The Sticklepath Strangler

The vill of Sticklepath holds many dark secrets and when the skeleton of a young girl is found and rumours of cannibalism abound, Sir Baldwin and friends come to investigate.

The author is very good at invoking an atmosphere but be warned, it's a very depressing one.

Sir Baldwin must assist the Coroner in the murder of a young girl whose body is found buried near a footpath. The village is small and poor and he discovers that there have been other deaths and that some have involved cannibalism. There are several suspects, including a man whose brother wants him out of thew way, a violent and feared miller and the local Reeve. The solution, when it comes, is unexpected and shocking. Gives a good sense of the hopeless state of the peasantry.

I have virtually all of Jecks' works. I am new to Library Things so am not going to go into great detail except to say that he has given me many hours of reading pleasure and largley give him 5 stars. Although it has been some years since I found one of the later stories, I was, at the time, prompted to find the first in the series, etc. It is grand that both his former publisher and his new publisher (Simon & Schuster UK) are republishing his books in print and other formats. I have given Jecks 5 star reviews over the years since I stumbled on to him. As to his research, historically it is from primary sources wherein he writes plausible tales into the historical setting.