John Shakespeare

England is close to war. Within days the axe could fall on the neck of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Spain is already gathering a battle fleet to avenge her. Tensions in Elizabeth I's government are at the breaking point. At the center of the storm is John Shakespeare, chief intelligencer in the secret service of Sir Francis Walsingham. When an intercept reveals a plot to assassinate England's "sea dragon," Francis Drake, Shakespeare is ordered to protect him. Busy fitting out his ships on land, Drake is frighteningly vulnerable. If he dies, England will be open to invasion. From the splendor and intrigue of the royal court to the sleek warships of Her Majesty's Navy and the teeming brothels of Southwark, Shakespeare soon learns that nothing is as it seems …

There will be a terrible reckoning... England is at war with Spain, and Queen Elizabeth's court is torn apart by brutal rivalries among ambitious young courtiers. The inimitable investigator John Shakespeare is dragged from retirement to work for the Earl of Essex, the queen's favorite. His mission is to unravel the mystery behind the doomed Roanoke colony in North America, but instead, he uncovers a plot to kill the aging queen. With a plague devastating the country, Catholics being tortured, and John's wife keeping secrets from him, Shakespeare has his own survival to secure. Filled with colorful historical detail, Revenger is a stunning novel of savage betrayals and salacious intrigue.

England, 1593. Plague rages, famine is rife, and the city is in revolt. From this bedlam rises the sharpest of sleuths: a man named John Shakespeare. Shakespeare's brother investigates a series of murders rocking Elizabethan London. He follows the clues, which lead him from horseraces to brothels to an explosive encounter at sea. As he digs deeper, he discovers a plot that threatens not only the kingdom but everything he holds dear. This spellbinding historical thriller will delight fans of New York Times bestselling authors Ariana Franklin and Alex Grecian.

A riveting novella set in Elizabethan England-perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and The Tudors. Just a few days before Christmas, a reluctant John Shakespeare-brother of a rising playwright-answers a plea for help from Joshua Peace, Searcher of the Dead, but he has no idea the kind of menace he will face. A naked man has been found in a snowdrift, a wreath of holly crowning his head and a bullet in his back. As all around him prepare for the festive season, Shakespeare must unravel a complex plot of passion and treachery and confront a cold-blooded murderer who will not hesitate to kill again.

England is a viper's nest of conspiracy. It is 1852, and the conflict between Protestants and Catholics threatens to tear the country in two. While Queen Elizabeth I holds the reins of power, there are those whose loyalty lies with her imprisoned cousin-Mary, Queen of Scots. On his first major mission for Sir Francis Walsingham, the young John Shakespeare is ordered to untangle a conspiracy to free the Stuart queen from Sheffield Castle. All too soon, he realizes that the tentacles of the plot reach deep into his native Warwickshire and threaten his own friends and family. His duty lies with Elizabeth ... but how far will he go to protect those he loves?

For fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris, Holy Spy features the Queen's Intelligencer John Shakespeare in the latest of Rory Clements's acclaimed and bestselling series of Tudor spy thrillers 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…