John Pilkington Books in Order

Pilkington offers practical advice on sustaining a working writer's life, covering contracts, copyright, agents, equipment, and finances. He also addresses the everyday obstacles of distraction, rejection, and writer's block that can interrupt a creative career.

After his mistress's brother is murdered, falconer Thomas Finbow accompanies her to London in search of hunting birds. Clues reveal a wider criminal scheme, putting both servant and mistress in danger as Thomas investigates the killing.

Thomas Finbow joins his master at an earl's lavish festivities, where three guests are murdered. With a royal visit approaching and the host intent on concealment, Thomas must identify the killer before another prominent victim is chosen.

Sent to train a hawk and tutor a young ward, Thomas Finbow encounters a household troubled by money and marriage negotiations. A daughter's disappearance turns his rural assignment into a hunt for a murderer as further deaths follow.

The arrival of bell-founders excites a village until a respected churchwarden is found dead. Thomas Finbow investigates, but another killing spreads panic, forcing him to confront old hostilities and superstition while searching for the murderer.

A body recovered from a burning barn draws Thomas Finbow into a series of killings on the Berkshire Downs. As suspicion falls on itinerant strangers, he uses an unusual showman's help to unravel secrets and a desire for revenge.

Thomas Finbow travels to London to retrieve his infatuated master, only to become entangled in a murder and the theft of a corpse. A streetwise friend helps him investigate a scheme threatening the succession to England's throne.

Boy actor Ben Button must investigate when members of his touring company are accused of stealing a priceless plate. Searching the Elizabethan countryside for its secrets, he risks powerful enemies to save his fellow players from execution.

While entertaining a Muscovite ambassador's party, Thomas Finbow is entrusted with guarding a valuable diplomatic gift. Its theft and a brutal killing force him to investigate divided loyalties before the missing chain causes an international crisis.

Disappearances and suspicious accidents threaten Lord Bonner's players at the Rose theatre. When a fire raises the stakes, young actors Ben Button and Matthew Fields must overcome their differences and uncover the people sabotaging their company.

Ben Button befriends a runaway girl whose family was dispossessed by a powerful nobleman. After interrupting her attempt at revenge, the young actor uncovers corruption in the arms trade and becomes entangled in a dangerous political conspiracy.

Returning to his village, Ben Button finds violent robberies and discovers his grandmother sheltering a notorious former prisoner. A stranger's search for hidden treasure draws the boy actor into a dangerous pursuit that threatens his family.

In Restoration London, actress Betsy Brand sees a fellow performer die onstage from poisoning. Further deaths suggest the return of a mysterious figure known as the Salamander, compelling Betsy to investigate before the killer turns toward her.

To save her father from debtor's prison, actress Betsy Brand accepts a spymaster's assignment in Holland. Her apparently simple investigation becomes a dangerous struggle against an unseen enemy, demanding all her theatrical skills to survive.

Sir Robert Cecil orders disgraced intelligencer Martin Marbeck to identify a double agent supplying secrets to England's enemies. The hunt takes him into France and back to London, where a carefully planned trap produces dangerous unforeseen consequences.

With Elizabeth dying and the succession uncertain, Martin Marbeck is sidelined by suspicions of treachery. A search for a friend's wayward son draws him into religious conspiracies threatening the new king and England's fragile political settlement.

As England and Spain negotiate peace, an attack on the Spanish ambassador threatens to derail the talks. Intelligencer Martin Marbeck follows the conspiracy from London's waterfront to the coast, confronting men whose fortunes depend on continued war.

Ordered to watch Thomas Percy, Martin Marbeck hears rumors of a grave threat to King James. With his warnings dismissed and personal affairs complicating his work, he must expose a conspiracy before it brings catastrophe to England.

Retired magistrate Robert Belstrang investigates a young man's disappearance and finds him confined in Bedlam. His attempts to secure the prisoner's freedom draw him into London's Catholic underground and a conspiracy with roots in the Gunpowder Plot.

A young woman's death in a woodland pond leads to a widow's arrest for witchcraft. Skeptical former magistrate Robert Belstrang investigates the accusation, uncovering hidden crimes within a powerful household while risking his own safety.

A friend's plea draws Robert Belstrang to investigate a fatal explosion at an iron foundry supplying royal cannon. What appears to be a family tragedy reveals dangerous international connections, leaving his own estate and future at risk.

Music-hall performers are being murdered in Victorian London, drawing a celebrated illusionist's son into the police inquiry. When sabotage strikes his own company and an assistant dies, Sam Vasey pursues a killer whose deceptions endanger him too.

An English spymaster coerces former artillery captain Will Revill into assassinating a country gentleman. Troubled by the order and increasingly sympathetic to his target, Revill investigates its hidden purpose while his sister's safety hangs over him.

Serving in France's religious wars, Will Revill is ordered to investigate the loyalty of England's ambassador in Paris. His mission leads through espionage and enemy territory as intelligence about Spanish reinforcements makes reaching King Henri urgent.

Born to a servant in medieval Denmark, Yorick rises from stable boy to royal jester. His wit brings him close to power, but involvement in the ruling family's secrets and desires makes that privileged position increasingly dangerous.

In 1591, soldier turned spy Will Revill joins a Catholic nobleman’s household to investigate a suspected plot against Queen Elizabeth. As the royal procession travels through southern England, distrust among the servants complicates his efforts to identify a would-be assassin.

A Venetian perfumer's murder gives newly widowed parish constable Matthew Cutler his first major investigation. Using skills learned as an actor, he ventures into an Elizabethan London community where hostility toward foreigners threatens to turn suspicion into violence.

Constable Matthew Cutler shelters a young protester while counterfeit coins spread through Bishopsgate. Torn between official duty and his sense of justice, he uses disguise to investigate a ruthless gang whose influence threatens his family and parish.

Preparing London's militia against a threatened Spanish invasion, Matthew Cutler witnesses a killing disguised by a training brawl. His investigation uncovers religious conspiracy and a hidden assassin, forcing him to pursue treachery within the ranks.