The Course of All Treasons (Elizabethan Spy Mystery Series #2)

by Suzanne M. Wolfe

Overview

The Elizabethan court is beset by traitors at home and abroad as spies, rogues, and would-be usurpers of the throne vie for power.

England, 1586. Tensions rise as threats to the realm abound. Traitors are plotting for Mary Queen of Scots to depose Elizabeth I and take the throne. Rumors of a Spanish invasion by sea mount daily. And the body of one of Sir Francis Walsingham's agents is found floating in the Thames as other agents face enemies armed with crossbows and vials of poison.

Nicholas Holt, a spy in Walsingham's employ, narrowly averts the same fate while setting off in pursuit of the killer—or killers. And when he surprises a suspect in the company of a Spanish agent, he believes he's close not only to solving the case but preventing an act of high treason.

But soon, the attacks begin to threaten Nick's circle of friends. As those he loves face mortal peril, Nick must unravel the tangled plot, all the while steering a careful path through the fierce rivalry between Walsingham's agents and those of the Queen's favorite, the upstart Earl of Essex. Now it's a race to the breathless conclusion as Nick desperately searches for the answers that can save the day—and a vestige of loyalty that can save his own life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643851785
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	03/17/2020
Series:	An Elizabethan Spy Mystery , #2
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Suzanne M. Wolfe grew up in England and read English Literature at Oxford University. Wolfe is the author of the novels, The Confessions of X, winner of Christianity Today's 2017 Book of the Year Award, and Unveiling. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/07/2019

Set in 1586 England, Wolfe’s excellent second mystery featuring Nicholas Holt, who works for Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I’s legendary spymaster, delivers on the promise of 2018’s A Murder by Any Name. Holt’s assignment, to trail a possible Spanish agent, turns deadly when an attempt is made on his own life. When reporting to Walsingham, Holt learns that a fellow spy has already been tortured and murdered. Holt then goes undercover, pretending to join forces with the dangerously ambitious Earl of Essex, to find out who’s targeting Walsingham’s agents. Wolfe vividly brings London to life, from the raunchy taverns to the stages offering plays by Will Shakespeare. But the book’s greatest strength is its characters, starting with the clever but flawed Holt, and including a twin brother and sister team of Jewish healers and a young Irish woman with a talent for disguise. Despite some anachronistic dialogue (“Don’t be a stranger,” the queen calls out to Holt at one point), readers will look forward to spending more time in their company. Agent: Carol Mann, Carol Mann Agency. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Course of All Treasons:
"Excellent...Wolfe vividly brings London to life...But the book’s greatest strength is its characters."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Wolfe makes deft use of historical facts in an exciting mystery with a pleasing climactic surprise."
—Kirkus Reviews

“A complex story with multiple engaging characters...and readers won’t sleep or eat as they approach the denouement.”
—Historical Novels Society

"More, please, of the amazing Annie. Recommended for fans of action-filled historical mysteries."
—Booklist

Praise for A Murder By Any Name:
“Captivating…Fans of Fiona Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard and Kathy Lynn Emerson’s Rosamond Jaffrey will be delighted to add Wolfe to their reading lists.”
—Booklist
 
“[A] promising series launch… Fans of Elizabethan historicals will be satisfied.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“An excellent series kickoff by Wolfe that cleverly highlights both the mystery and the many ills of Elizabethan times.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“In vivid passages, Suzanne Wolfe’s novel brings to the reader the light and dark of Elizabethan England, its squalor and splendor, filth and riches, intrigues and delights.” 
—NY Journal of Books

"A fast-paced read that held my attention strongly throughout...Wolfe crafts a protagonist who is sympathetic as well as empathetic while retaining historical accuracy."
—Historical Novels Review

From the Publisher

2019-09-15
An Elizabethan spy with much to hide balances family loyalties with his fealty to the queen.

Nicholas Holt, the younger brother of Robert, Earl of Blackwell, is a tavern owner, loyal friend, and spy who works for the ailing Sir Francis Walsingham. Therein lies Nick's problem, for his relatives are recusant Catholics he must find ways to protect in these troubling times, when the queen's cousin Mary Stuart, although imprisoned, remains a magnet for plots to restore the Catholic faith to England. Ordered to spot and identify a Spanish spy, Nick follows the man he recognizes as Francesco del Toro to an Oxford tavern, where he's appalled to see his brother Robert. Del Toro slips away, but Nick must stay. He also runs into Edmund Lovett, an acquaintance from his childhood and Oxford University who admits to working for the spy network of Robert Devereaux, second Earl of Essex and favorite of the queen, who flirts embarrassingly with the handsome, spoiled young man. Nick gets stuck with Edmund, who's also returning to London. When they're attacked on the road in what Nick suspects is an assassination attempt, Edmund comes to his aid. Much to Nick's dismay, the queen orders him to help Essex find the killer he claims is trying to shut down his rival spy network even though it's Walsingham's agents who are really in danger. Among Essex's agents are Lady Annie O'Neill, an Irish master of disguise, and Gavell and Stace, two stone-cold killers who suspect Nick of double-dealing. The few people Nick can trust are John Stockton, who runs Nick's tavern; Kat, a well-connected madam; and Eli and Rivkah, twin Jewish doctors who escaped the Spanish Inquisition. As Nick and Hector, the faithful Irish wolfhound who's helped him solve murders at the court (A Murder by Any Name, 2018, etc.), scour London, they narrowly escape assassination attempts as they try to roll up the Spanish spy network.

Wolfe makes deft use of historical facts in an exciting mystery with a pleasing climactic surprise.

Kirkus Reviews