The stunning final story in the one-of-a-kind mystery series, the last mission in the iconic career of John Shakespeare, Queen's Spy. ------------------------------------------------------- 'Sixteenth-century London comes alive in all its tawdriness' Daily Mail 'Beautifully done . alive and tremendously engrossing' Daily Telegraph 'Plot and dialogue that hums with Elizabethan slang, profanity and wit' The Times 'Enjoyable, bloody and brutish' Guardian ------------------------------------------------------- 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.

------------------------------------------------------- Readers adore Martyr and the John Shakespeare series . 'If you love C.J. Sansom, you'll love this' 'You can feel, smell, see and hear the dangerous times of Tudor England' 'An absolutely delightful Elizabethan mystery' 'If you enjoy S.J. Parris, you need to try this' 'Rory Clements has struck gold with John Shakespeare'.