'MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CRIME SERIES' S. G. MacLEAN 'BEAUTIFUL WRITING' GILES KRISTIAN In a world on the brink of change, showing any weakness can be fatal... 1598. Nicholas Shelby, unorthodox physician and reluctant spy for Robert Cecil, has brought his wife Bianca and their child home from exile in Padua. Welcome at court, his star is in the ascendancy. But he has returned to a dangerous world. Two old enemies are approaching their final reckoning. In London, Elizabeth is entering the twilight of her reign. In Madrid, King Philip of Spain is dying. Elizabeth has seen off more than one Spanish attempt at invasion. But still she is not safe. In Ireland, rebellion against her rule is raging. And if Spain can take Ireland, England will be more vulnerable than ever. When Robert Cecil receives a desperate plea for help, he dispatches Nicholas to Ireland to investigate. Soon he and Bianca find themselves caught up not just in bloody rebellion, but in the lethal power-play between Cecil and the one man Elizabeth believes can restore Ireland to her: the unpredictable Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex.

S. W. Perry

Italy, 1595. Dr Nicholas Shelby and his wife Bianca have settled in the Italian city of Padua following the birth of their son, Bruno. Cleared of all charges of heresy in England, Nicholas can now rest; and with the help of new friends, he earns the trusts of the locals and builds a new practice. It is a more peaceful life than the future promised by their journey across Europe, when the couple almost lost everything to the madness of Hella Mass. But moving in enlightened circles means that life for Nicholas and Bianca never stays peaceful for long, particularly as Nicholas is being persuaded to once again become the eyes and ears of the English Crown.