​THE MYSTERY OF BLACK FELL CASTLE
The Deputy Kyle Shaw Mysteries (Book 3) set in 13th Century Scotland
Available at:
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​     Amid civil unrest in the year 1297, human remains are discovered between the tower walls of an English castle in the Scottish lowlands. Kyle Shaw, deputy to the sheriff of Ayrshire, seeks to identify the victim and find out who sealed him up behind the brickwork twenty years earlier. Surely someone connected with the resident family killed him or knows who did.

     When things take a deadly turn for certain craftsmen who ply their trade in the shire, Kyle has reason to believe the dead man in the tower might not be a victim after all. There may be a link between his sordid past and the fate of those craftsmen.

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VISUAL PREVIEW of THE MYSTERY OF BLACK FELL CASTLE on YouTube:
[click on link below]
youtu.be/lDStf7yMrws

(Chapters 1 & 2 posted in READ CHAPTERS FREE, above)
THREEFOLD DEATH 
The Deputy Kyle Shaw Mysteries (Book 2) set in 13th Century Scotland
(Republished in 2019 by The Wild Rose Press)
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​      The year is 1297, a time of strife and dissension in English-occupied Scotland. Kyle Shaw, Deputy to the Sheriff of Ayrshire, is on the scene when the body of an English nobleman is pulled from the River Ayr.

      The drowning appears to be accidental, until a sprig of mistletoe found in the dead man's throat points to murder. Because such a plant is reputed to possess powers of an arcane nature, suspicion falls on a dreaded sect whose members in ancient times performed ritualistic rites that included human sacrifice.
 
Watch a VISUAL PREVIEW of THREEFOLD DEATH on YouTube:
[click on link below]
youtu.be/73_oMNUMExY

(Chapters 1 & 2 posted in READ CHAPTERS FREE, above)

AYRSHIRE MURDERS
The Deputy Kyle Shaw Mysteries (Book 1) set in 13th Century Scotland
(Republished in 2019 by The Wild Rose Press)

Available at:
     Kyle Shaw, a Scotsman by birth and a lawman by trade, returns to the lowlands in 1297, a time when all of Scotland stands on the brink of rebellion against English domination.

      Kyle discovers that his estranged father apparently had some connection with the English soldiers who loot and plunder the Scottish countryside at will. While Kyle seeks to thwart the raiders, someone starts murdering English soldiers from a nearby garrison one at a time and mutilating their corpses.

     Kyle must balance his duty to the English sheriff with his need to protect his countrymen and clear his father's name.

      AYRSHIRE MURDERS is set in an age of rudimentary forensics and political intrigues, in a land where a kinsman may act as blood avenger against those who perpetrate violence against a family member.
Watch a VISUAL PREVIEW of AYRSHIRE MURDERS on YouTube:
[click on link below]
youtu.be/fn6FSGb-puQ 

(Chapters 1 & 2 posted in READ CHAPTERS FREE, above)


BY
​MORTAL
​SLAIN
Coming in 2020:

Book 4 in the Deputy Kyle Shaw Mysteries set in 13th century Scotland

     By 1298, iron sword of English oppression had already sunk deep into the heart and soul of the Scottish populace. When an English nobleman is murdered in a Scottish tavern, Kyle Shaw, deputy to the sheriff of Ayrshire, must determine whether the man’s death was part of a rebel plot or if he was killed for a more sinister reason.

     The list of suspects grows longer as Kyle travels through hostile territory all the way to London, where he discovers that a seer’s prediction may hold the key to the nobleman’s death and possibly that of a daring plan to assassinate the King of England.

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Trivia: Some common trades in the Middle Ages with not-so-common names:

Baxter (female baker)
Cartwright (cart maker)
Chandler (candle maker)
Collier (dug coal or made charcoal)
Cooper (barrel maker)
Draper (seller of cloth)
Farrier (shoed horses)
Flesher (butcher)
Furrier (worked with pelts and hides)
Hammerman (blacksmith)
Tinker (itinerant mender of 
        household items)
Member of Guppy Chapter of Sisters of Crime

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Member of Sisters in Crime

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Soap-making in the middle ages:

    The process of boiling animal fat with wood ash resulted in a caustic lye soap. Although such a product served as an effective cleaner, it irritated the skin. In addition, if the fat used was rancid, the soap-making process could be rather malodorous.
     Needless to say, the advent of Castile soap in the Middle Ages was easier on the nose as well as the skin, for it was made from olive oil, rather than animal fat.
     For a mild back-to-basics soap that contains olive oil and other pure ingredients, click on the link below:
Contribute to my Middle Ages Trivia by sending an e-mail to me at:
edillon727@yahoo.com 
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