FROM THE PUBLISHER

Of all crimes, murder is the most shocking. Taking another person's life -- whether for gain, anger, envy, revenge, or power -- is always horrendous. Since Cain killed his brothers, murderers have found reasons to kill, and the crimes in Murder Most Medieval occur for many of the same reasons that murder is committed today.

As always, there are those champions who crusade against lawlessness, and they make appearances here as well. Peter Tremayne's Celtic detective Sister Fidelma solves a twenty-year-old crime of passion. In a story by Clayton Emery, the noble Robin Hood solves a mystery of witchcraft and heresy with the help of the indomitable Marion. And what collection would be complete without a tale from Ellis Peters and her soldier-turned-sleuthing-monk, Brother Cadfael?

From Gillian Linscott's tale of a lord whose future mandates a "little" war to Margaret Frazier's story of political intrigue and deception at King Henry's court, these thirteen tales focus entirely on murder most foul, murder most malicious, indeed, Murder Most Medieval.

Martin H. Greenberg, often called the king of anthologists, has edited more than one thousand anthologies, including the American Ghost series and teh American Vampire series. John Helfers, whose first anthology, Black Cats and Broken Mirrors, was published in 1998, has contributed his own stories to Phantoms of the Night, The UFO Files, Sword of Ice and Other Tales of Valdemar, and other anthologies. Both editors live in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

TREACHERY! BETRAYAL! MURDER! A Global Lineup of Writers and Stories of Medieval Europe

"Like a Dog Returning... A Sister Fidelma Mystery" Peter Tremayne

"The Country of the Blind" Doug Allyn

"A Horse for My Kingdom" Gillian Linscott

"The Simple Logic of It" Margaret Frazer

"Plucking a Mandrake" Clayton Emery

"A Gift from God" Edward Marston

"The Queen's Chastity" Tony Geraghty

"The Reiving of Bonville Keep" Kathy Lynn Emerson

"For the Love of Old Bones" Michael Jecks

"The Wizard of Lindsay Woods" Brendan Dubois

"Improvements" Kristine Kathryn Rusch