"Superb . . . a fast-moving and gripping plot" Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Merchant Murderers

March 1557. Jack Blackjack is back in London and enjoying a sedentary life - after his treacherous voyage back to his beloved city the previous year, he desires nothing more than the simple pleasures - women, wine, beer and more women.

But his new parish of St Helen's has different ideas for him . . . a week after first laying eyes on the tempting Miss Rachel Nailor, she turns up horribly dead on the church vestry floor . . . and someone is trying to frame him for her murder!

A fellow Lady Elizabeth sympathiser, it appears Rachel Nailor was a woman with many secrets. But was she murdered in a fit of lustful rage, or was it part of a wider political play? Who would want Rachel dead - and Jack hanged for it? The suspects are plenty and Jack is running out of time.