*****Part of the bestselling John Shakespeare series of Tudor spy thrillers from Rory Clements, winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award*****
'[Clements] does for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's' Sunday Times
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In London's smoky taverns, a conspiracy is brewing: a group of wealthy young Catholic dissidents plot to assassinate Elizabeth, free Mary Queen of Scots - and open England to Spanish invasion. But the conspirators have been infiltrated by Sir Francis Walsingham's top intelligencer, John Shakespeare.
Shakespeare, however, is torn: the woman he loves stands accused of murder. In a desperate race against time he must save her from the noose and the realm from treachery. And then it dawns that both investigations are inextricably linked - by corruption very close to the seat of power . . .
"An exuberant plot and dialogue that hums with Elizabethan slang, profanity and wit ....Clements delivers a bawdy, engaging romp of book." - The Times
"An exuberant plot and dialogue that hums with Elizabethan slang, profanity and wit ....Clements delivers a bawdy, engaging romp of book." - The Times
"Sixteenth-century London comes alive in all its tawdriness." - Daily Mail
"Sixteenth-century London comes alive in all its tawdriness." - Daily Mail
