There is a long list of favorite novelists, especially if one has majored in English in college. With that said, I decided to write about a living legend, Michael Jecks. In fact, Mr. Jecks is known as “the master of medieval mysteries,” a phrase I wholeheartedly agree with.
Mr. Jecks has written well over 30 Knights Templar mysteries; the first of which is titled The Last Templar . Here, we are introduced to the two main characters-the bailiff of Devon, Simon Puttock and a former knight, Sir Baldwin Furnshill. Simon Puttock has a wife and daughter, takes his job seriously, but not so seriously that it consumes hi m, occasionally has a sense of humor, and is analytical, but not in a the Sherlock Holmes sense. Simon is also younger than Sir Baldwin. Sir Baldwin is a former knight, who moved to Devon, and assists Simon in the solving of crimes. Sir Baldwin can be quite forward, yet around the opposite sex is quite shy. He has never been married. He possesses the analytical skills of Holmes, being able to find clues where others would not normally look for them.
Being that the novels all take place in Medieval times (in and around 14 th century Devon, England, a place Mr. Jecks knows well), the crimes, usually murders are quite gruesome and described in detail, but that does not deter the reader. The way in which Mr. Jecks writes is yes, descriptive, but also in a way that makes one want to read more; to know how the crimes were committed, why they were committed and of course, who committed them. All of Mr. Jecks’ books are real page turners! All of the books are also filled with historical facts, which allows them to fall in my second favorite category, the historical novel. Some of the books even have a glossary of medieval words and phrases. As you can see, all the books are well researched, well thought out, and very well written!
A little bit about Michael Jecks: He was born in 1960 in Surrey, England. He knows the area of Devon very well as he used to visit the area with his family every Easter. He has been a judge for the Ian Flemming Steel Dagger award and judged numbers of contests. For those of you are asking yourself who Ian Flemming is, he wrote the James Bond novels. Mr. Jecks is a member of numerous clubs and associations, and he founded the Medieval Murders, a performance group of authors and he was involved with writing their crime novels. Mr. Jecks and his wife live in a village of North Dartmoor with their children and two dogs, of which he tweets about frequently as they make their way over the moors and pathways. According to his website he has developed a taste for dancing and strong ales.
For more information on Michael Jecks, and to sign up for his newsletter, please visit:
http://www.michaeljecks.co.uk