S D Sykes – författare

Book 1 in the gripping Oswald de Lacy series, which can be read as a standalone, from 'the medieval CJ Sansom' (Jeffery Deaver)England, 1350: the Black Death has changed the country forever, taking master and servant alike.Young Oswald de Lacey was never meant to be Lord of Somershill Manor, but when his father and older brothers die of the Plague, he must return home from the monastery and assume responsibility for an estate ravaged by pestilence.Almost immediately Oswald is confronted with the vicious murder of a young woman, Alison Starvecrow. The village priest claims it is the work of demonic dog-headed men, a theory Oswald rejects as nonsense. But proving this - by finding the real killer - only leads Oswald deeper into a maze of political intrigue, family secrets and violent strife.And then the body of another girl is found...'Sykes has really reset the bar for medieval mysteries' Medievalists

Book 2 in the gripping Oswald de Lacy series, , which can be read as a standalone, from 'the medieval CJ Sansom' (Jeffery Deaver)The Black Death killed his father and brothers , making Oswald de Lacy Lord of Somershill Manor. It also killed many of his villagers, leaving fewer people to do more work.So Oswald tries to use logic and patience to manage a struggling estate, a socially ambitious mother, an overbearing sister and a mutinous workforce.Then a baby is found impaled on a thorn bush and people say they have seen a huge creature in the skies. The Butcher Bird.And now there is no room for common sense, no time for patience. If Oswald is to survive, he must find the truth behind a series of ever more brutal events.From the plague-ruined villages of Kent to the luxurious bedchambers of London, it is a journey full of danger, darkness and shocking revelations.'The whodunnit aspect is neatly done, the family secrets and waspish relationships are intriguing, and humour and originality are abundant' Daily Mail

A brilliantly dark and compelling novel set in Venice from 'the medieval CJ Sansom' (Jeffery Deaver)1358. Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, is in Venice, awaiting a pilgrim galley to the Holy Land. While the city is under siege from the Hungarians, Oswald lodges with an English merchant, and soon comes under the dangerous spell of the decadent and dazzling island state that sits on the hinge of Europe, where East meets West.Oswald is trying to flee the chilling shadow of something in his past, but when he finds a dead man on the night of the carnival, he is dragged into a murder investigation that takes him deep into the intrigues of this mysterious, paranoid city.Coming up against the feared Signori di Notte, the secret police, Oswald learns that he is not the only one with something to hide. Everybody is watching somebody else, and nobody in Venice is what he or she seems. The masks are not just for the carnival.

Oswald de Lacy returns in this Medieval thriller from the author of PLAGUE LAND and THE BUTCHER BIRD.

The brand new Oswald de Lacy thriller, for fans of C.J. Sansom, Minette Walters and S.J. Parris.A Publishers Weekly Book of the Year!'Living legends Andrew Taylor and Susanna Gregory; bestselling phenomena SJ Parris and CJ Sansom... a league of extraordinary resurrectionists. If you love their books, I invite you to visit fourteenth-century England, with SD Sykes ... Savour the company of young Oswald de Lacy, among the most appealing historical sleuths currently on the hunt.' A.J. Finn'A fascinating glimpse of an almost forgotten period of history.' Andrew Taylor'Sykes give it (plague) a life and character of its own - swift, remorseless and deadly' New York Times***1361. Plague has returned to England - thirteen years after the devastation of The Black Death.As destruction advances towards his estate in Kent, Oswald de Lacy leads his family to the safety of a remote castle in the marshes - where his friend Godfrey is preparing a fortress to survive the coming disaster.The rules are clear: once the de Lacys and other guests are inside the castle the portcullis will be lowered and no-one permitted to enter or leave until the Pestilence has passed.And then a murderer strikes.Oswald is confronted with a stark choice - leave and face the ravages of the plague, or stay and place his family at the mercy of a brutal killer. With word of his skills as an investigator preceding him, it falls to Oswald to unmask the murderer in their midst. Host, guest, or servant - everyone is a suspect in this poisoned refuge of secrets, deceit and malice.

'The series gets better and better . . . a very credible medieval world . . . Oswald is such an appealing character, growing richer and deeper with every book' - Andrew Taylor, author of Ashes of London1370. Oswald de Lacy was not always Lord of the Manor, or even meant to be. The third son, he was sent off to become a novice monk. Now, with winter closing in on Somershill, his wife flirting with their houseguest, his sister sniping from the sidelines and his mother still ruling his life even from her deathbed, Oswald is forced to confront the secret that has haunted him ever since those days in the monastery.1349. Sent to gather herbs in the forest by his tutor, Brother Peter, 18-year-old Oswald encounters a terrified girl, who runs into the swollen river and drowns. In her village, he discovers that she is only one of many poor young women who have disappeared, with no-one in authority caring enough to investigate.Convinced the girls are dead, Oswald turns to the village women for help in finding the murderer - in particular to the beautiful Maud Woodstock, who provokes feelings in Oswald that no monk should entertain.Soon, however, another killer stalks the land. Plague has come and the monastery is locked against it. Brother Peter insists that Oswald should forget his quest. But Oswald will not stop until he has discovered the shocking truth, which will echo down the years to a letter, clutched in his dying mother's hand.

The violent, poignant story of how Oswald de Lacy came to be lord of Somershill.