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JOLIFFE
| In the pages of Margaret Frazer's
national bestselling Dame Frevisse series, the player
Joliffe has assumed many roles on stage, to the delight of
those he entertains. Now, in the company of a troupe of
traveling players, he finds himself cast in the role of
sleuth... |
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THE
MIDDLE AGES COME TO LIFE...
TO
BRING US MURDER The year is 1434, and
preparations are under way for the Corpus Christi
festival in Oxford, England. Plays are a traditional
part of the celebration, and Joliffe and the rest of his
troupe are to perform Isaac and Abraham. Until
then, their theatrical antics are in demand by a wealthy
merchant who offers them an opportunity to ply their
trade for room and board. But when the
body of a murdered man is found outside the barn door
where the troupe is lodging, Joliffe must raise the
curtain on the merchant's mysterious past and uncover
the startling truth behind a murder most foul...
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Now - Read a Sample Chapter
"Everything I'd hoped to find:
memorable characters, a meticulously detailed world, an
intriguing crime, and a satisfying conclusion." - Roundtable
Reviews
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A WEDDING ILL-FATED...
It is the autumn of 1434, and the
end-of-harvest reckoning during Michaelmas has been less
than plentiful. Fortunately, Joliffe and his fellow
players are surviving and thriving under the patronage of
Lord Lovell. His grace is sending them to perform at
Deneby Manor as a gift for the marriage of Sir Edmund
Deneby's daughter, Mariena.
But Joliffe has been engaged to play two
roles - that of a player and that of a spy. Deneby's
daughter was betrothed once before, to a healthy man who
fell ill and died before they married, and Lord Lovell
fears a similar fate befalling Mariena's newly intended.
And as Joliffe uncovers the secrets of the Denebys' sordid
history, it becomes clear that this is a wedding
celebration destined to end in tragedy...
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Now - Read a Sample Chapter
"Another wonderful entry in the
author's long series of medieval mysteries ... As always,
the author provides a treasure trove of historical detail
... In less assured hands, this detail might be intrusive;
here, it simply adds to the ambiance..." - The
Romance Reader's Connection "Deftly drawn characters acting in a stage of intricate and accurate details of medieval life." - Affaire de Couer
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THREE
FAMILIES OF WEALTH...
ONE
MURDER OF PASSION
In the spring of 1435, Joliffe and his
fellow players are sent to the village of Ashewell not
only to stage plays, but to uncover some dark secrets
about the town's three wealthy families: the Ashewells,
the Medcotes, and the Gosyns. A rivalry has been brewing
among the families, entangling the entire town in a web of
seduction, deception, and blackmail.
Matters go beyond the breaking point when
someone turns to murder to settle their grievances. And if
one murder is good, why not another? If all the world is a
stage, then it's up to Joliffe to bring the curtain down
on this tragedy - before another man takes his final
curtain call...
Buy
Now - Read a Sample Chapter
Large
Print Edition
"The author seamlessly weaves in
period details that give the reader a true sense of the
perils, beauty, and reality of life at this time. The
mystery, as always, is expertly done, and revolves around
true concerns of the time. Any reader interested in
mysteries and history will find this one well worth the
time." - CA Reviews
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A ROYAL INTRIGUE...
In the late autumn of 1435, Joliffe and
his fellow players are in London to perform for the Bishop
Beaufort. But his Eminence has other duties in mind for
the company. With the Duke of Bedford's passing, ambitious
lords and clergymen are plotting to assume his role as
advisor to the young King Henry VI - and the Bishop needs
to know what his rivals are planning.
Dispatched to entertain - and spy on -
England's royals, Joliffe and company encounter intrigue
from various factions both within and without the kingdom.
And when men who know too much begin to die in violent
ways, the players start to fear for their own lives...
Buy
Now - Read a Sample Chapter "An
amazing wealth of historical detail. While the mystery is compelling,
and rooted in a fascinating historical period, it's the details of
everyday life that make the story and charactes leap off the page...
Will appeal to readers who enjoy historical mystery and historical
fiction." - CA Review "Will
entertain and confound you with its intricately plotted mystery and
richly detailed writing... Ms. Frazer knows the fifteenth century and
it shows..." - Romance Readers Connection
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THE TREACHERY OF WAR... In
agreeing to serve the powerful Bishop Beaufort, Joliffe and his players
have made what may be a deal with the devil. It surely seems so in the
winter of 1436, when the Bishop sends Joliffe alone to France and into
the middle of a war. There, Joliffe is
to act as a servant to the duchess Jacquetta of Bedford -- young,
beautiful, and recently widowed. But his real mission is to train as a
spy under the late duke's spymaster, and he soon finds that all the
wealth of a widow's household is no defense against murder; a city's
walls are no defense against enemies within; and not only mean can
serve as spies... Buy Now - Read a Sample Chapter Carefully
and faithfully rendered, 15th-century England and France and all the
political difficulties come easily to life... Medieval mystery fans
will once again enjoy the clever player Joliffe and his adventures. - The Mystery Reader |
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A PLAGUE OF DEATH... While
his troupe leader recovers from grievous injury, Joliffe is forced to
find work in the treacherous world of a medieval hospital. Plagued
almost to despair by the endless complaints and imaginary ailments of
the elderly widow Mistress Cisily Thorncoffyn, the erstwhile spy and
theatrical player is almost relieved to discover that patients are
dying from more than their illnesses. Care for the sick and elderly in
both body and soul is a sacred and holy duty, but Death's cruel scythe
can always use a helping hand... Now, with Mistress
Thorncoffyn loudly proclaiming that someone is trying to kill her and
swearing her wrath on anyone who allows it to happen, Joliffe has no
choice but to find the sickening anger which has claimed so many lives
before more of the innocent ill are afflicted with a final rest. |
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