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David Penny

A killer who can’t be stopped. A request that can’t be refused.

1482, Granada, Andalusia.

Englishman Thomas Berrington is living in the last remnants of Moorish Spain. A physician, he is an unwilling friend to the most powerful man in the kingdom. When bodies are discovered, each showing the marks of a savage attack, Thomas is asked to investigate.

After one of the Sultan’s wives is brutally murdered, what begins as a reluctant task turns into a fight for survival. Together with the eunuch Jorge, Thomas attempts to hunt down the hidden killer before they become his next victims. Except nothing is as it seems—friends turn into enemies and enemies into friends.

Thomas’s investigation lays bare the secrets of the Red Hill and the people who inhabit it. His discoveries culminate in a battle not only for his own life but for the lives of those he loves.

Ian Russel

Rivertree Print

Thomas Berrington Historical Mystery

The Red Hill

When mania creates a monster, only one man can stop the killing.

1483, Cordoba, Andalusia. Surgeon Thomas Berrington makes a reluctant journey to Qurtuba at the request of his master. He expects only to operate on a Spanish prince and return home to Moorish al-Andalus. But fate has something else in store for him and his companion, the eunuch Jorge.

A warped killer is taking young women to create twisted creatures from their bodies. When Thomas is tasked by Queen Isabel to hunt down the culprit he is propelled into an unfamiliar world of religious mania where it is impossible to tell who is friend and who foe. Meanwhile, Jorge is on a quest of his own—to track down the remnant of a family he abandoned twenty years before.

When the Bonebreaker takes a new victim the pair are forced to undertake their most dangerous challenge yet. Thomas and Jorge race to expose the killer before yet another life is taken – this time someone close to them.

Breaker of Bones

Can a killer be unmasked before more die for their sins?

1484, Granada, Andalusia. Englishman Thomas Berrington has made the doomed city of Granada his home. Once more he is forced to solve a series of mysterious deaths.

Accompanied by his companion, the palace eunuch Jorge, Thomas struggles to discover the truth while those in power seek to distract him. As his investigation continues, his personal life splinters into chaos and he finds the Spanish once more demanding his presence.

As Thomas and Jorge draw closer to their quarry the killer’s attention turns on them and those they love. The pair must race to unmask the sin eater before the lives of those close to them become forfeit.

Mark Topping

The Sin Eater

He comes in silence to steal your final breath

1485, Ronda, Andalusia. For Thomas Berrington, torn between two warring civilizations, Ronda is an escape from the madness engulfing Gharnatah. For al-Zagal, the default leader of al-Andalus, it is a return to his mountain stronghold. In the year 1485, this should be a time of recovery and replenishment.

Until the Spanish army arrives, spreading across the plain below towering cliffs. And someone is murdering women so subtly the first the deaths go unnoticed.

Thomas and Jorge are once more thrown into the pursuit of a killer as the world around them changes, and the end of a once-great civilization draws closer. Can they unmask the Incubus before he steals the breath of more victims?

Set in the final years of the Moorish Empire that once ruled Spain, The Incubus is the fourth book in the acclaimed Thomas Berrington mysteries.

The Incubus

What price a man’s soul?

1486, Sevilla, Castile. Summoned to attend the Spanish Queen, English surgeon Thomas Berrington discovers Sevilla in turmoil. Plague ravages the city and the Inquisition takes both innocent and guilty alike.

Amongst this chaos, Thomas must investigate a series of killings where two victims are always taken together, but for what reason?

Seeking his help is an old enemy, but can a man change so much? Thomas has to decide whether to trust or not, knowing if he makes the wrong decision his own life may be forfeit. When the eunuch Jorge joins him, events take on a new urgency as the killer’s attention turns toward Thomas and his friends.

Only by risking the life of a woman he loves can Thomas succeed, but is he willing to make the ultimate sacrifice if his plan fails?

The Inquisitor

As one man’s greed kills an army prepares to destroy

1487, Malaga, Andalusia. For Thomas Berrington it begins with the mystery of a stolen body. Soon he is hunting a killer searching for the untold wealth of the richest city in al-Andalus.

Moving to Malaka with his family and friends Thomas hopes for respite from the war that ravages al-Andalus. Then two events conspire to throw his settled life into chaos.

Someone seeks the location of the city’s fabled wealth, while Spanish forces gather like storm clouds ready to rain down fire and iron.

Thomas and Jorge must fight on more than one front as they search for a vicious killer while trying to protect those they love. Both tasks combine in a final cataclysmic battle that will change their lives forever.

The Fortunate Dead is the enthralling continuation of the Thomas Berrington Historical Mysteries set in the final days of Moorish Spain.

The Fortunate Dead

When revenge is the only redemption.

1488, Alpujarras, Andalusia. Thomas Berrington has come to the high mountains of Spain’s Sierra Nevada in search of an escape from the loss that haunts him. Standing at the boundary between life or death he cannot decide which to choose.

When his friend Jorge Olmos tracks him down Thomas tries to reject him, but Jorge cannot be rejected. Events draw Thomas back toward the world of the living, and he finds himself pursuing the men who stole all hope from him.

Thomas’s nemesis Abbot Mandana is working together with his son to gather an army. But for what purpose?

The Promise of Pain brings Thomas and Jorge together in what might be their final battle against the forces of evil that want to see the end of al-Andalus. Gathering those still loyal around him, Thomas makes one last throw of the dice. Life or death? Redemption or failure? Only the strongest will survive the battle to come … and Thomas doesn’t know if he is strong enough anymore.

The Promise of Pain

How do you prove your closest friend innocent of murder when all the evidence points to their guilt?

1489. Cordoba, Andalusia. Sent to Cordoba on the orders of a man he hates, Thomas Berrington welcomes the distraction of a murder, but is shocked when he uncovers evidence the killer is his closest companion.

When Jorge is imprisoned Thomas must continue the investigation alone – a task made harder by the distraction of two beautiful women.

In his search for the truth, Thomas twists and turns through the confusion of Jorge’s past, uncovering a myriad of revelations, each of which throws up a new suspect.

Finally reunited, they come close to discovering the identity of the culprit only to confront an adversary more powerful than any they have faced before. To save Jorge’s life Thomas may have to sacrifice everything he has gained.

The Message of Blood

In a time of chaos choosing the right side is impossible.

1491-2: Granada, Andalusia: In a land ravaged by wilful destruction, Thomas Berrington tries to serve Queen Isabel as best he can. When an attempt is made on her life, only Thomas can save the life of her companion. The assassin doesn’t care who they hurt in their quest to change the conflict that is coming to a conclusion.

Alongside his companions, Thomas tracks down the culprit only to discover someone else lies behind their actions. For Thomas, Jorge and the others life has grown complex. The end of the 700-year presence of the Moors in Spain. Thomas’s growing conflict over choosing the right woman to share his life with. The death of old lovers and friends. Not to mention a party of Ottoman Turks whose presence spreads confusion.

Through all of this chaos, Thomas tries to do what is right, what is just. Except sometimes the right kind of justice is hard to find.