The Book of Martyrs

1595 Theft. Persecution. Murder. Welcome to England's Golden Age. An aging Sir Francis Drake has just sailed from Plymouth, heading south on a doomed mission of plunder. It will end with his burial at sea off the coast of Panama - at least he'll be warm. Back in England, semi-reformed thief Kate Mayfield and her uncle, the notorious astrological physician Simon Mayfield, are stuck in rain-lashed Devon. They're on the run from the law as a dismal summer turns into a turbulent autumn. Caught in a violent storm, they seek refuge at Dartwater Hall, a decaying manor house set in bleak moorlands. But death has followed them there. When the master of the house dies in gruesome circumstances, they learn that a murderer is hiding in the shadows. Trapped and hunted, the two fugitives must solve a mystery with its roots deep in Tudor England's bloody past before they, too, become martyrs to their own, ignoble cause. The first novel in a distinctive and page-turning new Elizabethan mystery series, The Book of Martyrs combines a delightfully intricate plot with a cast of vivid characters and atmospheric historical detail.