Wizard’s Tower is delighted to announce that we will be publishing the Executioner series of epic fantasy murder mystery novels by Andrew Knighton.

The Executioner books were first acquired by Northodox Press, and The Executioner’s Blade was published in 2024. However, this year Northodox took a decision to concentrate on historical fiction, and the Executioner books were dropped. Having worked well with Knighton on the British Fantasy Award finalist novella, ‘Walking a Wounded Land’, in Wiz Duo #3, we were keen to rescue the series.

In addition to the Executioner books, Knighton is also the author of the Forged for Destiny epic fantasy series, available from Hachette, and two novellas from Luna Press Publishing.

The Executioner series features an aging ex-soldier turned executioner called Lena Sturm who finds herself investigating some of the cases she is expected to dispense judgement upon.

Praise for The Executioner’s Blade has included the following:

“A perfect balance of action and character wrapped about a delightfully twisted mystery.” – Adrian Tchaikovsky

“A very enjoyable, fast paced read.” – Anna Smith-Spark

“Mature and absorbing epic fantasy, very well worth a look.” – Juliet E. McKenna

“Flawed yet relatable characters, a corrupt city, and a mystery full of twists and turns. A beautifully thought-out and engagingly written piece of fantasy.” – Charlotte Bond

Andrew Knighton said: “I love writing about the Executioner and the world she lives in, so I feel like I’ve been living in a cliffhanger, waiting to see whether these books would find a new home. I’m incredibly pleased that the wait is over and I can continue this adventure in such good company. Wizard’s Tower have been a pleasure to work with, and it’s an honour to see my books published alongside so many other authors whose work I love.”

Publisher, Cheryl Morgan said: “Andrew has been a delight to work with on the Wiz Duos novella series. Also rescuing good books that have sadly lost their publishers is something that Wizard’s Tower was founded to do. I am very pleased to add these books to our catalogue.”

We expect to have the new edition of The Executioner’s Blade available before the end of the year. This will be followed by The Executioner’s Price and The Executioner’s Prayer in 2027.