From the author of The Novice's Tale, a new Sister Frevisse medieval mystery. It's not a very merry Christmas for the sisters of St. Frideswide when they welcome a troupe of actors in from the cold . . . and open the nunnery door to murder....

St. Mary's nunnery is a place of prayer and healing for women-so it is surprising to see a man sprawled out in the cloister garden. Dead. The victim was not especially well-liked-even by his wife and clerk. Now, Dame Frevisse must step in and solve the killing. But her real challenge is to put aside her feelings and serve justice for the murder of an unjust man....

Performing at the wedding of Sir Edmund Deneby's daughter, the player Joliffe has another task to perform--as a spy. As he uncovers the secrets of the Denebys' sordid history, it becomes clear that this wedding celebration is destined to end in tragedy....

At the behest of his powerful patron, Joliffe journeys to France to act as a servant to the widowed duchess Jacquetta of Bedford-while actually training in spycraft. But when a member of the duchess's household is murdered, Joliffe learns just how dangerous secrets can be...

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In the pages of Margaret Frazer's national bestselling Dame Frevisse series, the player Joliffe has assumed many roles on stage, to the delight of those he entertains. Now, in the company of a troupe of traveling performers, he finds himself cast in the role of sleuth...In the spring of 1435, Joliffe and his fellow players are sent to the village of Ashewell not only to stage plays, but to uncover some dark secrets about the town-s three wealthy families: the Ashewells, the Medcotes, and the Gosyns. A rivalry has been brewing among the families, entangling the entire town in a web of seduction, deception, and blackmail.Matters go beyond the breaking point when someone turns to murder to settle their grievances. And if one murder is good, why not another? If all the world is a stage, then it-s up to Joliffe to bring the curtain down on this tragedy-before another man takes his final curtain call......

When his band of traveling players are taken in by a patron, Joliffe and company find that murder has taken their place in the spotlight--and it's up to them to catch a killer in the act....

Dame Frevisse must determine whether Sister Cecely, newly returned to the nunnery with her young son, is truly interested in repenting for her sins—or if she’s just in hiding after involvement in schemes that threaten everyone at St. Frideswide....

Joliffe and company play spies amongst the British aristocracy as lords and clergymen vie for the coveted position of regent to the young King Henry VI. But when men who know too much begin to die in violent ways, the players start to fear for their own lives....

Dame Frevisse of St. Frideswide's nunnery and wandering player Simon Joliffe are in London investigating the deaths of several noblemen who supposedly conspired with the French against England. Some of these nobles worked for the late Duke of Suffolk-and Frevisse fears that her cousin Alice, the Duke's widow, may also be targeted for assassination....

Dame Frevisse is in London to recover gold from the coffers of the murdered Duke of Suffolk and give it to her cousin. Frevisse's co-conspirators in this secrecy are seamstress Anne Blakehall and her lover, a Jewish trader smuggling the gold through Anne's shop. But their mission is jeopardized when a crucified body is discovered, supposedly scarred with Hebrew letters, stirring up anti-Semitic sentiment in the populace....