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Miscellaneous The Butcher of St. Peter's by Michael Jecks $9.99 / Headline / 2005 Michael Jecks' latest book is a nail-biting thrill ride on the dark side of 1323. It starts by plucking on the nerve of every parent's worst nightmare-a stranger breaking into the homes of Exeter at night to watch children sleep. At first, he seems harmless. But when a father is murdered while protecting his family-and two more townspeople are later found dead-it is up to Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, to find the monster before he kills again. Every page in The Butcher of St. Peter's reveals a city awash in depravity. From bribery and whoremongering to the finer points of torture, Jecks is the unapologetic purveyor of all things grim and gory. Perhaps most impressive is his knowledge of primitive forensics and medieval legal proceedings. (Where else would you learn that during an inquest, the actual corpse was dragged into court?) But in a broader context, the story brims with human empathy as Jecks leaps from grieving husband to jealous sister to reluctant criminal with the rapidity of an English archer, who never misses the mark. One is left with the sense that even villains are victims, to some degree. With a heady mix of compelling characters, a riveting plot, and startling period detail, The Butcher of St Peter's is at once gruesome, sad, and utterly believable. —Shantel M. Sellers

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