Domesday – serie

Ralph Delchard, a veteran of the Battle of Hastings, and lawyer Gervase Bret press on with the mission entrusted to them by William the Conqueror: to investigate peculiarities revealed during the compilation of the Domesday Book, the great survey of England. Journeying throughout the kingdom the duo face being ensnared in alarming mysteries in the towns they visit.The small village of Maldon is controlled by the wealthy and rapacious FitzCorbucion family. When the eldest son, Guy, is found murdered, his father demands justice and will stop at nothing to get it. Delchard and Bret arrive into a charged atmosphere and are entangled in a case far more dangerous than their original task.

Ralph Delchard, a former soldier in the infamous Battle of Hastings, and Gervase Bret, a gifted lawyer, continue to investigate discrepancies raised during the gathering of information for the Domesday Book, the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. Travelling the length of the country the pair often find that where property is disputed, passions erupt, often with violent consequences.Delchard and Bret arrive in Archenfield for what should be a straightforward assignment. But they are shocked to discover that a principal witness has been murdered, burned alive in his own home. With an enigmatic symbol the only clue to the killer's identity, the pair must use all their wits to expose the person responsible.

Ralph Delchard, a former soldier in the notorious Battle of Hastings, and Gervase Bret, a skilled lawyer, continue to travel the length of England examining issues raised during the collection of information for the Domesday Book, the great survey of the country commissioned by William the Conqueror. The pair frequently discover that where matters of property are concerned, there are often dangerous and violent consequences. The king's work is a dangerous business.A wealthy Yorkshire merchant enjoys the security of his castle, guarded as it is by his pet lions. When the beasts literally make a meal of an anonymous young man attempting to gain entry, Delchard and Bret wonder why anyone would make such a suicidal effort. Despite their mission, they cannot help but delve into exactly what was at stake.

Ralph Delchard, a former soldier in the era-defining Battle of Hastings, and Gervase Bret, an accomplished lawyer, continue to travel the length of England investigating irregularities exposed during the collection of information for the Domesday Book. The pair frequently find that where matters of property are concerned, there are often unpleasant and criminal consequences. The king's work is a dangerous business. When a young girl is found in a holly patch, dead from a snakebite, her premature death shocks the entire town of Canterbury on the day that Delchard and Bret arrive. But when astonishing truths come to light, the duo must look for a force more vicious than a mere reptile.

Ralph Delchard, a former soldier in the notable Battle of Hastings, and Gervase Bret, an exceptional lawyer, continue to travel the length of England inspecting anomalies uncovered during the collection of information for the Domesday Book, the great survey of the country commissioned by William the Conqueror. The pair frequently find that where matters of property are concerned, there are often distasteful and unlawful consequences. The king's work is a dangerous business.In the forest of Woodstock an excited crowd waits for the first horse to pass the post, but the winning steed has an empty saddle, its rider lying in a copse with a knife in his back. While guests of the Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Delchard and Bret inevitably find their attention drawn to the tragedy and uncover a startling truth.

The Earl of Chester is enraged when his hawk is killed by an arrow in the Forest of Delamere. When two poachers are caught nearby, he orders their immediate execution. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive in Cheshire to settle a series of land disputes brought to light during the compilation of the Domesday book. Then a body is found in the forest, shot by an arrow, and it is clear the earl may have dispensed justice a little too hastily. Delchard and Bret are determined to unmask the killer before they can take deadly aim again.

As Nicolas Picard rides home from Exeter he is attacked by a snarling wildcat. Yet, when his body is discovered, there are lacerations on his neck that could only have come from human hands.When royal commissioners of William the Conqueror, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, arrive in the city to preside over local land disputes, their proceedings are immediately hampered by the death of a key participant: Picard.With Picard's wife and mistress, as well as the wife of the former owner of the estate, staking their claim to the land, Delchard and Bret wonder whose greed has driven them to kill. But the root of the mystery lies far deeper than mere avarice.

While hunting in the Forest of Arden, Henry Beaumont discovers the crushed body of a former member of his household. Flying into a rage, he soon arrests Boio, a local blacksmith, who was seen in the area, though the man disputes this.Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive in Warwick to find the place in a frenzy. Though there to resolve property disputes on behalf of William the Conqueror, the pair are soon involved with preventing a miscarriage of justice, as the evidence against the blacksmith is flimsy at best.But with Beaumont deaf to reason, the race is on to find the anonymous man the blacksmith claims can corroborate his story before he's sent to the gallows.

The ordered calm of Gloucester Abbey is shattered by the murder of one of its monks. The Abbot, ill-equipped to deal with such a heinous crime, is stunned by the Sheriff's belief that one of the monks is guilty. This is the confusion that that greets the two Domesday Comminisioners, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, as they are welcomed into the town. Eager to resolve the mystery, they begin their own investigations but find the killing is merely a sign of a sinister presence which threatens the whole community and which must be stopped.