The Queen's Spies
(2020)(A book in the Elizabethan Spy Thrillers series)
An omnibus of novels by Steven Veerapen
"A slow-burn character driven spy story that grips like a thumbscrew tightened by twist after twist towards the end." Peter Tonkin
A DANGEROUS TRADE
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.
As Jack is drawn into the dark web of Catholic plotting, he must face a hideous truth.
Poison is poured, daggers are drawn, and guns are loaded. England's future hangs in the balance.
DIVIDED LOYALTIES
1570.
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. 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 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 LAST JUDGEMENT
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.
Steven Veerapen was born in Glasgow and raised in Paisley. Pursuing an interest in the sixteenth century, he was awarded a first-class Honours degree in English, focussing his dissertation on representations of Henry VIII's six wives. He then received a Masters in Renaissance studies, and a Ph.D. investigating Elizabethan slander. Steven is fascinated by the glamour and ghastliness of life in the 1500s.
Praise for Steven Veerapen:
'A fascinating and unusual take on an Elizabethan spy thriller with lashings of intrigue and historical colour.' Paul Walker, author of State of Treason
Genre: Historical
A DANGEROUS TRADE
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.
As Jack is drawn into the dark web of Catholic plotting, he must face a hideous truth.
Poison is poured, daggers are drawn, and guns are loaded. England's future hangs in the balance.
DIVIDED LOYALTIES
1570.
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. 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 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 LAST JUDGEMENT
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.
Steven Veerapen was born in Glasgow and raised in Paisley. Pursuing an interest in the sixteenth century, he was awarded a first-class Honours degree in English, focussing his dissertation on representations of Henry VIII's six wives. He then received a Masters in Renaissance studies, and a Ph.D. investigating Elizabethan slander. Steven is fascinated by the glamour and ghastliness of life in the 1500s.
Praise for Steven Veerapen:
'A fascinating and unusual take on an Elizabethan spy thriller with lashings of intrigue and historical colour.' Paul Walker, author of State of Treason
Genre: Historical
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