Roman Britain: Late Autumn AD 370 Summoning Canio to his Villa Censorini (Chedworth, Gloucestershire), Caristanius Sabinus, governor of Britannia Prima, informs him that he has been ordered to find a certain ancient figurine of the Underworld goddess Hecate, which he has reason to believe is in Canio’s possession. Canio denies that he has it, or that he ever had it – which is half-true. But Sabinus doesn’t believe him, and Canio is vulnerable to blackmail. And so, accompanied by a strange woman called Bodicca and a motherless boy calling himself Maximus, he journeys through a land slowly descending into winter, seeking a replica figurine good enough to deceive Sabinus. It may not end well.

"A few weeks before the outbreak of the infamous 'Ripper' murders in 1888 Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft of the Whitechapel Constabulary is sent to the peaceful county town of Worcester to investigate the unexpected disappearance of the cathedral librarian and the priceless medieval manuscript known as the Whisperie. Aided by his former colleague, Constable Tom Crabb, Ravenscroft soon encounters a dark world of murder, lies and deceit within the walls of the ancient cathedral, and gradually uncovers an unsolved mystery dating back nearly forty years." "Meanwhile in London, events are nearing a dramatic climax as the mysterious woman in black attempts to gain her revenge in the darkened alleyways of Whitechapel." "It is not long before the two contrasting worlds of Worcester and Whitechapel become intertwined in unsettling and frightening ways."--BOOK JACKET.

Why were so many religious images and objects broken and damaged in the course of the Reformation? Margaret Aston's magisterial new book charts the conflicting imperatives of destruction and rebuilding throughout the English Reformation from the desecration of images, rails and screens to bells, organs and stained glass windows. She explores the motivations of those who smashed images of the crucifixion in stained glass windows and who pulled down crosses and defaced symbols of the Trinity. She shows that destruction was part of a methodology of religious revolution designed to change people as well as places and to forge in the long term new generations of new believers. Beyond blanked walls and whited windows were beliefs and minds impregnated by new modes of religious learning. Idol-breaking with its emphasis on the treacheries of images fundamentally transformed not only Anglican ways of worship but also of seeing, hearing and remembering.

1890: in the Worcestershire county market town of Pershore, at the Talbots’ Lodging House, a recently arrived guest dies in mysterious circumstances. Detective Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft and his colleague Constable Tom Crabb are called in to investigate. However, as the two policemen start their enquiries, they are faced with their most difficult case to date. As events unfold, Ravenscroft and Crabb uncover many secrets, and an old case from Ravenscroft's past threatens to cast long shadows over the present in this highly entertaining sixth title in the Victorian Inspector Ravenscroft series.

A CAPTIVATING HISTORICAL MURDER MYSTERY SET IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND This is a revised and updated edition of THE MALVERN MURDERS. Before Jack the Ripper terrorized London, Police Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft patrolled the grimy streets of Whitechapel - but he's no Inspector Abberline. Malvern, 1887. Clever and hard-working, Ravenscroft nonetheless has the worst record in the force. He lets a murderer escape during a chase and is banished to the spa town of Malvern for a water treatment to cure his asthma. MURDER FOLLOWS THE INSPECTOR Ravenscroft accepts a dinner invitation from a new acquaintance, Jabez Pitzer. Before the dinner gong can sound, the maid finds Pitzer slumped over his desk - dead. Ravenscroft sees two glasses on a small side table. One has a powdery residue at the bottom and the faint smell of bitter almonds. A BODY IN THE LIBRARY Ravenscroft immediately recognizes the signs - Pitzer has been poisoned. But the local authorities are reluctant to believe there is a murderer in Malvern. He may be recovering his strength, but Ravenscroft has all his wits intact. He finds himself pulled into the investigation. Hungry to prove himself, Ravenscroft is determined to solve the case. But the bodies mount up. Someone is killing local luminaries. WHO WILL BE NEXT? A mysterious woman in black was witnessed speaking to each of the victims. Who is she and why does death seem to follow her? And does a local cartel of businessmen have anything to do with it? RAVENSCROFT IS OUT OF THE SMOKE BUT MALVERN HAS ITS OWN DEADLY FIRES THE MALVERN MURDERS is packed with delicious dialogue, sly humour and Victorian atmosphere. Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar De Muriel and Karen Charlton. MEET THE DETECTIVE Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft, unmarried and over forty, is a detective in the Whitechapel branch of the Metropolitan Police. Painfully asthmatic, he is often overlooked by his superiors in favour of his pushier colleagues. But Ravenscroft is keen to prove himself and strives to overcome his physical limitations. His tools are forthright questioning, close examination of the evidence and personal intuition. He often finds that the solution to many crimes is buried deep in the past. With his trusty Bradshaw, Ravenscroft and his colleague Constable Tom Crabb, travel around the Three Counties, overlooked by the Malvern Hills, bringing criminals to justice. KERRY TOMBS was born near Birmingham, but grew up in various locations in north Worcestershire. After a career teaching in both England and Australia, he moved to Malvern in 1982, where he became a local genealogist, lecturer and bookseller. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT KERRY TOMBS "I found this story very absorbing and hard to put down." Berys "Kerry Tombs knows how to keep your interest until the very end." Delin "Another great book in the series. The author kept you guessing the entire time." Jerry INSPECTOR RAVENSCROFT DETECTIVE MYSTERIES SERIES Book 1: The Malvern Murders Book 2: The Worcester Whisperers Book 3: The Ledbury Lamplighters Book 4: The Tewkesbury Tomb* Book 5: The Droitwich Deceivers* Book 6: The Pershore Poisoners* Book 7: The Upton Undertakers* Book 8: The Herefordshire Hangman* Book 9: The Bromsgrove Bookseller* * Coming soon