Part of the bestselling John Shakespeare series of Tudor spy thrillers from Rory Clements,winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award'Does for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's'Sunday TimesEngland is close to war. Within days the axe could fall on the neck of Mary Queen of Scots,and Spain is already gathering a battle fleet to avenge her. Tensions in Elizabeth I's government are at breaking point. At the eye of the storm is John Shakespeare,chief intelligencer in the secret service of Sir Francis Walsingham. When an intercept reveals a plot to assassinate England's'sea dragon',Francis Drake,Shakespeare is ordered to protect him. With Drake on land fitting out his ships,he is frighteningly vulnerable. If he dies,England will be open to invasion. In a London rife with rumour,Shakespeare must decide which leads to follow,which to ignore. When a high-born young woman is found mutilated and murdered at an illicit printing house,it is political gunpowder - and he has no option but to investigate.But why is Shakespeare shadowed at every turn by the brutal Richard Topcliffe,the blood-drenched priest-hunter who claims intimacy with Queen Elizabeth herself What is Topcliffe's interest in a housemaid,whose baby has been stolen And where do two fugitive Jesuit priests fit into the puzzle,one happy to die for God,the other to kill for Him From the splendour and intrigue of the royal court,to the sleek warships of Her Majesty's Navy and the teeming brothels of Southwark,Shakespeare soon learns that nothing is as it seems . . .
Publisher: Hodder & StoughtonISBN: 9781848540781Number of pages: 432Weight: 310 gDimensions: 200 x 142 x 28 mm
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This is a historical thriller to send a shiver down your spine.This is a historical thriller to send a shiver down your spine.Clements can be seen as doing for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's.Clements can be seen as doing for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's.John Shakespeare is one of the great historical sleuths.
Rory Clements
Hailed as'the master of the war-time thriller,'Rory Clements is a British novelist best known for his John Shakespeare and Tom Wilde series.
Visit the Rory Clements author page
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