Witch Hunter

Exeter, 1195. When a prominent burgess and guild-master falls dead across his horse, Crowner John declines to hold an inquest as the man had been complaining of chest pains and shows no signs of injury. Events take a sinister turn, however, when a straw-dolly is discovered hidden under the man's saddle, a spike driven through its heart. The victim's strident wife declares her husband's death to have been the result of an evil spell, cast at the behest of a rival mill-owner who wants to acquire his business. Enlisting the help of her cousin, a cathedral canon with an eye to ecclesiastical advancement, the widow begins a campaign in the name of the Church against witchcraft and the so-called 'cunning women' who practise it. This escalates until Exeter is divided into two camps and a climate of fear predominates. Still the coroner refuses to get involved - until his beloved mistress is accused of witchcraft. Can Crowner John unearth the real culprit and save Nesta from the hangman's noose?Knight, Bernard is the author of 'Witch Hunter' with ISBN 9780743449892 and ISBN 0743449894.