The Sword of Shame

The Latin inscription carved on the gleaming blade read “He who lives in falsehood slays his soul; he who lies, his honor.” If only they had known how true those words would prove to be. The Sword of Shame was lovingly crafted by a Saxon swordsmith shortly before the Norman invasion, and its constant companions are treachery and deceit. From the Norman Conquest of 1066, to an election-rigging scandal in 13th-century Venice, to the bloody battlefield of Poitiers in 1356—at the heart of every treasonous plot, every murder and betrayal, is the malign influence of the cursed sword. And as it passes from owner to owner, ill-fortune and disgrace befall all who wield the deadly blade. The Medieval Murders are Philip Gooden; Susanna Gregory, author of the Matthew Bartholomew series; Michael Jecks, author of the Templar series; Bernard Knight, author of the Crowner John series; and Ian Morson, author of the Falconer mystery series.