BLACK FRIAR

The second in the series set in London 1655 when Cromwell's regime is under threat from all sides. Damian Seeker, Captain of Cromwell's Guard, is all too aware of the danger facing Cromwell. Parliament resents his control of the Army, while the Army resents his absolute power. In the East End of London a group of religious fanatics plots rebellion and in the midst of all this, a stonemason uncovers a perfectly preserved body dressed in the robes of a Dominican friar, bricked up in the wall of the crumbling Black Friars monastery. Ill-informed rumours and speculation abound, but Seeker instantly recognises the dead man. What he must discover is why he met such a hideous end, and what his connection was to the children who have started to disappear from around the city. Unravelling these mysteries is challenging enough, and made still harder by the activities of dissenters at home, Royalist plotters abroad, and individuals who are not what they seem. Seeker navigates the shifting factions while quelling religious fanatics and plotters in the seething city beyond Whitehall. A gripping tale of crime and sedition, mystery and intrigue. 456pp, paperback.