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Aelf Fen
Aelf Fen
Series · 10 books · 2009-2021
By
Alys Clare
Books in series
#1
Out of the Dawn Light
2009
The first in a medieval mystery series from the author of the Hawkenlye series England, 1087. On her sister's wedding day, Lassair meets an attractive and enigmatic stranger who brings a breath of the fascinating outside world to her backwater Fenland village. When he asks Lassair to use her unique talents to help locate a mysterious treasure she accepts, despite the dangers. But this is no ordinary treasure hunt; the object of the perilous search is five hundred years old and has a terrifying power of its own . . .
#2
Mist Over the Water
2010
On Ely Island, the Normans are proclaiming their authority with the construction of a magnificent cathedral. When Morcar, fishing for eels nearby, is attacked, his cousin Lassair is sent to nurse him. Morcar tells Lassair a frightening tale of assassins in the dark and a brief vision of horror. Then the killers strike again, and, as the secret hidden within the walls of Ely Abbey claims more victims, Lassair is forced to face a challenge that she fears is far beyond her . . .
#3
Music of the Distant Stars
2010
Very early one summer morning, Lassair slips out of her Fenland village on a deeply personal mission and discovers the body of a young woman, hidden where it has no place to be. The girl's identity is quickly discovered but, as she wonders who killed her and why, Lassair swiftly becomes mystified and frightened. Why did a sweet-natured seamstress have to die? Suspicion soon creeps uncomfortably close to home; then another body is found . . .
#4
The Way Between the Worlds
2011
Come to me! I need you! These words bring apprentice healer Lassair awake one morning in the spring of 1092, trembling with terror. Soon Lassair is certain that one of her loved ones is in terrible danger . . . and when the news comes that a nun at Chatteris Abbey – where her beloved sister Elfritha lives – has been murdered, Lassair fears the worst. She sets off immediately, but the danger she will have to face may be greater than she is ready for . . .
#5
Land of The Silver Dragon
2013
A murder seems a hundred times more shocking when you know the victim. It seems to make the danger personal . . . Apprentice healer Lassair isn’t too alarmed when a travelling peddler relates a grizzly tale of a red-bearded giant breaking into a woman’s home and caving in her skull like an eggshell; peddlers, she has observed, tend towards the dramatic. But her attitude changes when she learns that the dead woman is a distant relation. Obstreperous, elderly Utta will not be much missed, but the incident makes Lassair’s family uneasy. For the intruder seemed to be searching for something. Something he did not find. What could it be? Lassair has no idea. Utta was not rich, and she had no precious heirlooms. But as the stranger grows increasingly desperate, and his search brings violence to her very home, Lassair must confront a terrifying thought: the killer will do anything to discover his prize, and he seems to think she knows where it is . . .
#6
Blood of the South
2015
Apprentice healer Lassair encounters a mysterious veiled noblewoman who brings unexpected peril" When Lassair encounters a veiled noblewoman on the quay at Cambridge one morning, set on by an angry mob, she assumes involvement with her will be brief. She has no idea that the woman, alone but for her infant child, brings both mystery and peril. Then a devastating flood hits the fens, and among the wreckage and debris washed up at Aelf Fen is a body; Lassair, in the company of a sheriff's officer, wonders if she is dealing with murder... Meanwhile, in the south, Lassair s partner Rollo is moving with relief towards the conclusion of his mission for King William in the Holy Land. But then disaster strikes, and, with the mighty forces of an emperor on his heels, abruptly he turns from hunter to hunted. In order to escape alive, he risks help from a stranger, and embarks on a voyage that turns out to be far more dangerous than he could ever have imagined.
#7
The Night Wanderer
2016
Eleventh century Cambridge is rocked by a series of brutal murders." Called out to attend a body found on a lonely stretch of river bank, its throat torn out, apprentice healer Lassair is sceptical of the sheriff s verdict that this was the result of a wild animal attack. But when a second body is discovered, similarly mutilated, rumours engulf the town that the legendary demon known as the Night Wanderer has returned to wreak havoc. Determined to stop the fear spreading and prove that the killer is human, Lassair and lawman Jack Chevestrier investigate. If they could only find out what links the victims, they would be one step closer to discovering the Night Wanderer s identity and what it is he really wants. But when the killer turns his sights on Lassair herself, can she survive long enough to find out?
#8
The Rufus Spy
2018
Apprentice healer Lassair heads on a perilous journey north in the absorbing new Aelf Fen medieval mystery. October, 1093. Two young men have been brutally beaten to death; a third viciously attacked. All three men are of similar appearance. But could there be another connection? Lassair meanwhile has agreed to accompany her former lover Rollo on a perilous journey north in search of King William. On their trail is a skilled, relentless and ruthless assassin. Who is he, and why has he targeted Rollo? If they are to survive, the hunted must become the Rollo and Lassair must lure their pursuer to the treacherous fenland terrain Lassair knows so well and turn the tables on their would-be killer.
#9
City of Pearl
2019
Clare produces another winner ... this magical adventure story, full of joy, danger, and sadness, will draw both Clare's crime-fiction fans as well as fantasy readers Booklist Apprentice healer Lassair uncovers the secrets of the mysterious City of Pearl in the compelling new Aelf Fen medieval mystery. October, 1093. At her mentor's urgent request, Lassair is accompanying Gurdyman across the sea to Spain. But why is he so insistent on embarking on this difficult and dangerous journey just as winter approaches? And why does he seem so afraid? Could there be any connection to the vagrant found lying dead outside his home, a single pearl clutched in his outstretched hand? As the pair reach the remote mountainous regions of northern Spain, Lassair will be tested as never before. Hot on her trail is Jack Chevestrier, the young lawman who loves her. But who is it who's trying to kill him ... and why? This richly detailed medieval mystery will appeal to fans of Ellis Peters, Susanna Gregory and Simon Beaufort.
#10
The Lammas Wild
2021
Healer Lassair returns to England and uncovers a secret that puts the lives of everyone she knows in grave danger, in the final Aelf Fen medieval mystery. It is the summer of 1100, and after seven long years away in Spain, Lassair is finally going home. Back to her beloved mentor Gurdyman. Back to her family. And back to young lawman Jack Chevestrier, who Lassair hopes still carries the same deep feelings for her as she does for him. Before she can reunite with her loved ones, however, Lassair has a long-overdue task to perform. Old flame - and king's spy - Rollo Guiscard left her a chest before he died, and it is finally time for her to collect it. But the chest contains more than gold, and soon Lassair is caught up in a web of danger and deception that threatens not just her own life, but the lives of everyone she holds dear. And this is not the only peril Lassair must face. For although she's left the south behind her forever, the south is not done with her yet . . . Gripping, tense and moving, the last installment of the Aelf Fen series provides both a twisty and compelling historical murder mystery and a hugely satisfying end to Lassair's story, which began over a decade ago with OUT OF THE DAWN LIGHT.
Author
Alys Clare
Author · 38 books