all those surrounding it, have to do with murder for hire?

With Crispin shackled and imprisoned by the immutable sheriffs who would just as soon see him hang than get to the real truth, Jack hits the ground running and procures the help of a fresh young lawyer to help them solve the crime.