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I'm Esther Knight, Medieval Mystery Author
​Welcome to Medieval Toledo
I love bringing history to life through story.
As a young girl I read Scott's Ivanhoe, and its strong Jewish heroine impressed me so much that I modeled my own heroine, Rebecca DeToledo, after her.
She solves murders in 12th-century Toledo, in the Rebecca DeToledo Mysteries, set in a Spain where Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived side by side.
Doing the research is the best part — medieval medicine, royal politics, the streets of Toledo as they actually were. Every book ends with a glossary of the real figures, customs, and terms behind the mystery.
When I'm not writing, I'm testing medieval herbal remedies or walking my granddog, Laurie.
Don't miss a thing
Pre-order Esther's new Novel
Toledo, February 1194
It's Carnival time in Toledo
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But Rebecca DeToledo will spend it elsewhere — she has been called to a grand castle in the hills, to attend the pregnant lady of the house. Inside the high stone walls, a travelling troupe of players holds the castle spellbound with tightrope walkers, animal masks, and music.
Sir John of Hampstead hates to let Rebecca out of his sight, but he has no choice. A royal emissary has arrived to count Toledo's soldiers and its silver, and the city's Head of Investigations must be there to meet him. Surely she’ll be safe inside a noble’s castle, he tells himself.
Then the troupe's old manager is found dead inside a room barred from the inside. The household calls it a natural death.
Rebecca knows better.
She has read too many bodies to be fooled by this one.
Everyone in the castle has a secret. The chaplain watches her every step. The troupe carries grudges older than Rebecca. And the lady herself is frightened of something else entirely.
Sir John would know what to do with her suspicions, but every missive takes days to reach him. And by the time one arrives — will he defy his orders and ride?
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Perfect for fans of medieval castles, travelling actors, and all the suspects under one roof.
