Killing Way

Set in the age of Arthur, this novel steps away from the familiar legend of the king. Arthur is a young and formidable warrior, close to becoming a figure of legend himself. The rival chieftains of Britain have gathered to choose a new high king, and Arthur is the favorite to win. Then a young woman is murdered in a brutal way, and suspicion falls on Merlin. With Arthur's standing hanging in the balance, his foes are waiting for an opening.

Arthur seeks help from Malgwyn ap Cuneglas, a soldier who understands warfare and reads people with unusual sharpness. Those gifts have already carried Arthur toward the throne. Yet Malgwyn is also the man who despises Arthur more than anyone alive.

Malgwyn's wife was killed by Saxons, and grief turned him into a fearsome Saxon-slayer and Arthur's chief lieutenant. That role ended on a battlefield, where a Saxon blade severed his sword arm and left him for dead. Arthur pulled him out alive. Now missing an arm, Malgwyn works as a scribe, drinks heavily, and refuses the diminished life his lord provided. Still, loyalty can run deeper than hatred, and he finds himself drawn into a puzzle he cannot leave alone.