A Widow of Bath Trilogy

A woman in a man’s world, fighting to survive.
A mother, seeking her missing son.
An avenger of murdered innocents.
Against a corrupt church, arrogant nobles, biased judges and lethal assassins, what can one woman do?
If she is Alyson, weaver of Bath, widow of experience, mistress of contacts to the unseen, dismissed and ignored of turbulent, medieval England, rather a lot.
Three books in one volume.

An Older Evil

April, 1386. Alyson Weaver, a widow of Bath, has already married five husbands and is still irrepressibly in her prime. When a handsome young stranger is murdered in her meadow overlooking St. Michael’s church, she resents it when her admirer, mild bailiff Lucas Fletcher, warns her not to interfere. Lucas has been intimidated into not investigating, but by whom? After her maid Bela is killed, Alyson decides she has no choice but to find out.
Spring begins the pilgrimage season, and a motley group of pilgrims - including Alice Perrers, the notorious former mistress of King Edward the Third - are preparing to leave Bath for the shrine of the Virgin at Walsingham in Norfolk. Before they set out, one of their number, Brother Martin, a friar, confesses sensationally to the manslaughter of the handsome stranger, named as Jehan of Flanders. Brother Martin is joining the pilgrimage to Walsingham as a penance and Jehan’s killing is officially "solved." But Alyson is unconvinced. To her, Brother Martin is a pitiful puppet and someone is pulling his strings - perhaps Bela’s murderer? Taking her mischievous godson Oliver as her page, Alyson joins the pilgrims to find out.

A Taste of Evil.

Alyson Weaver, five times wife and a now a widow of Bath, is back in her birth city of Bath fighting for her life in a sultry July, 1386. If she and legal advocate Solomon cannot answer devious Prior Herbert’s witchcraft charges, she will be burned to death for heresy and murder. Townsfolk turn against her, including the powerful and venomous Mary Tucker and Alyson’s daughter Margery. Peter’s paramour Isabel and bastard son Lawrence are hoping to seize her property, as are Peter’s grasping kindred. Prior Herbert hates her and Bath coroner Thomas Newby is out for revenge for her championing of those he abuses. Alyson herself had reasons to want Peter dead and Solomon, a church-trained lawyer full of clerical prejudice against women, finds it difficult to like or believe her. Nor can the reader be sure of her innocence. Her friend Felise is seemingly made dangerously ill by one of Alyson’s potions. Margery will speak at the inquest about her father, Peter, testimony which will harm Alyson.
The inquisition begins at Prior Herbert’s sumptuous local manor, where Alyson is attended by her servants, advocate Solomon, and the slippery Pardoner Christopher from An Older Evil. She defends herself stoutly and Solomon is impressive but her steward Gervase is revealed to be a heretic. Gervase is threatened with torture and Alyson and her party have to fight their way off the manor. Then, in a chance discovery by her page, Oliver, Alyson realizes that Prior Herbert was Peter, her amoral husband, had made enemies all his life and was murdered by poison.
Through the streets and taverns of Bath, Alyson and Solomon have to find out who poisoned little-mourned Peter to save her from the stake and before the murderer gets nervous of her probing and strikes again.

Evil in York

Alyson Weaver, widow of Bath, is in York during a snowy Christmas-time, looking for her missing son.