Steven veerapen
The Jack And Amy Cole Series
A Dangerous Trade
"A slow-burn character driven spy story that grips like a thumbscrew tightened by twist after twist towards the end - Le Carre transported to the 1560s. Brilliant work, based in impressively wide research and the kind of competition that I and a good number of others could well do without!" Peter Tonkin, author of A Stage For Murder
Rebellion stirs in Elizabeth’s England.
In the bleak midlands, Mary Queen of Scots has begun a long imprisonment. Plots and counter-plots swirl around her.
In the earl of Shrewsbury’s crumbling castles, the captive queen hopes for rescue. At the heart of the earl’s household is Jack Cole, a haunted and secretive figure with a dark past. Converted to Queen Mary’s cause by a charismatic secretary, Jack finds himself entangled in a Catholic plot to free her.
Yet the queen’s household is under surveillance. Everyone is a potential spy or is being spied upon.
As Jack is drawn into the dark web of Catholic plotting, he must face a hideous truth.
Meanwhile, his wife Amy must choose whether to protect her husband or betray him. Poison is poured, daggers are drawn, and guns are loaded. England's future hangs in the balance.
Moving from crumbling castles to the imposing palaces of Queen Elizabeth, Jack Cole must decide where his loyalties lie – with queen, country, or wife.
Recommended for fans of CJ Sansom, Rory Clements and Alison Weir.
Divided Loyalties
"A fascinating and unusual take on an Elizabethan spy thriller with lashings of intrigue and historical colour." Paul Walker, author of State of Treason1570.
A sadistic killer haunts England’s streets, sent by a secretive band of plotters known only as The Diamond League.
With agents across Europe, their goal is to provoke a bloody, religious war. Jack and Amy Cole - servants and spies - are reluctantly drawn into the service of Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham. Husband and wife are dispatched on different assignments.
Jack is deposited in York, where he is encouraged to betray his fellow Catholics. He infiltrates the Jesuit brotherhood – but can he bring himself to destroy them?
As terror grips the north, he finds himself the target of a vicious assassin. Meanwhile, Amy is dispatched to France, to spy on the household of Catherine de Medici.
Disguised as a great lady, she is drawn into a glittering, yet perilous, world of intrigue. The spy's every movement seems to be watched.
The Diamond League's plot and personnel stretch from England to France. The bodies of Catholics and Protestants alike pile up across Europe. No one is safe. The hunters become the hunted.
As the Diamonds’ maniacal assassin pursues them across Europe, Jack and Amy must kill or be killed. Divided Loyalties is the thrilling sequel to the bestselling A Dangerous Trade.
Recommended for fans of CJ Samson, Rory Clements and SJ Parris.
The Last Judgement
'A fascinating and unusual take on an Elizabethan spy thriller with lashings of intrigue and historical colour.' Paul Walker, author of State of Treason
1572
The pope is dead. As cardinals flock to the Vatican to elect a new pontiff, they are unaware that a weapon capable of destroying the Church has been smuggled in with them.
As the doors of the city are locked, Catholic exile Jack Cole is sealed inside, hoping to gather intelligence for Elizabeth I’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham, and win permission to return to England.
But he is not alone.
His wife, Amy, has sneaked into the Vatican. If she is discovered, they could both be tortured and executed.
The pair are not, however, the only ones in the city with a dark purpose. As night falls, a mysterious prisoner is arrested. He has no name, no identity, and no history. Yet his sinister presence spells danger.
Dragged into aiding the Swiss Guard and its secretive captain, Jack and Amy must uncover the prisoner’s motives, find his weapon, and foil his plot.
But is he working alone? As servants begin to disappear, mysterious figures are seen in the shadows, and bodies are discovered, the spies realise they can trust no one.
With time running out, there are only twenty-four hours to save the Vatican.
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