The Saracen's Mark

Description

From the CWA Historical Dagger Award-nominated author of The Angel's Mark in 2019 and The Serpent's Mark in 2020 England, 1593: Five years on from the Armada and Elizabeth's kingdom seems secure. But there is always a plot afoot... Robert Cecil, the Queen's spymaster, needs Nicholas Shelby - reluctant spy and maverick physician - to embark on an undercover mission once again. One that he can't refuse, if he wants to keep Bianca Merton safe. Crossing the seas to Marrakesh in search of a missing informer, Nicholas hunts the dingy back alleys and dazzling palaces for the truth. But his search reveals a deadly conspiracy, one far more difficult to survive than he'd ever imagined. And back in London the plague has returned, ravaging the streets and threatening everything he holds most dear... ________________________ Praise for The Jackdaw Mysteries, a CWA Dagger finalist series 'S. W. Perry is one of the best' - The Times 'No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century' - Andrew Swanston 'S. W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series' - S. G. MacLean

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.

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 * [With] intrigue and suspense, Perry's diligent research makes the period detail convincing. Fans of S.J. Parris and C.J. Sansom will be pleased. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *