Tudor Mystery

When the body of the glamorous film star Margot Browne washes ashore, Max's former colleague, Patrice Logan, requests his help. It's a perfect closed-circle murder: Margot must have been killed by one of the actors, stylists, scriptwriters, or second-tier royalty aboard the yacht. Patrice suspects the yacht's owner, a playboy film director she's been keeping tabs on for smuggling, but Max isn't so sure.

When Robert Catesby, the charismatic son of a Catholic gentleman, marries heiress Catherine Leigh and inherits the rich Oxfordshire manor house at Aston from his grandmother, it seems that the future happiness of the couple must be assured. However, Robert’s deep involvement in plots to overthrow the Protestant queen Elizabeth I and his increasingly dangerous behavior threaten the lives of his wife and their young son.

Time slips. Doomsday scenarios. Killer butterflies. C. J. Tudor's novels are widely acclaimed for their dark, twisty suspense plots, but with A Sliver of Darkness, she pulls us even further into her dizzying imagination. Riveting, macabre, and explosively original, A Sliver of Darkness is C. J. Tudor at her most wicked and uninhibited.

Peter Diamond, head of Bath CID, takes a city break in Vienna, but everything goes wrong and his companion, Paloma, calls a halt to their relationship. Meanwhile, strange things are happening to jobbing musician Mel Farran, who finds himself scouted by methods closer to the spy world than the concert platform. The chance of joining a once-famous string quartet in a residency at Bath Spa University is too tempting for Mel to refuse. Then a body is found in the city canal, and the only clue to the dead woman's identity is the tattoo of a music note on one of her teeth.

A woman has been murdered and mutilated in her own home, with her liver cut out and a message left within it. Tasked with leading the case, DI Tudor Manx identifies several suspects, including the victim’s estranged husband. But all trails run cold. Then, another victim dies—and from the modus operandi. It seems that North Wales Police are dealing with a serial killer. But who would target the inhabitants of such a peaceful island?

When the mutilated body of midwife and healer Agatha Kyteler is discovered in a hedge one frozen wintry morning, it seems at first that a lack of clues will render the crime impossible to solve. Then a frightened local youth inexplicably flees his village, and a hue and cry is raised in his wake. Sir Baldwin Furnshill, once a Knight Templar, has doubts about the boy's guilt. He enlists his friend Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford Castle, in the hunt for a murderer.

Spring, 1523. Henry VIII readies England for war with France. The King's chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey, prepares to open Parliament at Blackfriars. The eyes of the country turn towards London. But all is not well in Wolsey's household. A visiting critic of the Cardinal is found brutally slain whilst awaiting an audience at Richmond Palace. He will not be the last to die. Anthony Blanke, trumpeter and groom, is once again called upon to unmask a murderer. Joining forces with Sir Thomas More, he is forced to confront the unpopularity of his master's rule.

Summer, 1522. In a wave of pomp, Henry VIII's court welcomes the Imperial emperor, Charles V. Anthony Blanke, the son of the king's late 'black trumpet', John Blanke, is called to Hampton Court by his former employer, Cardinal Wolsey. The cardinal is preparing a gift for King Henry: a masque of King Arthur and the Black Knight. Anthony is to take center stage.

London, 1667. In the court of Charles II, it's a dangerous time to be alive. A wrong move could lead to disgrace, exile or death. The discovery of a murder at Clarendon House, the palatial home of one of the highest courtiers in the land, could have catastrophic consequences. James Marwood, a traitor's son, is ordered to cover up the murder. But the dead man is Edward Alderley, the cousin of one of Marwood's acquaintances. Cat Lovett had every reason to want her cousin dead. Since his murder, she has vanished, and all the evidence points to her as the killer.

Doctor John Dee and Margaretta, assisted by his pupil Christopher, are charged with unraveling the mystery. But then there is a kidnapping, a ransom threat and more bodies appear. Amongst secrets and rumors, the scandal of the Seymour Affair threatens to resurface. Elizabeth's road to the throne could be ruined and with that comes the fall of the Tudor Dynasty. Can John Dee keep Elizabeth's secret before it casts a shadow over them all?

In the winter of 1483, Francis Lovell is Richard III’s Lord Chamberlain and confidant, but the threat of Henry Tudor’s rebels has the king entrusting to Francis and his wife, Anne, his most crucial mission: protecting the young Richard of York, his brother’s surviving son and a threat to Henry’s claims to the throne.

Two young girls plot a murder by witchcraft. Soon afterwards, a government clerk dies painfully in mysterious circumstances. His colleague James Marwood is asked to investigate—but the task brings unexpected dangers. Meanwhile, architect Cat Hakesby is working for a merchant who lives on Slaughter Street, where the air smells of blood and a captive Barbary lion prowls the stables. Then a prestigious new commission arrives. Cat must design a Poultry House for the woman that the king loves most in all the world.

The Fitzwarren brothers are back in town! Well actually, not exactly back in town, but they are heading toward Venice, where they plan to sell a stolen arms shipment to the highest bidder. How badly wrong could it go?

In modern-day London, architectural historian and recovering alcoholic Annie Kendall hopes to turn her life around and restart her career by locating several long-missing pieces of ancient Judaica. Geoff Harris, an investigative reporter, is soon drawn into her quest, both by romantic interest and suspicions about the head of the Shalom Foundation, the organization sponsoring her work. He's also a dead ringer for the ghost of a monk Annie believes she has seen at the flat she is subletting in Bristol House.

1586, London: Covert espionage agent Kit Scarlett is once again tasked with defending Queen Elizabeth against an assassination attempt. With the attacks on the queen's life mounting, Kit and spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham know they need to find a firm link between these deadly plots and Mary Queen of Scots. But Kit is also keen to investigate a more personal matter. Her espionage partner, Iohmar Blackwood, did not return from his last mission set by Walsingham and has not been seen for a year.

In Washington, DC, the president-elect is planning her inauguration. The list of Supreme Court candidates is highly confidential—until it becomes evidence in Detective Alex Cross’s toughest investigation. One candidate is gunned down. A second is stabbed. A third is murdered near midnight on a city street. Cross is the FBI’s top expert in criminal behavior. For the sake of his family, his city, and his country, he must put himself in the most dangerous place there is: inside the mind of a diabolical killer.

1586: Female espionage agent, Kit Scarlett is stationed at Chartley Castle, where Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, is under house arrest for plotting against the English Queen Elizabeth. Kit helps Sir Francis Walsingham's top code-breaker, Thomas Phelippes, as they intercept Mary Stuart's communications with her conspiring supporters. And when they have the proof that Mary Stuart has sanctioned Queen Elizabeth's assassination, Kit races to deliver the message to Walsingham. But before they can persuade Queen Elizabeth to sign Mary Stuart's death warrant, the Scottish queen escapes.

1585, London: Queen Elizabeth is gravely ill and her spymaster, Francis Walsingham, has received intelligence that there is a plot to assassinate her. He sends his protege Kit Scarlett and Scottish agent Iomhar Blackwood to gather information. To their horror, they discover there is a plot to blow up Hampton Court Palace. With Queen Elizabeth too unwell to be moved from the palace, it is imperative the plot is foiled as quickly as possible. A search of Hampton Court is launched, with Iomhar leading the way, while Kit is given the task of guarding the queen.

Meet Richard Fitzwarren - an anti-hero with a dubious past, questionable morals but unswerving loyalties. Richard grinned and grasping his brother's wrist said, “Terrible apart and even worse together - that would make us a fine family moto. Et mirabilia absque peius.” Jack Fitzwarren, Richard’s displaced bastard brother, seeks a place at his brother’s side. Impulsive and hot headed, his attempts to gain his brother’s acceptance and approval often end badly. Finally the brothers are brought head to head when Richard tries to foil a plot against Elizabeth I.

Richard has lost everything to Andrew Kineer, even his identity. Whether he will be able to reclaim it remains to be seen. The backdrop to their own struggle is the political tension in England. Mary I, convinced God has given her the task of returning England to the true faith, sends the Protestant reformers a stark and violent message.