'Dramatic and colourful' SUNDAY TIMES

'Beautiful writing' GILES KRISTIAN

Treason, heresy and revolt in Queen Elizabeth's England . . .

The year is 1600. With a dying queen on the throne, war raging on the high seas and famine on the rise, England is on the brink of chaos. And in London's dark alleyways, a conspiracy is brewing. In the court's desperate bid to silence it, an innocent man is found guilty - the father of Nicholas Shelby, physician and spy. As Nicholas races against time to save his father, he and his wife Bianca are drawn into the centre of a treacherous plot against the queen.

When one of Shakespeare's boy actors goes missing, and Bianca discovers a disturbing painting that could be a clue, she embarks on her own investigation. Meanwhile, as Nicholas comes closer to unveiling the real conspirator, the men who wish to silence him are multiplying. When he stumbles on a plan to overthrow the state and replace it with a terrifying new order, he may be forced to make a decision between his country and his heart . . .

About the Author
S. W. Perry was a journalist and broadcaster before retraining as an airline pilot. His debut novel, The Angel's Mark, was listed for the CWA Historical Dagger and was a Walter Scott Prize Academy Recommended Read 2019. He lives in Worcestershire with his wife.

Reviews
The third in Perry's series is as dramatic and colourful as the previous two. * The Sunday Times *
An absolute belter of a read and another fabulous addition to the Jackdaw Mysteries series... I just gobbled up the pages as the story fairly roars along battling spies and pirates on route... S. W. Perry ensures the sights, smells and sounds of London and Morocco entered my very being. I love this series. -- Liz Robinson * LoveReading, Picks of the month *
The writing is of such a quality, the characters so engaging and the setting so persuasive that, only two books in, S.W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series. * S. G. MacLean on The Serpent's Mark *
A satisfyingly convoluted plot. * Sunday Times on The Serpent's Mark *
No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century. * Andrew Swanston on The Serpent's Mark *
The Serpent's Mark is an excellent evocation of Elizabethan England, with espionage, intricate conspiracies, strange medical practises and a gripping story. A rattling good read. * William Ryan on The Serpent's Mark *
A gorgeous book - rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure. It immerses you in the late 16th century and leaves you wrung out with terror. This is historical fiction at its most sumptuous. * Rory Clements on The Angel's Mark *
Wonderful! Beautiful writing, and Perry's Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it. * Giles Kristian on The Angel's Mark *



Book Information
ISBN 9781838954031
Author S. W. Perry
Format Paperback
Page Count 432
Imprint Corvus
Publisher Atlantic Books
Weight(grams) 300g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 130mm * 28mm